Rouen Ducks

The Rouen has gone by a few contested names. Initially it was named after “Rhone”, an area in France known for its food and wine (though what part of France is not known for its local cuisine!) during the early 1800’s. “Roan” was its name for a while as it referenced the mixing of colored and gray plumage. It’s believed that the name “Rouen” was finally selected by the people of Normandy for the city of Rouen.

The Rouen breed was the national standard for a meat bird until the Pekin was introduced in 1873. The Rouen was then added to the American Poultry Association Standard of Perfection in 1874.

Rouen ducks come in two varieties: the regular utility duck, which we have, and the large Standard duck, which we do not.

The Standard Rouen is much larger than our Rouens at about 9-10 pounds. They are the only Rouen of the two types that are successfully shown at fairs and competitions. Their bodies are much larger in length and depth to the point they almost drag on the ground. As their keel drags on the ground, they are more difficult to keep clean and they do much less foraging than a utility Rouen.

Our utility Rouens are bought for many purposes. Averaging at 5-7 pounds, they are known to have excellent meat. They are great egg layers at about 140-180 eggs per year. Their fertility is about 89% and they make excellent broody mothers. For those interested, about 35% of females lay bluish eggs.

And if none of that interests you, many people buy them as they make great pets. While their personalities are quite calm, the reason most buy them as pets is due to their vibrant coloring. While the female has a mottled pattern of various browns for her plumage and a dusty orange bill, the male is the showstopper with his gray body, white collar, green head, and yellow bill. Finally, both males and females possess a vibrant blue stripe on their wings.

Do keep in mind that the coloring of the male is dependent on age. The Rouen male will look exactly like the female for roughly the first 12 weeks of life. At week 12, their gray bodies, white collars, chestnut chest, and green heads will slowly start to come in over the course of about 3 weeks.

It is due to their coloring that many can easily mistake Rouens for Mallards. Truly, the only differences between a Mallard and a Rouen are that Rouens are bigger and flightless. For those wanting the aesthetic of a Mallard, but don’t want them to fly or need to trim their wings, a Rouen is the best answer.

One thing the Rouen has over the Mallard, however, is that they are not restricted within the United States. Florida has banned the importation of Mallards as they do not want them breeding with their native black duck. This means that any Floridians looking for a substitute for the Mallard should be quite happy with a Rouen.

Rouen ducklings!

Breed	Temperament	Weight	Egg Production	Mothering	Bluish Eggs	Egg Size
Rouen	Calm	5 - 7.25 pounds	140-180/year	Good	35%	80-95 grams
Fertility	APA Class	Foraging Ability	Conservation Status	Our Show Quality	Flying Ability	Origin
87%	Heavy	Good	Plenty	Not for Exhibition	Maybe	France

Mallard Ducks

The most popular and well-known duck is probably the Mallard. They can be found just about anywhere in the world. Mallards are so common that when most think of a duck, they imagine a Mallard.

The Mallard is the origin of all domestic duck breeds other than the Muscovy. According to Charles Darwin, of all wild ducks, only the male Mallard has the distinctive curl in the tail feathers. As all male domestic ducks have these curly feathers, he came to the conclusion that all domestic breeds originated from the Mallard. From the big, meaty Pekin to the skinny, upright Runner duck - their ancestor is the Mallard breed.

They are a very popular hunting bird as they are so abundant throughout the US. Their meat is considered very flavorful.

They can lay between 60 to 120 eggs a year on a farm. In the wild they will lay 10-15 eggs in a nest. If their first brood is raised early or their nest is destroyed, they can lay a second set of eggs. Compared to domestic breeds their egg production is low, but their fertility is one of the best we have - about 90%.

Mallards are beautiful birds. Females are a speckled brown, but the males sport striking green heads, a white collar around the neck, gray on the belly, and cinnamon chests when they are adults. However, until males start to get their colorful feathers at 12 weeks of age, they are the same coloring as the females. By 16 weeks the males are fully feathered and retain these colors until the end of the breeding season when they molt into more drab, less brightly colored feathers. After 3-4 months, their beautiful feathers grow back and these are retained until their molt the next summer.

Today, the Mallard is considered an invasive wild species in some areas as it is able to mate with other indigenous ducks thereby producing new hybrids and eventually diluting the pure native breed until purebreds are rare. Wildlife authorities in both Hawaii and Florida do not allow the importation of Mallards in fear of them hybridizing their native duck population. In Hawaii, the native duck is the Koloa duck which is on the endangered list, and in Florida it is the Mottled duck.

The vast majority of wild Mallards migrate. In the summer they can be found in the northern parts of the US and all of Canada. When fall arrives and food becomes scarce, they fly south to more temperate climates such as the southern US and parts of Mexico. Come spring, they again return to their nesting grounds.

