Dabbling With Ducks

Chris Ashton examines domestic ducks - how history shapes the present

- Chris Ashton

Dibblers, dabblers, perchers and divers—ducks come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes. Wild waterfowl are some of the most colourful birds in the world, and have attracted the attention of humans for centuries. Domesticated, reared on the farm, kept in wildfowl reserves and collections, photographed at home and in the wild—these birds hold a fascination for humans which spans cultures word-wide. Yet the duck most of us end up with is, as you might have guessed, basically the mallard. Unlike many of the wild species, mallards can be persuaded to increase their egg production up the astounding performance of the Khaki Campbell of over 300 eggs per year.

Most people have heard of the Rouen and the Aylesbury, plus the popular Indian Runner and Call duck. These breeds have all evolved because of human selection from the basic mallard stock. In some cases this evolution has taken place over centuries and is undocumented. In more recent times, new breeds such as the Abacot Ranger have arrived with a splash, and much more is known about how they were produced.

The Muscovy is regarded as a domesticated duck as well, but it is an entirely different species from the mallard derivatives. For that reason, the Muscovy (Cairina moschata) is treated separately from the other breeds of domesticated ducks which are all the same species—Anas p. playrhychos.

When were ducks domesticated?