This Aylesbury drake took Best in Show at some 2003 show in the UK
Photo courtesy of Rupert Stephenson
This slow moving and very tame English breed has a large, deep-keeled body. Old males should weigh around 10 pounds and old ducks about 9 pounds. Aylesburies are excellent roasting fowl. They have long, straight pinkish-white bills, orange legs, and their skin is white, unlike most other domestic ducks, which have yellow skin.
An Aylesbury female
An Aylesbury drake
This Aylesbury drake took Best in Show at some 2003 show in the UK
Photo courtesy of Rupert Stephenson
This slow moving and very tame English breed has a large, deep-keeled body. Old males should weigh around 10 pounds and old ducks about 9 pounds. Aylesburies are excellent roasting fowl. They have long, straight pinkish-white bills, orange legs, and their skin is white, unlike most other domestic ducks, which have yellow skin.
Aylesbury Links:
Aylesbury Ducks information and pictures from Kintaline Farm Poultry and Waterfowl Centre, Oban, Argyll, Scotland, UK
The Domestic Waterfowl Club on Aylesburies
An Aylesbury female
An Aylesbury drake
A nice Saxony drake from the UK
This is a German heavy breed of duck -- a dual purpose bird for both eggs and meat. The drakes are colored somewhat like a faded Mallard, the ducks a soft buff; both have a hint of greyish-blue to their plumage. Males weigh 8 pounds, females around 7.
A Saxony duck
A Saxony bantam drake
The Quinn's Saxony bantam trio, "Huey," "Dewey" and "Louie"
A Saxony drake and young duck from Australia
Another pair of Saxony Ducks
Head shots of a Saxony duck and drake
Four-week-old Saxonys
Saxony ducklings at 8 weeks of age
A crate of American Saxony ducks
I was at a poultry show, and someone was selling these birds. The sign said it was a new breed, so I quick took a picture. Does anyone know anything about them? If so, please enlighten me! Thanks.
For information on raising ducklings, go to Raising Ducklings and Goslings. Duck eggs take 28-30 days to hatch, except for Muscovy eggs, which take 35 days.
If you find a wild duck's nest on your property and don't see the mother on the eggs, don't necessarily worry. Ducks lay an egg every day or two until they have a full clutch (usually 8 to 15); only then will the mother start to sit on them. It takes the eggs 28 days to hatch from when she starts sitting all the time. When they hatch, she will soon lead them to a nearby body of water. The father takes no part in caring for the eggs or young.
Another question I'm commonly asked is about sexing them. This is pretty easy for all the Mallard-derived ducks (all the domestics except Muscovies); there are two main clues. First is that, by about 10 weeks of age, the voice of the female is a loud quack, while that of the male is soft and whispery. Second, later on the males develop a curled feather (the drake feather) on top of the tail. In Muscovies, by three months or so, the males are nearly twice as large as the females. I've found that in younger Muscovies, the feet of the males are often relatively larger, but I don't know if you can count on this. Very young ducklings have to be vent sexed. For info and pictures see the waterfowl books described on my
Although domestic ducks (except for Muscovies) are all descended from Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), most of them have been bred so that their bodies are too heavy and wings too small to support flying. Of the mallard-derived breeds, only Calls and some of the other bantam ducks can fly. Muscovies also can fly well, especially the females. Male Muscovies can lumber up in the air and flap about a bit, but they sure don't remind me of birds!
Note that most Mallard-colored drakes, and some of other colors, undergo an Eclipse molt in late summer, after which they are colored like females. They will molt again into male colors later in the year.
A Runner drake in normal plumage (left) and eclipse plumage (right)
A Spangled Allen Setter rooster
The Allen Setters were developed by George Allen of Salt Lake City, UT (editor of The Gazette, a magazine devoted to wildfowl and other exotics). The Allen Setters were developed specifically for the purpose of hatching pheasant eggs.
In addition to Spangled, Allen Setters appear in Silver Quail, Silver Brassy Back, Brown Breasted, Brown Red and Partridge.
a.k.a. Old-fashioned Styrians
A White Altsteirer telling it all
My information about this breed was mostly supplied by Birgit Gelzleichter
Altsteirers come from the Styria area of Austria and are considered endangered.
This is a hardy, broad-breasted medium-sized chicken. They are single combed, but the comb on the hen is short, with a small crest behind it. The ear lobes are small and white. Cocks weigh 2-3 kg, with hens reaching up to 2.5 kg.
This is a dual purpose breed. They lay about 180 eggs in the first year and about 150 the second year. The eggs are ivory in color. Hens tend to be nonsitters.
They are active birds and like to fly up and sit in trees.
The accepted colors are White and Partridge, although they are also found in other varieties such as Barred and Blue Gold-necked. [ed. note: The Blue and Blue Gold-necked look to me like the same variety.]
Altsteirer heads
Barred and Blue Altsteirer cockerels
Partridge Altsteirer pullets
A Red Saddled Altsteirer cockerel
Blue Altsteirers
A Barred Altsteirer hen
Blue Gold-necked Altsteirers
White Altsteirers
An Altsteirer Blue Gold-necked chick in the hand . . .
A White Altsteirer chick
A Red Saddled Altsteirer chick
