Blue Fawn & Pastel Rouen Ducks
Now available! After many years of development we are now offering blue fawn Rouens and a very limited amount of pastel Rouens.
History and Background:
Back in 2012 I started a journey in earnest to create Blue Fawn Rouen ducks. I remembered many years ago seeing blue fawn and pastel colored Rouen ducks at the Midwest All Waterfowl show. I loved the color and wanted to get some so badly but missed the opportunity. My dream of finding some someday never left me though.
My last year at Purdue University, I started asking around to see if I could find someone who was already breeding blue fawn and pastel Rouens but I turned up no leads. Apparently they had been created before but just weren’t as good as the gray Rouens and eventually fell out of popularity. I began researching the genetics to see how easily it could be done and which breeds would be best suited for the cross. I initially settled on the Saxony duck as being the best and simplest way to achieve my goal. But alas I had the most difficult time finding Saxony ducks and especially those that were the type and quality I wanted.
Creation: F0 – F5 generations
A friend mentioned that they knew someone who might have some blue fawn Rouens or at least something I could work with for the time being. At the Ohio National that fall I picked up what I understood to be blue fawn Rouens. I got the F1 mother and several of her F2 offspring. The F1 mother was an unknown cross as the person I got her from has several breeds but she fit the bill well enough. The F2 offspring from her were a cross to a gray Rouen drake that the breeder knew for sure as he purposefully did that cross. Some of the F2 offspring were better than others. Jake and I split the offspring between us as he also wanted to work on blue fawns too.
Not knowing if these birds I picked up from the Ohio National would truly work, I was still looking for Saxony ducks. In the spring of 2013 I found some Saxony ducks that would work as another cross. Unfortunately, the male Saxony had reproductive issues so I didn’t get any offspring from him, I was back to the drawing board. I acquired a Pete Dempsey Saxony cockerel that was a couple months old in the summer and I figured I’d use him the next year along with the hens to begin another blue fawn Rouen line.
That spring 2013 I went ahead and set up breeding pens for the Ohio National blue fawn birds and Jake did the same. My two males were put over gray hens and the females were put over gray males. I hatched several F2 and F3 offspring and only grew out the blue fawns not grays. I was very pleased with most of the offspring and kept 2 cockerels and 4 pullets for the next year’s breeding.
In 2014 I started in earnest the Saxony crossed to gray Rouen project. I bred my Saxony male to gray Rouen females and my Saxony hens to gray Rouen males to create F1 Saxony/Rouen birds. I also continued with what I call my Buff duck line of blue fawn Rouens (Ohio National birds) by crossing the F3 males to gray Rouen females and F3 females to gray Rouen males. So in 2014 I had two lines going at once, a Saxony cross line and a Buff duck line of blue fawns. In the fall of 2014 I also acquired from a friend a nice hen that was half Saxony and half gray Rouen. I kept that F1 hen along with my best pair that I hatched from the Saxony/gray Rouen cross I did for breeding in 2015. I also kept 2 F4 trios of the best blue fawns I hatched from my Buff duck line.
In 2015 I hatched the F2 generation of the Saxony line and the F5 generation of the Buff duck line. Again, I kept the best birds from each line to be used in the 2016 breeding.
Setting the Line and Moving Forward:
At the 5th generation of the Buff duck cross this line is set. Spring 2016 I set up 4 breeding pens of F5 Blue Fawn Rouen Buff duck line birds. I set up my normal cross of F5 blue fawn males to gray females and F5 blue fawn females to gray males but I also set up a pen that was only F5 blue fawn males and females. The all blue fawn pen was coded as BR and it would produce 50% blue fawn, 25% gray, and 25% pastel. This means I am on to creating F1 pastel Rouens now. In addition, I am continuing on with the Saxony line and I now have F3 offspring. The best of the best from both lines will be kept for breeding next year. I am still waiting on the Saxony line to be set.
In 2017 I setup a tricolor breeding pen which included F1 Pastels, F5 & F6 blue fawns, and pure gray Rouens. I also had two breeding pens for blue fawn males over gray females and a gray male over blue fawn females. In addition, I also continued work on my Saxony line.
In 2018 I setup an all blue fawn flock mate breeding pen of 5 males and 13 females from my Buff duck line. I also setup two breeding pens for my pastels - 1 trio and 1 pair. This year I do not plan to add in grays to their breeding pens unless it's a small special mating. My work with the Saxony line continues as well.
In 2019, I decided to not continue with the Saxony line and sold all the breeder birds. They were not as far along as the Buff duck line and sticking with the larger flock of Buff duck line birds made the most sense to continue with.
