Yes… it’s the Saxony. Very sadly.

We have been working with this breed for as long as we had ducks. They are a definite favorite. They are big and beautiful. They are docile and hardy. They lay lots of eggs and grow big enough to eat in a timely fashion. And they go OH SO GOOD with the Cayuga!!

Here are the reasons we decided to give them up: The genetic diversity is abysmal. All Saxony in all of North America hail from the very few ducks Dave Holderread imported nearly 50 years ago. We were having trouble with fertility, weight, consistency and all the things that apparently every Saxony breeder in North America struggles with.

The thing that got me (Maria) especially frustrated is that I became ever increasingly convinced that whatever color genetics were going on in the Saxony were actually working against each other. Someone came up with the Saxony standard without understanding color genetics and made the standard for the male different color genetics than that of the female. Which has as a direct result grand prize winners that NEVER EVER breed true. There’s always SOMETHING wrong with either the coloring of the males or the females. Here’s an example: the trout phenotype of a drake does NOT have a white neck ring that goes all the way around his neck. If that happens on a trout then it is caused by some not-that-well understood lightening genetics. Saxony drakes are supposed to have complete white neck rings that go all the way around the neck. What else is caused by lightening genetics? white in the face, white in the claret, white neck rings in females, white in the female chest, etc. All of these other effects are flaws. It’s maddening. So I came upon a crossroad: either start researching the genetic variables in the Saxony coloring to determine exactly what genotype is causing exactly what phenotype… the thought of this was intriguing, I can’t deny, but what if I discovered that all my suspicions were true and the Standard for Saxony color genetics was in fact totally nonsensical?? A sad place to end a very long and expensive journey. There is another possible path though…. and this is the one that won out in the end. Rebuilding the Saxony from scratch. It wouldn’t be a true Saxony of course. Because MY Saxony wouldn’t call for a complete neck ring on an apricot trout phenotype! They would be great, big, fat, apricot trout colored, prolific beasts! I’m not sure where this journey will lead. Maybe nowhere. But we’ll see. Wish me luck! -Maria