This migration pattern can be divided in to four different flyways or flight paths: Pacific, Central, Mississippi, and Atlantic Flyways. Scientists believe they use a combination of polarized light, stars, and landmarks to find their way during migration. Nature’s own GPS!

There are, of course, exceptions. There are plenty of areas that do not have a winter - where the water does not freeze over and there are enough food resources year round. In these areas many Mallards decide to take up year round residence. This includes Hawaii’s Koloa and Florida’s Mottled ducks which are both categorized as non-migratory.

If you release Mallards that have not been hatched and grown in the wild, it is highly unlikely they will migrate. Studies show they go no further than five miles from where they were released. Though your released birds may fly away, the Mallard’s ability to fly and escape predators makes them much more likely to survive than any domestic ducks released into ponds and streams. If, however, you do not want your Mallards to fly, you can trim their wing feathers as show in our feather trimming blog post.

Mallards are beautiful birds. Enjoy them in your pen, barnyard, garden or pond.

Breed	Temperament	Weight	Egg Production	Mothering	Bluish Eggs	Egg Size
Mallard	Calm	2.25-2.5 pounds	60-120/year	Very Good	70%	65-75 grams
Fertility	APA Class	Foraging Ability	Conservation Status	Our Show Quality	Flying Ability	Origin
90%	Bantam	Very Good	Abundant	Too "Chunky"	Very Good	Native to North America

How Do We Know Pekins Originate from Wild Mallards?

We have read that all domestic ducks (with the exception of Muscovy) originate from wild Mallards.  But how do we know that?

Charles Darwin wrote in 1883 that the middle four tail feathers curl upward in the males of only one breed of wild duck, the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos).  This characteristic of a curly feather on the male is in all domestic ducks.  He felt, therefore, there was little doubt that the wild Mallard was the parent of all breeds of domestic duck.

                                       Notice the black, curly feather on the male's tail.


Are there similarities in growth, maturation and body composition between Mallards and domestic ducks?  Yes. 

• The maturation rate of Mallards and domestic ducks is very similar.  Both can lay their first eggs at about 20 weeks of age. 
• In commercial breeder operations the ratio of males to females is also very similar - about five females to every male to maintain peak fertility.
• Both Mallards and domestic ducks achieve mature body weight by about 12 weeks of age when both their primary and secondary wing feathers are mature.

                                Note the white, curly feather on the male Pekin duck.


In the wild, a female Mallard does not actively feed her ducklings and she may travel great distances to find feed.  The ducklings must feed themselves and keep up.  Therefore, thigh and leg muscle and bone, along with webbed feet, must develop rapidly to not only travel looking for food but to swim and escape predators.  Mallards and Pekins are very similar as theynormally achieve 80% of the mature weight and length of leg bones and muscle by 28 days of age!  They need these legs early!

On the other hand, breast meat weight, as a percentage of adult weight, is less than 20% by 28 days!  This is not surprising as Mallards don't have mature feathers until they are 12 weeks of age so there is no rush to get a large breast for flying until then. Pekins are also slow in breast meat development.

If you think of all the variety of domestic ducks, from the large Pekin to the slim, upright Runner, it is astounding that they all originate from the wild Mallard.  A great deal of genetic work has occurred over the hundreds of years to achieve such a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes.

Much of this information came from an excellent book I just received,  Domestic Duck Production - Science and Practice.   I have ordered ten copies from the publisher in England and will blog its availability once it arrives.  It is written for the commercial egg and meat producer but has fascinating background information on ducks, too.

Clipping Duck and Goose Wings to Prevent Flight

Originally posted by John Metzer on Fri, Feb 11, 2011 @ 04:20 PM 

Clipping the wings of your birds is really very simple.  Some things to keep in mind:

1)Clip only one wing.  This keeps them off balance when they try to fly.
2)Leave 3-4 of the large flight feathers at the tip of the wing.  By leaving these feathers, the wing looks more normally when it is folded against the body.
3)Use heavy scissors or tin snips.
4)Clip within 1-2 inches of the skin.

Mallard wing before clipping.

Mallard wing after clipping.

Right wing has been clipped on this male mallard duck.

Embden wing before clipping.

Embden wing after clipping.

By leaving a few feathers at the tip of the wing, it appears more normal.
The left wing was clipped on this Embden goose.

Keep in mind that ducks and geese go through several sets of feathers as they mature.  For ducks, wait until they are at least 15 weeks of age and geese 17 weeks of age before you clip the feathers.  At that point they will have their final set of feathers.

Feather clipping needs to be done annually.  Depending on your location, adult waterfowl molt and grow a new set of feathers in the summer or fall.  When you start seeing feathers on the ground from their molting, keep a careful watch.  You don't want them to fully develop their feathers and discover they can again fly before you clip the wings!

The only ducks we have that fly easily are the Mallards.  I have read of all breeds of geese flying except the Super African, Large Dewlap Toulouse and Sebastopol.  Of course the Canada are very capable of flight.