Cayuga

I have 2 cayuga ducks who are 7 weeks old, and i've raised them since they were just 3 days old. I have put a lot of time into hand rearing them and as a result they let me pet them on the beak, their chest, they sit on the decking waiting for me to come outside, they even let me rub their heads (which they love as they drift off to sleep). they can quack loud but not constantly. I think all ducks are naturally skittish, but if you spend a lot of time with them and get them from a very young age, it wont happen immediately but they very capable of bonding and trusting you

I decided to get a Cayuga duck because I thought it would be quiet. Turns out, they are LOUD ducks. My girl quacks nonstop and it is very loud. I live in a HOA community, but thankfully I haven’t been caught yet. On the other hand, she loves to come over and see what I am doing. When I dump the pool to wash and refill it she’s right next to me playing in the muddy water. However, when I reach down to try and touch her she runs into her house. Overall, she has lots of personality but I wouldn’t recommend Cayugas if you want a quiet duck. Maybe the males are quieter, but definitely not the females.

I have one Cayuga duck and one Cayuga drake. They are both great additions to my flock. The drake is a great watchful eye over my mixed flock of ducks. While everyone is napping, he always has one eye open. My Cayugas are the most skittish of the breeds. The drake won't let you touch him ever. My Cayuga duck will allow gentle petting if food is involved. They both will eat out of my hand. They are calm around my kids (ages 2-9) and will walk with us around the tank water. When humans go swimming, they will keep a small distance to people they're unfamiliar with. My duck will lay 7 days a week for 3 weeks, then nothing for about a week, then again for 3 weeks. The eggs are off-white, almost a light gray. The eggs are larger than chicken eggs but smaller than Pekin duck eggs. My Cayugas did well through the Texas winter. They went to water regardless of weather. My drake survived a tussle with a dog and healed well without intervention. I would say they are definitely a hardy breed. My Cayugas (along with the rest of the flock) are trained to come when I call. They are sticklers for routine and will naturally come out of the tank for dinner feed and to be put up for the night. If I need to put them up earlier, all I have to do is call. My Cayuga female is a dark brown/black with a beautiful beetle-green sheen in the sunlight. Her beak is black and feet are gray/black. My Cayuga drake is a beautiful green on his head and neck and then turns to a sheen over dark feathers on his body. His beak is a dirty yellow (it was black in infancy) and his feet are gray/black. Both duck and drake have purple/blue/green splashes on their wings. Their coloring are very iridescent and very beautiful.

Keep in mind that I only speak from the experience of hatching 12 Cayugas, 10 of which were drakes. We have never raised other breeds of duck, only chickens. All our poultry have free-ranged.

Our hatching experience with Cayugas was beyond excellent and they were adorable, sweet ducklings. Their first few weeks were really fun and rewarding.

After we moved them outdoors...not so much.

Ours weren't as noisy as some others have complained about, thankfully. But oh, the mess! Our free-range Cayugas had free access to 5 acres but they still tore up the area around their swimming pool.

I'd never eaten duck eggs before and discovered that I much prefer the milder eggs of chickens, so the fact that most of our duck flock was males didn't bother me. Beautiful, beautiful plumage on our healthy birds, but the fact that they wouldn't interact with us like the chickens do just didn't make up for their beauty.

The biggest issue was that we never once saw any instinctive response to the presence of hawks or bald eagles, who (would have) licked their lips (if they had them), and said, "Yum! Succulent and easy prey!!!" Maybe female Cayugas have a better track record, or ones from different genetic stock? But I now look at wild mallards and wonder, if all ducks have the lack of sense of our Cayugas, how is it that ducks are not extinct? Not a single one of our chickens, who naturally freeze any time ANYTHING soars overhead (be it a raptor or an airplane), has ever been eagle food.

I really want to love Cayugas but respectfully leave them to those who do. They are truly beautiful birds.

