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The Rouen is a heavyweight breed of domesticated duck. [1] Rouens are raised primarily for meat, exhibition, [2] or as general purpose ducks. Since they are not prolific egg layers, Rouen ducks are most commonly bred for their meat. [2] The breed originated in France sometime before the 19th century.
The plumage coloring of both the Rouen drake and the Rouen duck are nearly identical to that of the Mallard drake and Mallard duck. The Rouen color pattern is referred to as gray. [2] Males have dark yellow bills, [3] green heads, white collars, black tail coverts and dark, ashy brown tail feathers, [4] a dark gray upper back and light gray lower body, a deep claret breast, and bright orange legs and feet. [5] The female Rouen hens are a consistent shade of mahogany brown, with a brown crown and tan eye-stripes extending from bill to the back of the eyes, and a brown bill. [5] Another feature of the female color pattern is the distinct, detailed penciling found on feathers of the head, neck, body, most of the wing and tail. [4] Rouen females can be much darker brown than Mallard females. Both sexes also have blue speculum feathers. However, Rouen speculum feathers are brighter in color and larger in size than that of the Mallard.
Adult Rouen ducks are typically significantly larger than Mallard ducks; their bodies tend to be longer and heavier than the Mallard. [3] In North America, two distinct types are bred: the common, or production-bred, variety that is larger than a Mallard but has a typical duck conformation, and the much larger and squarer standard-bred variety. The production variety normally weighs 6–8 lbs. (2.7–3.6 kg) while the standard-bred weighs 9–12 lbs. (4.1–5.4 kg). The production variety have a more upright carriage and slimmer body. [5] The standard variety have a more horizontal carriage and a large, blocky body with the keel being deep and level. [5]
The Rouen duckling is nearly identical to the Mallard duckling in terms of plumage coloring. Rouen ducklings can be distinguished from wild mallard ducklings by the presence of a second stripe which runs across their face, just under their eye, whereas mallard ducklings have only one stripe which runs across their eye. [6]
These birds are of a docile and lethargic nature. [7] Their larger body's tend to inhibit the Rouen duck from sitting on a nest. [8] Exhibition-typed Rouen ducks have been known to crush their eggs if allowed to set due to their massive frames. [2] They mature slower than most other domestic duck breeds (6-8 months). They are often compared to the Pekin or Aylesbury breeds in both egg production and size. [8] The Rouen is sometimes considered superior to these breeds, because they can be easily fattened, making them an excellent meat bird with delicate flesh. [3]
The breed was first raised in France, but it was not until it reached England in the 19th century that it was refined into the breed recognized as the Rouen today. The French version resembled a larger than average Mallard, but by selective breeding, the British developed the exhibition-type Rouen. [2] The final product was a bird with a deep, long keel, boat-shaped profile, enormous appearance, and refined markings, especially the penciling on the female. [2] It was used chiefly as a roasting bird; though it produced 35 to 125 eggs a year, there were other breeds which were more reliable egg-layers with higher production. [5] The eggs are typically white but can also be a blue-green color with thicker than normal shells. [9] They average a weight of 3.5 oz. [7] The French considered this domestic duck to represent the idea of "the Perfect Utility Duck." [9] In 1861, Mrs. Beeton said of it:
The Rouen, or Rhone duck, is a large and handsome variety, of French extraction. The plumage of the Rouen duck is somewhat somber; its flesh is also much darker, and, though of higher flavor, not near so delicate as that of our own Aylesbury.
The origin of the name is highly debated. When they arrived in England, they were variously called the Rhône, after the region in southwest-central France, Rohan, after the cardinal of that name, Roan, for the mixture of colors, and Rouen after the northern French town, with Rouen eventually being adopted in both England and France. In France, they are called Rouen Foncé (dark) as opposed to Rouen Clair, which are lighter in color. These names arose from various English writers in the early part of the 19th century. B. Moubray was cited as calling it "the Rhone duck", yet Harrison Weir quotes "A Treatise on Poultry" (1810) naming them a "fine species that answers so well in the environs of Rouen, on the banks of the Seine." [9] In 1875, J.K. Fowler, the leading authority on Rouens at the time, in "The Book of Poultry" declared:
The Rouen Duck, which is only second to the Aylesbury as a celebrity among our domestic waterfowl, most probably, as its name suggests, came originally from the city of Rouen, in Normandy; though some ingenious persons have tried to show that the name should be 'roan' and think that it was so called on account of its color, though why that particular color should be pitched upon from the many various ones its plumage contains it is hard to guess. It is far more probable that it is correctly called 'Rouen,' and that 'roan' is a corruption; for we know that quantities of poultry are raised in France, and Normandy is the most celebrated of the French provinces in this respect. We have however, no proof that the breed of ducks in question are especially the product of Rouen, though you may always see a large number of them, or at any rate, birds closely resembling them, for sale in the market place of that glorious old city.
