The Welsh Harlequin duck: breed guide

Created in 1949, the Welsh Harlequin is one of the newest duck breeds. Welsh Harlequin ducks are a beautiful, practical, lightweight breed known for their excellent egg production and calm, docile temperament. Although they haven’t been around long, they have gained attention quickly and are now a popular choice among homesteaders and backyard keepers.

Green, Blue, Black, and White: Duck Egg Colors By Breed

Did you know “duck egg blue” is a real thing? Did you know Cayuga ducks can lay black eggs?

Just like chickens, some ducks can lay beautiful colored eggs. Ducks primarily lay eggs in two colors: white, or blue to green. Think pale periwinkle blue to a light sage green or anywhere in between. A few duck breeds can even lay black or charcoal gray eggs.

Keeping ducks and chickens together: your ultimate guide

Keeping ducks and chickens together is one of those expectation/reality things. What you think will happen: the ducks and chickens will all eat together and forage together and sleep together and be pretty together and generally be a harmonious, happy flock—right? What actually might happen: the ducks ruin the chickens’ …

Pet Ducks: 10 Things You MUST Know Before Getting Some

Ducks are cute, entertaining, and lay delicious eggs to boot. They’re not nearly as popular as dogs, cats, or even parrots, but they make wonderful, unique pets. Not for everyone, though. It’s important to know what ducks are like and have realistic expectations for your pet ducks before you dive …

Free-Ranging Ducks 101: Everything You Need to Know

Freedom. Happiness. In the duck world, nothing exemplifies these ideals like the practice of free-ranging. The idyllic vision of ducks frolicking joyfully in green pastures is irresistible. At the same time, free-ranging can be dangerous, so it’s a controversial topic. Some people are dead set against anyone free-ranging their ducks; …

How to Sex Ducks and Ducklings: What Works and What Doesn’t

One of the first questions that comes up when people get new ducks is, “What sex are they?” Identifying the sex of ducks, especially ducklings, can be difficult. In this article, I’ll cover two methods for sexing ducklings (plus seven methods that don’t work, are unreliable, or are only small …

How to Feed Ducks

One of the biggest decisions new duck owners have to make is how they’re going to feed their ducks. It’s a complicated subject, but here’s a quick guide to feeding ducks for the backyard/pet duck owner or hobby farmer/homesteader.

How to Feed Ducklings

A proper diet is one of the most important parts of giving your new ducklings a healthy, happy start in life. Fortunately, it’s not rocket science. Here are the four components of a healthy, balanced duckling diet, ten things you shouldn’t feed your ducklings, how much to feed them, how …

Cayuga Duck: Complete Breed Guide

The Cayuga is almost umistakable, with its solid black bill and feet and its beautiful black feathers that gleam luminescent green in bright light. These unique, stunning ducks have been classified as “Threatened” by the The Livestock Conservancy for many years, but in 2020 were upgraded to the “Watch” classification. …

Buff Orpington Duck: Complete Breed Guide

The Buff Orpington duck is the epitome of a dual-purpose duck. For someone looking for one single “do-it-all” breed, this would be one of my first recommendations. They were created in Orpington, Kent, UK by a man named William Cook, who also created the Buff Orpington chicken. Buff was a …

Blue Swedish Duck: Complete Breed Guide

The Blue Swedish (or Swedish Blue) is an attractive dual-purpose duck breed that makes a perfect addition to any homestead, hobby farm, or backyard flock. They’re classified as a heavy breed by the British Standards, and as a medium breed by the American Standard of Perfection. The American Livestock Breeds …

Why aren’t my ducks laying eggs? 15 reasons

Ducks lay eggs. Except when they don’t.

Why aren’t my ducks laying? Why did my ducks suddenly stop laying? When will my ducks lay? Shouldn’t my ducks be laying more eggs than this? It’s one of the most frustrating issues people have with their ducks, and also one of the most frequent complaints I hear.

The answer is here. Every “my ducks aren’t laying eggs!” case I’ve ever heard of can be attributed to one or more of these fifteen causes:

Aggressive Ducks: Why drakes attack and how to permanently stop aggression

You’re wondering how you can walk in your yard without Mr. Macho tearing a gash in your leg with his razor-sharp talons and leaving nasty dark bruises with his hard, twisting bite. You don’t want to resort to inviting your beloved drake for dinner. Neither do you want to become …

Australian Spotted Duck

Australian Spotted ducks are critically endangered and underappreciated, despite their beauty, friendliness, and adorable Call-like conformation. Less than 1000 birds exist, and there are only around 500 breeding birds. Australian Spotted ducks are very friendly, one of the hardiest of duck breeds, adventurous, long-lived, and good foragers. They can also …

Alabio / Itik Alabio Duck

The Alabio duck is an unusual dual-purpose breed, highly popular in Indonesia, but unheard of elsewhere. A veterinarian named Saleh Puspo named the breed. They originate from Kabupaten Hulu Sungai Utara, Kalimantan Selatan, Indonesia. Locally, in Indonesia, they are called the Itik Alabio. They were developed as a cross between …

Silver Bantam Duck: Complete Breed Guide

The Silver Bantam is an extremely rare ornamental breed of duck. Confusingly, they are often called “Silver Bantam” in the UK and “Miniature Silver Appleyard” in the USA, even though they are a separate breed from the true miniature version of the Silver Appleyard. Silver Bantams are mostly kept as …

Shetland Duck

The Shetland duck is a small, critically endangered breed of duck, one of the rarest breeds in the world. They are so rare that there is currently no breed club or standard. Misinformation and contradictions about them abound throughout the web, partly because some people assume ducks to be Shetlands …

I Found a Hidden Nest! How To Stop Your Duck From Hiding Her Eggs

The other day, I was wandering around the duck yard, looking for two rascals who were late for bed, when I saw this: three lovely white eggs, snug under a wood pile. Many ducks, particularly those who are often inclined to go broody, are notorious nest hiders. They think hiding …

Can ducks lay 2+ eggs in one day? (You’ll be surprised!)

Everybody knows ducks lay one egg a day. If you exclaim excitedly, “My duck laid two eggs today!” you’ll probably get funny looks, if you’re talking to people who know anything whatsoever about ducks. They’ll tell you, no, ducks never lay two eggs in a day.

But they’d be wrong.

Once in a while, a duck owner will get one more egg than the amount of female ducks they have.

Can a duck really lay two eggs in one day?

Surprisingly, yes.

Abacot Ranger Duck

Abacot Rangers are extremely rare, beautiful, dual-purpose light ducks. They’re wonderful egg-layers, good for meat, good foragers, long-lived, friendly, hardy, and absolutely gorgeous. They’re also known as the Hooded Ranger in America, the Streicherente or Streicher in Germany, and the La Canard Streicher in France. Abacot Rangers are active foragers, …

Aylesbury Duck

The Aylesbury is a large meat breed of duck developed in the town of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England in the 18th century. Their status is critical. Aylesburies are all white with a pale pink bill, orange feet, and white skin. You will often see ducks labeled as Aylesburies that have …

Ancona Duck: Complete Breed Guide

The Ancona duck is a large dual-purpose duck breed that’s beautiful, friendly, excellent at foraging, and has recently been experiencing a surge of popularity. For a long time, they were listed by the American Livestock Breed Conservancy (ALBC) as “critically endangered.” However, a census taken by the ALBC in 2015 …