I have eight cayuga, six males and two females. I wanted to give an idea to those thinking about getting cayugas what they're like.
They loved the snow storm this winter. I spent a sleepless night worried about them only find them happily setting in the snow. When they got to cold, or to much snow on them they went to their shed and ate. They even took baths and played in the snow and mud puddles. They sleep most of the day and run around the yard half the night. They get along with my two pekin ducks and don't mind the chickens and the cats. I keep all dogs out of the yard. They don't like being "caged" but are fine with a well fenced yard. They run from my two year old nephew. They have never been aggressive, but they don't want to snuggle and petted either.

We love our Cayuga pair...They are so unique and unusual that everyone who visits wants one. They have soft voices, and hilarious attitudes. They are also very entertaining, especially when in water.

They only quack when they want food or if one gets isolated from the flock, other than that they are very quiet ducks. I raised mine from ducklings and trained them to eat from my hand so they are pretty friendly and easy to catch. When I was looking at different duck breeds I considered Cayuga and Ancona and I'm glad I chose Cayuga. Mine really are the stereotypical Cayugas, Calm and Quiet. I hope this review will help people with their decision of duck breed(s).

Amazing animal!! Friendly and tolorant.

I love my Cayuga drake named Charlie, hes the prettiest out of my 3 drakes, but he does have a bad habit of pecking my leg when i walk away, funny thing is all i have to do is turn around and he stops and wags his little tail. I got him along with my other drakes as ducklings.

"Ducky" our Cayuga is my favorite out of all our ducks (we have pekins, rouens, and muscovys). She follows me everywhere and even comes running when I yell to her. She will even snuggle me. She gets along great with our other ducks but is always the first one to great me at the door. Very personable and easy going. If I leave her by herself she can get upset but quickly comes running to either myself or the other ducks.

When I got my first pair of Cayuga's, I instantly fell in love, they are extremely cute as ducklings and beautiful as adults. My Cayuga's are my #1 favorite ducks, and I would recommend them to anyone!!!

i had a cayuga, his name was Gizmo. he was so sweet! i raised him since he was a duckling, at my county fair he was reserve champion waterfowl. i had to sell him at the fair because i cant keep them over the winter, i purchased him at my feed store, with 3 other ducks, i think over all they are awesome birds!

I have a Cayuga duck named Sue. I got her when she was a day old, and now she is a little over 2 months old. I have her as a house duck, along with a Pekin duck. She is very friendly once you gain her trust. She also follows me wherever I go, comes when ever I yell her name, and stops whatever she is doing whenever I call her. She also loves kisses and hugs. Whenever I sit down she walks on my lap and asks for my attention. The only thing I have to complain about her is that she is very dependent on me. She gets upset when I leave or whenever I have to take her friend away for whatever reason. I don't mind that, I spend about 6 hours a day with her and the Pekin. I highly recommend a Cayuga duck to someone.

I live on a lake, lots of wild ducks go there and I thought i was the only one with domestic ducks. but, at a boat launch,there was a black dot shaped coming. It was a duck. A Cayuga. Small and all alone it followed us. Everyone thought it was an Indian Runner Duck, but it wasn't. We named him Runner because of that and the fact that he ran a lot.SHE got chased many times when she first entered but everyone warmed up to her.She liked to be pet and followed anyone with food.

The first poultry i ever got was 4 little Cayuga ducklings. they were sweet, adorable, and fun. one didn't reach adulthood, and another got taken by a coon, so we ordered 4 more cayuga's along with some rouens, khaki campbells, and pekins, but they remained our favorites. They laid quite a few eggs, and love following us around the yard. they were super friendly, and loved to come and lay nearby. They didn't mind being held, and absolutely loved worms and snails!! It is really fun when they start turning white...they get really interesting and colorful! I would say they are the quietest breed i have owned other than the muscovies. overall a great breed, and i would recommend it to anyone getting ducks!!

I have had my Cayuga since day 2, and they still will barly eat from my hand, and when I try t do "check ups" they go nuts. unlike my pekins I have had since they were a month old. but they are very beautiful, and can not fly very high. Not nearly as loud as my pekins. Only thing I could improve on them is their tameness. I was around them everyday and they still run.

Hyzenthlay, my young Cayuga hen, is my flightiest and loudest duck. She is too young to lay. She is very pretty, but does not like to be touched.