Back in 2012 I started a journey in earnest to create Blue Fawn Rouen ducks. I remembered many years ago seeing blue fawn and pastel colored Rouen ducks at the Midwest All Waterfowl show. I loved the color and wanted to get some so badly but missed the opportunity. My dream of finding some someday never left me though.
My last year at Purdue University, I started asking around to see if I could find someone who was already breeding blue fawn and pastel Rouens but I turned up no leads. Apparently they had been created before but just weren’t as good as the gray Rouens and eventually fell out of popularity. I began researching the genetics to see how easily it could be done and which breeds would be best suited for the cross. I initially settled on the Saxony duck as being the best and simplest way to achieve my goal. But alas I had the most difficult time finding Saxony ducks and especially those that were the type and quality I wanted.
Creation: F0 – F5 generations
A friend mentioned that they knew someone who might have some blue fawn Rouens or at least something I could work with for the time being. At the Ohio National that fall I picked up what I understood to be blue fawn Rouens. I got the F1 mother and several of her F2 offspring. The F1 mother was an unknown cross as the person I got her from has several breeds but she fit the bill well enough. The F2 offspring from her were a cross to a gray Rouen drake that the breeder knew for sure as he purposefully did that cross. Some of the F2 offspring were better than others. Jake and I split the offspring between us as he also wanted to work on blue fawns too.
Not knowing if these birds I picked up from the Ohio National would truly work, I was still looking for Saxony ducks. In the spring of 2013 I found some Saxony ducks that would work as another cross. Unfortunately, the male Saxony had reproductive issues so I didn’t get any offspring from him, I was back to the drawing board. I acquired a Pete Dempsey Saxony cockerel that was a couple months old in the summer and I figured I’d use him the next year along with the hens to begin another blue fawn Rouen line.
That spring 2013 I went ahead and set up breeding pens for the Ohio National blue fawn birds and Jake did the same. My two males were put over gray hens and the females were put over gray males. I hatched several F2 and F3 offspring and only grew out the blue fawns not grays. I was very pleased with most of the offspring and kept 2 cockerels and 4 pullets for the next year’s breeding.
In 2014 I started in earnest the Saxony crossed to gray Rouen project. I bred my Saxony male to gray Rouen females and my Saxony hens to gray Rouen males to create F1 Saxony/Rouen birds. I also continued with what I call my Buff duck line of blue fawn Rouens (Ohio National birds) by crossing the F3 males to gray Rouen females and F3 females to gray Rouen males. So in 2014 I had two lines going at once, a Saxony cross line and a Buff duck line of blue fawns. In the fall of 2014 I also acquired from a friend a nice hen that was half Saxony and half gray Rouen. I kept that F1 hen along with my best pair that I hatched from the Saxony/gray Rouen cross I did for breeding in 2015. I also kept 2 F4 trios of the best blue fawns I hatched from my Buff duck line.
In 2015 I hatched the F2 generation of the Saxony line and the F5 generation of the Buff duck line. Again, I kept the best birds from each line to be used in the 2016 breeding.
Setting the Line and Moving Forward:
At the 5th generation of the Buff duck cross this line is set. Spring 2016 I set up 4 breeding pens of F5 Blue Fawn Rouen Buff duck line birds. I set up my normal cross of F5 blue fawn males to gray females and F5 blue fawn females to gray males but I also set up a pen that was only F5 blue fawn males and females. The all blue fawn pen was coded as BR and it would produce 50% blue fawn, 25% gray, and 25% pastel. This means I am on to creating F1 pastel Rouens now. In addition, I am continuing on with the Saxony line and I now have F3 offspring. The best of the best from both lines will be kept for breeding next year. I am still waiting on the Saxony line to be set.
In 2017 I setup a tricolor breeding pen which included F1 Pastels, F5 & F6 blue fawns, and pure gray Rouens. I also had two breeding pens for blue fawn males over gray females and a gray male over blue fawn females. In addition, I also continued work on my Saxony line.
In 2018 I setup an all blue fawn flock mate breeding pen of 5 males and 13 females from my Buff duck line. I also setup two breeding pens for my pastels - 1 trio and 1 pair. This year I do not plan to add in grays to their breeding pens unless it's a small special mating. My work with the Saxony line continues as well.
In 2019, I decided to not continue with the Saxony line and sold all the breeder birds. They were not as far along as the Buff duck line and sticking with the larger flock of Buff duck line birds made the most sense to continue with.
Blue Fawn Rouen Ducks
Pastel Rouen Ducks
MORE INFO & PICTURES COMING SOON...!