Adele Stanley On: Cayugas

Fancy Fowl asked the questions...

- Grant Brereton

Adele, how long have you kept Cayugas?

I’ve kept them since 2013. I first saw the breed at the Scottish National that year and fell in love with them. I only kept a few hens and a couple of Khaki Campbells then and was keen to add Cayugas to the flock. I found it very difficult to source stock at the time so ended up buying a dozen hatching eggs from Thainstone auction. This was my first time hatching duck eggs and I was lucky enough to hatch 11 healthy ducklings using a Brinsea Octagon.

What classification do they come under?

They are a heavy breed duck, originating from North America. They are believed to be descended from the wild black duck. The breed was standardised in America in 1874 and in Britain in 1901.

How did your strain begin?

I kept one drake and a few ducks from the original 11 and have since acquired a couple of drakes from other breeders.

What is the best approach to breeding them?

I usually get the breeding pens sorted out in February. I find a trio or quartet work well as the drakes are very active and can be quite hard on the females if penned in pairs.

How many eggs do they lay each year?

They are great layers of good size eggs and come into lay around March time. You can expect around 180 eggs a year.

Is it true that the eggs can sometimes be black, and if so is that the desired shade?

Yes the eggs are initially jet black but this will gradually lighten throughout the season to a pale grey/green colour. The shell itself is actually a light green colour and the black pigment is deposited on the outside of the egg before it is laid giving the egg a sooty appearance. Dark laying strains are desirable as they will produce offspring with good colour.