In 1850, the first Rouens were introduced to the United States by D. W. Lincoln of Worcester, Massachusetts, and used as general farm ducks until becoming popular as show birds. They were included in the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 1874 and since then have won many titles, often having the most entries in the heavyweight class and doing well in competition with other breeds. It was Mr. Lincoln who introduced the breed to the US, but John Giles was the poultryman instrumental in popularizing the breed among American poultry keepers. He had established his own Rouen flock by 1852, whether by buying Lincoln's own birds or importing his own. [9] In 1854, he personally selected his own flock from England. After the Civil War, American Rouen ducks could be traced either directly to Giles' stock or indicated a strong probability of a relationship to it. [9]
The mallard or wild duck is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, the Falkland Islands, and South Africa. This duck belongs to the subfamily Anatinae of the waterfowl family Anatidae. Males have green heads, while the females have mainly brown-speckled plumage. Both sexes have an area of white-bordered black or iridescent purple or blue feathers called a speculum on their wings; males especially tend to have blue speculum feathers. The mallard is 50–65 cm (20–26 in) long, of which the body makes up around two-thirds the length. The wingspan is 81–98 cm (32–39 in) and the bill is 4.4 to 6.1 cm long. It is often slightly heavier than most other dabbling ducks, weighing 0.7–1.6 kg (1.5–3.5 lb). Mallards live in wetlands, eat water plants and small animals, and are social animals preferring to congregate in groups or flocks of varying sizes.
The mandarin duck is a perching duck species native to the East Palearctic. It is sexually dimorphic; males showing a dramatic difference from the females. It is medium-sized, at 41–49 cm (16–19 in) long with a 65–75 cm (26–30 in) wingspan. It is closely related to the North American wood duck, the only other member of the genus Aix. 'Aix' is an Ancient Greek word which was used by Aristotle to refer to an unknown diving bird, and 'galericulata' is the Latin for a wig, derived from galerum, a cap or bonnet. Outside of its native range, the mandarin duck has a large introduced population in the British Isles and Western Europe, with additional smaller introductions in North America.
The Aylesbury duck is a breed of domesticated duck, bred mainly for its meat and appearance. It is a large duck with pure white plumage, a pink bill, orange legs and feet, an unusually large keel, and a horizontal stance with its body parallel to the ground. The precise origins of the breed are unclear, but raising white ducks became popular in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, in the 18th century owing to the demand for white feathers as a filler for quilts. Over the 19th century selective breeding for size, shape and colour led to the Aylesbury duck.
The Muscovy duck is a duck native to the Americas, from the Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico south to Argentina and Uruguay. Feral Muscovy ducks are found in New Zealand, Australia, and in Central and Eastern Europe. Small wild and feral breeding populations have also established themselves in the United States, particularly in Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, the Big Island of Hawaii, as well as in many other parts of North America, including southern Canada.
The domestic duck or domestic mallard is a subspecies of mallard that has been domesticated by humans and raised for meat, eggs, and down feathers. A few are also kept for show, as pets, or for their ornamental value. Almost all varieties of domesticated ducks, apart from the domestic Muscovy duck, are descended from the mallard.
The Pekin or White Pekin is an American breed of domestic duck, raised primarily for meat. It derives 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 bred 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 Call is a historic breed of small domestic duck. It is believed to have originated in the Netherlands, where the earliest descriptions and depictions of it date from the seventeenth century. It is similar in appearance to some other breeds of duck, but is much smaller, with a round head and very short bill. Ducks, but not drakes, are very loquacious and noisy, with a piercing high-pitched call which be heard from far away.
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, England, 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 proposed that Cook's intentions for the breed were to capitalize on the growing demand for the buff colour 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 Magpie is a British breed of domestic duck. It has distinctive black and white markings reminiscent of the European magpie, and is a good 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 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 Golden Cascade is a breed of domestic duck developed in the United States. In 1979, David Holderread of Corvallis, Oregon set out to breed a duck that was fast growing, active, laid eggs well, and was auto-sexing. By the mid-1980s, the Golden Cascade was introduced to the market. It is not yet admitted to the American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection.
The Muscovy or Barbary is the domesticated form of the wild Muscovy duck. There are a number of local or regional breeds, and drakes of these are commonly cross-bred with domestic ducks to produce the hybrids called mulards.
The German Pekin, German: Deutsche Pekingente, is a European breed of domestic duck. It is commonly called simply Pekin or White Pekin. It is a different breed from the American Pekin, which is also commonly known by the same names. It was bred in Europe from birds originating in China and Japan and is distributed in many European countries.
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