At this point, most domestic ducks have been bred to gain muscle for meat to the point where they cannot fly as they are too heavy. Rouens, bred to resemble Mallards, can't fly at all. Some ducks can flutter a bit, but tire easily. Runners cannot fly or waddle, at all. We'll likely have to clip the flight fevers on the Campbells, as they can fly over short fences when spooked. Fortunately, they'll grow too heavy in adulthood to do that.
It's really odd what selective breeding has done for domestic birds - turkeys are so large they cannot breed naturally anymore and must be artificially inseminated.
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Date: 2009-05-06 10:16 pm (UTC)At this point, most domestic ducks have been bred to gain muscle for meat to the point where they cannot fly as they are too heavy. Rouens, bred to resemble Mallards, can't fly at all. Some ducks can flutter a bit, but tire easily. Runners cannot fly or waddle, at all. We'll likely have to clip the flight fevers on the Campbells, as they can fly over short fences when spooked. Fortunately, they'll grow too heavy in adulthood to do that.
It's really odd what selective breeding has done for domestic birds - turkeys are so large they cannot breed naturally anymore and must be artificially inseminated.
Weird, eh?