Heavy Geese

Most heavy geese are gentle giants and much loved by their owners. With ganders weighing in at well over 10 kgs, it is important that they are treated with respect. They need to be able to mate on water to prevent injury. Heavy breeds presently standardised are: African American Buff Embden Toulouse African Goose American […]

Call Ducks

Magpie Calls – Kate Elkington The Call Duck is the smallest breed of domestic duck, weighing less than a kilo. Small and easily transported, they were developed as calling ducks, to call down the wild Mallard to the great traps or decoys in the Fenlands of the UK and the marshes of Holland. They were […]

Bantam Ducks

Bantam Ducks are now in a separate category to Call Ducks, since show entries of the latter are so numerous, having eleven standard colours. Miniature breeds, which are judged in this section, are aimed to be a scaled-down version (1/3 the size) of their larger counterpart, whereas bantams do not have one (although they may […]

Runner Duck

This breed was formerly classified as a light duck, but is now generally in a class of its own due to its popularity. Interbred with other types, the Runner contributed to the ancestry of nearly all the light duck breeds, which have a lower carriage than it. There are now fourteen standard colours in the […]

Light Ducks

Light breeds presently standardised are: Abacot Ranger Bali Campbell Crested Hook Bill Magpie Orpington Welsh Harlequin Abacot Ranger Bali Campbell Crested Hookbill Magpie Orpington Welsh Harlequin Full exhibition standards for these breeds may be found in the British Waterfowl Standards.

Muscovy (domestic)

Muscovy Ducks are prized for their parenting skills The Muscovy Cairina moschata domestica is a heavy species of duck that originates from central and southern America. Historically it was placed in the group known as Perching Ducks.  Wild Muscovy Ducks are shy; when cornered they can seem aggressive. This may have given them an unfair reputation. […]

Heavy Ducks

‘Heavy Ducks’ are those which generally weigh over 3 kg in the duck and 3.5 kg in the drake.  Heavy breeds presently standardised are: Aylesbury Blue Swedish Cayuga Muscovy Pekin Rouen Rouen Clair Saxony Silver Appleyard Aylesbury Blue Swedish Cayuga Muscovy Pekin Rouen Rouen Clair Saxony Silver Appleyard Full exhibition standards for these breeds may […]

Wildfowl

Wildfowl is the English word for the taxonomic family Anatidae, which includes true ducks, geese and swans. These birds are naturally found on every continent except Antarctica. Some species such as the Mallard are very widely distributed, others such as Laysan Duck have only ever occupied very small areas. True geese are naturally only found […]

Domestic Waterfowl

Domestic ducks and geese, (there are no domestic swans), have been selectively bred for meat, eggs or exhibition purposes. It is widely considered that all domestic ducks, with the exception of the Muscovy, have been bred from the Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos. Even in the wild Mallard, there is variation in shape, size and plumage. This […]