The Muscovy duck is a large duck native to Mexico and Central and South America. Small wild and feral breeding populations have established themselves in the United States, particularly in Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, the Big Island of Hawaii, as well as in many other parts of North America, including southern Canada. Feral Muscovy ducks are found in New Zealand, Australia, and in parts of Europe.
The Orpington is a British breed of chicken. It was bred in the late nineteenth century by William Cook of Orpington, Kent in south-east England. It was intended to be a dual-purpose breed, to be reared both for eggs and for meat, but soon became exclusively a show bird.
The Pekin or White Pekin is an American breed of domestic duck, raised primarily for meat. It is a mallard derived from birds brought to the United States from China in the nineteenth century, and is now bred in many parts of the world. It is often known as the American Pekin to distinguish it from the German Pekin, a distinct and separate breed which derives from the same Chinese stock but has different breeding. Many of these ducks were reared on Long Island, New York, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, from which the breed derived its name Long Island Duck.
Indian Runners are a breed of Anas platyrhynchos domesticus, the domestic duck. They stand erect like penguins and, rather than waddling, they run. The females usually lay about 300 to 350 eggs a year or more, depending whether they are from exhibition or utility strains. They were found on the Indonesian islands of Lombok, Java and Bali where they were 'walked' to market and sold as egg-layers or for meat. These ducks do not fly and only rarely form nests and incubate their own eggs. They run or walk, often dropping their eggs wherever they happen to be. Duck-breeders need to house their birds overnight or be vigilant in picking up the eggs to prevent them from being taken by other animals.
The Campbell is a British breed of domestic duck. It was developed at Uley, in Gloucestershire, England, at the turn of the 20th century; being introduced to the public in 1898 and the Khaki variety in 1901.
The Cayuga is an American breed of domestic duck. It was introduced to the Finger Lakes region of New York State in about 1840, and is named for the Cayuga people of that area. Until the last years of the nineteenth century it was the principal duck reared for meat in the United States. In the twenty-first century it is kept mainly for ornament.
The Swedish Blue or Blue Swedish is a Swedish breed of domestic duck. It emerged during the nineteenth century in what was then Swedish Pomerania, now divided between north-west Poland and north-east Germany.
The Rouen is a heavyweight breed of domesticated duck raised primarily for decoration, exhibition or as general purpose ducks. Since they are not prolific egg layers, Rouen ducks are most commonly bred for their meat. The breed originated in France sometime before the 19th century.
The call duck is a breed of domesticated duck raised primarily for decoration or as pets. Call ducks look similar to some other duck breeds, but are smaller in size. Call ducks were initially used in hunting, where their own calls and quacks—which are characteristically high in pitch as a result of their small size, and especially loud—would attract wild ducks towards the hunter's guns. This practice has almost entirely been replaced with artificial duck calls, with call ducks now being kept primarily as pets.
The Crested is a breed of domestic duck. It was probably brought to Europe from the East Indies by Dutch ships. It has its appearance because it is heterozygous for a genetic mutation causing a deformity of the skull.
The Orpington or Buff Orpington Duck is a breed of domestic duck. It is a dual-purpose breed used for meat and egg production. It is capable of laying up to 220 eggs a year. Originally created by William Cook of Orpington, Kent, UK, from the selection of mis-marked Blue Orpington Ducks; Cook was also the developer of the Orpington chicken. The breeds used in the development of the breed included Cayuga, Indian Runner, commercial Aylesbury and Rouen. It is purposed that Cook's intentions for the breed were to capitalize on the growing demand for the buff color pattern. The Buff Orpington Duck was introduced to the public at the Dairy Show, the Agricultural Hall (q.v.), Islington, London in October 1897. It is considered a threatened breed by the ALBC. This breed was admitted to the British Poultry Standard in 1910 and the American Poultry Associations Standard of Perfection as the 'Buff Duck' in the Medium class in 1914. The Orpington duck is available in three colour varieties: Buff, Blond and Brown. The Buff Orpington is an unstable colour due to a blue dilution gene which means that from the offspring, all three colour variations will appear.
The Sebastopol is a breed of domestic goose, descended from the European Greylag goose. First exhibited in England in 1860 under the name 'Sebastopol goose'; they were also referred to as Danubian geese; a name first used for the breed in Ireland in 1863. 'Danubian' was used as a synonym in the 19th century; and only given precedence by Edward Brown after the turn of the 19th century. The Sebastopol is a medium-sized goose with long, white curly feathers. The feathers of the neck are smooth and sometimes greyish brown. Crosses have produced all-grey, buff, and saddle back variants. Feathers on the breast may be curly (frizzle) or smooth. The gander weighs 12-14 lbs while the goose weighs 10-12 lbs. The legs and shanks are orange and the eyes bright blue. Grey and buff colored Sebastopol have brown eyes. On average, females produce 25-35 eggs per year. Though domesticated breeds of geese generally retain some flight ability, Sebastopols cannot fly well due to the curliness of their feathers and have difficulty getting off the ground. They need plenty of water to keep themselves clean, and to clean their sinuses.
The Magpie is a British breed of domestic duck. It has distinctive black and white markings reminiscent of the European magpie, and is a layer of large eggs.
The Ancona is a breed of domestic duck, characterised by an unusual and variable broken-colored plumage pattern. It is not clear whether it originated in the United Kingdom or in the United States. It is not recognised or listed by the American Poultry Association, by the Entente Européenne d'Aviculture et de Cuniculture, or by the Poultry Club of Great Britain.
The Silver Appleyard is a British breed of domestic duck. It was bred in the first half of the twentieth century by Reginald Appleyard, with the aim of creating a dual-purpose breed that would provide both a good quantity of meat and plenty of eggs.
The Hook Bill or Dutch Hookbill is a breed of domestic duck characterised by an unusual down-curved beak. It is an ancient breed, and has been documented since the seventeenth century. Speculation that it originated in Asia, or is related to the Indian Runner, is apparently unsubstantiated.
The Welsh Harlequin is a breed of domestic duck originating in Wales. In 1949, in Criccieth, Group Captain Leslie Bonnet discovered a colour mutation among his flock of Khaki Campbells and began selective breeding for the trait. By 1968, hatching eggs were exported to the United States, followed by the importation of live birds in 1981.
The East Indie or Black East Indian is an ornamental breed of domestic duck. It is a bantam breed, and is thought to have originated in the United States.
The Saxony duck is a German breed of domestic duck. It was bred in Saxony in the 1930s, but because of the Second World War was recognised only in 1957.
The domestic Muscovy duck is a domesticated form of the wild Muscovy duck that originated in South America. It is bred for meat, feathers and eggs, as pets and sometimes as guard animals.
