Duck Breed Focus - Australian Spotted Duck

[sumi]

Contrary to what their name implies, the Australian Spotted duck breed is one of the few domesticated duck breeds that originated in the USA. In the 1920's John C. Kriner and Stanley Mason of Pennsylvania developed this breed by allowing Call ducks, Mallards, Pintails and various Australian wild ducks to crossbreed for several years before selecting the desired specimens from the results. One Henry K. Miller later started his own strain in the 1940's. In 1990, the Australian Spotted finally became more readily available to the public but, despite this, its overall numbers are low.

The Australian Spotted duck comes in three varieties, Greenhead, Bluehead, or Silverhead. Depending on the variety, the drake's head is green (Greenhead), blue (Bluehead), or silver (Silverhead). A white band encircles the neck, the sides of the body and breast are deep burgundy, and the center of the breast extending under the body white. The middle of the shoulders and back are dark gray, wings a dark grayish-brown, tail light gray, and the tail undercushion black. The bill should be greenish-yellow, the eyes brown and the shanks and feet orange. The Greenhead Australian Spotted duck's body, head, and neck are a fawn color, spotted with dark brown. The Bluehead and Silverhead's colorations are the same as the Greenhead, except the Bluehead's flecking and spots are bluish-gray, where the Silverhead's flecking and spots are silver (Holderread, 1991)

The first exhibit of the Australian Spotted began in 1928.

Details:

Purpose: Ornamental; Exhibition
Weight: 2-2.2 lbs
Egg size: Small-Medium
Egg Colour: Cream, Blue, Green


Pic by @Duck Drover


Pic by @Duck Drover


Pic by @Duck Drover


Pic by @Jennifer D


Pic by @SparrowHawkFarm

BYC Breed Discussions:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/766548/australian-spotted-ducks/0_30
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/117412/my-australian-spotted-bantam-ducks-pic-intensive/0_30

Do you own Australian Spotted ducks? Are you an Australian Spotted breeder? If so, please reply to this thread with the your thoughts and experiences, including:

· What made you decide to get this breed?
· Do you own them for fun? Breeding? Some other purpose?
· What are your favorite characteristics about this breed?
· Post some pics of your birds; male/female, chicks, eggs, etc!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Aren't they gorgeous little ducks I never knew they were USA though the name really throws you off.

 

[Duck Drover]

This is a silverhead drake. I sent my daughter out to take pictures so this was taken just now.

 

[Duck Drover]

My daughter took this picture of a greenhead drake just now but his green is not showing up as well so he almost looks bluehead. Greenheads have the mallard colored heads and blueheads have black heads so it is easier to tell them apart in sunlight.

 

[duckstogoaround]

Get ducks they are never aggressive, their egg has a bigger yolk and some breeds eat bugs like they have never eaten in their life time. My muscovies snatch bugs out of the air. I have turkeys, ducks and chickens but ducks are my personal favorite

Yes ducks are wonderful, especially muscvoies!! However whenever we throw spinach or anything in the air they fail in catching it though

 

[Julie Birb]

Yes it does.  I love my Oppoose.

Heehee. Yes. Oppoose! He is very oose.

 

[Duck Drover]

I love the Australian Spotted ducks more than any other breed I have raised. We have been breeding them for four years now so we have established a very nice flock with alot of genetic diversity and color variations. My daughter earned her Girl Scout Silver Award through her conservation efforts and she continues to educate people about the benefits of keeping backyard ducks. The Spots are excellent foragers and they are the best layers of the bantam breeds. Ours lay from February to October but we have even had eggs in November and December with our mild winters in the Pacific Northwest.

The Spots are very easy keepers and they are docile so they make great pet ducks. They have strong social bonds so they look out for each other. Then hens hatch and raise their own ducklings successfully when they are safe from predators, including crows when the ducklings are small. We hatch them with ease in our Little Giant styrofoam incubators. We started with greenheads and added blueheads and silverheads to our flock so we hatch all three colors. We sell the ducklings and we also raise up breeding pairs in order to start as many flocks as possible. I get requests to ship ducklings and adults all over tne country but I have not shipped any yet because there is always enough local demand for them.

We have a larger than planned flock this year because we wanted to raise up our blueheads and silverheads to choose the best breeders to keep. I am currently waiting for multiple surgeries that will keep me off my feet for awhile (I am already off my feet due to a torn tendon that needs surgical repair so I can walk again) so we are having someone else do our hatching for now. I am looking forward to hatching again once I am able to get back on my feet.

 

[Duck Drover]

This is a bluehead drake with a silverhead hen (taken in our bathtub, lol).

 

[Duck Drover]

This is a picture of a greenhead drake and greenhead hens I took last year for size comparison. The chicken hen is a blue Orpington. The drakes are more spotted with their second molt before going into eclipse.

 

[Duck Drover]

This is a bluehead duckling feathering out from its down color.