Different Types of DUCKS - What You Need to Know Before You Start to RAISING DUCKS

Cairina moschata or Muscovy duck with ducklings.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Raising ducks do not need to be hard if you know your reason. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than the swans and geese, and may be found in both freshwater and seawater. Some people use "duck" specifically for adult females and "drake" for adult males, others use "hen" and "drake", respectively. Somehow, they are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes, gallinules, and coots. Ducks are generally raised for eggs but when snail food gets scarce, they are sold for meat.

Before you start raising ducks, here are the different types for you to consider:

Egg - Type Ducks

1) Khaki Cambell Duck

Khaki Campbell ducks have characteristics brown color, have extremely active habits, do well in good range and show little desire for swimming. These ducks are good layers, they lay as many as 300 or more eggs a year which are fairly large, thick-shelled and weigh 70 to 75 grams each. The body weight at the point of lay is about 1.50kg. On the average, this duck could lay 285 eggs up to 72 weeks of age, with a mean egg weight of 75kg. This duck can be distinguished by their pure white feathers. Their eggs are either white or greenish.

2) Indian Runner

The Indian Runner Duck is a breed of domestic duck. They are native to the Indian-sub-continent and Malaysia. The breed, it is thought, was first brought to Europe via Whitehaven, Cumbria in the United Kingdom, by a sea captain prior to 1835, as they were exhibited at the London Zoological Gardens by this date.

This duck assumes a very erect normal posture with is the almost straight neck. The back is long, straight and narrow. An adult weighs about 2.10kg, while an adult weighs about 1.80kg. The egg production characteristics of this breed resemble that of the Khaki Campbell.

3) Tsaiya

This breed was developed in Taiwan. The original color ranges from black neck to pure white. Due to farmers preference, the brown breed was selected and raised as a major variety, while the white variety was developed for the production of mule ducks. Tsaiya ducks have small body size. An adult female weighs about 1.30kg, while the male weighs about 1.40kg.

Meat - Type Ducks

1) Muscovy Duck

The Muscovy Duck is a large duck which is native to Mexico and Central and South America. Muscovy is a heavy breed. It has a plump body and yellow skin. It has three varieties: the white, the colored and the blue. Unlike other breeds, Muscovy ducks prefer to stay on land.

All Muscovy Ducks have long claws on their feet and a wide flat tail. The drake (male) is about 86 cm long and weighs 4.6-6.8 kg, while the hen (female) is much smaller, at 64 cm in length and 2.7-3.6 kg in weight; domesticated males often weigh up to 8 kg, and domesticated females up to 5 kg.

2) Pekin Duck

Pekin duck was bred from the Mallard in China. The ancestors of those ducks originated from the canals which linked waterways in Nanjing, not Beijing, and originally had small bodies and black feathers. Sometimes it is mistaken for a goose because it carries its body rather upright. Pekin ducks are good layers, and duckling is ready for market at 2 or 3 months old.

By Mary Louise - Article Source: EzineArticles

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