UNCOMMON quacks
Will you find a rare-breed duck that brings flair to your yard?
As they say, if it walks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck. We’re probably most familiar with mainstream breeds like Campbell, Pekin and runner, but we’d be remiss to overlook rare-breed ducks. They exhibit excellent characteristics and praiseworthy qualities, too.
Maybe you’d like to learn more about rare breed ducks. Maybe you didn’t realize that other breeds are available beyond the familiar favorites. Maybe you’d like to help to preserve these breeds by keeping a small flock of your own. Just how rare are these breeds? According to The Livestock Conservancy, a nonprofit membership organization working to protect nearly 200 breeds of livestock and poultry from extinction, a poultry breed is considered “critical” if fewer than 500 breeding birds exist in the United States, with five or fewer primary breeding flocks (50 birds or more), and an estimated global population less than 1,000. Six duck breeds currently meet the criteria for critical status: Ancona, Aylesbury, Magpie, Saxony, Silver Appleyard and Welsh Harlequin. Two breeds — Buff and Cayuga — meet the criteria for “threatened” status on the conservancy’s Conservation Priority List. “Threatened” status refers to breeds with 1,000 or fewer breeding birds in the United States, seven or fewer primary breeding flocks, and an estimated global population of less than 5,000.
If you’re ready to learn more about these rare breeds, read on. You just might take to one of them like a duck to water!
Meet the DUCKS ancona
Descended from Runner ducks and distantly related to the Magpie breed, the attractive Ancona appears in an array of eye-catching colors. Though most commonly found in black-and-white, other common colors include blue-and-white and chocolate-and-white. Other colors — such as silver-and-white, lavender-and-white, and tricolored — occur less frequently. American Poultry Association does not yet recognize the breed.
aylesbury
Hugely popular in England during the 1800s, the Aylesbury suffered a serious decline in popularity, and it now sits on The Livestock Conservancy’s critical list. This fate seems unexpected for a breed that boasts excellent qualities as a meat breed as well as white skin. The Aylesbury duck also enjoyed a bit of Beatrix Potter-inspired fame; the character of Jemima in Potter’s “The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck” is said to be an Aylesbury duck.
buff
From the same poultry breeder — William Cook — who developed the Orpington chicken came
the Buff (sometimes called the Orpington) duck. Admired for its egg-laying ability and its use as a meat duck, breeders also prize this dual-purpose breed for its buff coloring, which was Cook’s goal in developing the breed from Aylesbury, Cayuga, Rouen and Runner ducks in the early 1900s.
CAYUGA
Unlike other rare ducks that hail from European countries, the Cayuga was developed in the United States, although some dispute exists as to the breed’s actual ancestry. (Some sources suggest that the breed descends from wild American Black Ducks.) The Cayuga boasts an incredible hardiness and an enchanting ability to be tamed, making it an intriguing choice for today’s duck enthusiast.
MAGPIE
This diminutive duck packs lots of good qualities in a small package. Known for its impressive egg-laying ability, the Magpie also demon
strates eye-catching black-and-white coloring and an overall quietness — undoubtedly pleasing to those who don’t care for the repetitive sounds of ducks quacking.
SAXONY
Another dual-purpose treasure! Developed in Germany but ravaged by the effects of World War II, the Saxony breed proved its resilience by being recognized as a breed in Germany in the 1950s. Male Saxony ducks boast a color pattern similar to that of the Mallard, while female Saxony ducks exhibit an attractive shade of buff.
SILVER APPLEYARD
Named for the breed’s developer, Reginald Appleyard, and designed to be beautiful and useful, this large breed originated in England.
Enthusiasts undoubtedly agree that the Silver Appleyard has amply achieved those lofty goals. “They are very good layers of large white eggs and great meat birds,” says Bill Braden of Land of Tobe Poultry in Oklahoma, who has bred Silver Appleyards for many years.
WELSH HARLEQUIN
Yes, you guessed it: The Welsh Harlequin hails from the wonderful land of Wales. This breed descends from a mutation of the Khaki Campbell breed and originated in the late 1940s. Although American Poultry Association recognizes only the silver variety of Welsh Harlequin, a gold variety also exists. Predominately noted for its outstanding egg production — sometimes over 300 eggs per year — the Welsh Harlequin also retains noteworthiness for its particularly broody hens. ■
Samantha Johnson is a freelance writer and the author of several books, including The Beginner’s Guide to Beekeeping (Voyageur Press). She raises Welsh Mountain Ponies in northern Wisconsin and is a certified horse-show judge.