Ducks Breeds A-Z
Aylesbury
Feature by Rachel Sibbert
Photo Credit: Britannic Rare Breeds
Uses: Exhibition Utility Meat
Eggs: 40 to 120 white Eggs
Origin: Aylesbury UK
Weight: Drake 5kgs. Duck 4.5Kg
Classification: Heavy
Not all white ducks are Aylesbury Ducks.
Many white ducks that people see are hybrid crosses.
Welcome to the Aylesbury.
The Aylesbury Duck is a breed of domesticated duck, bred mainly for its meat and appearance.
Photo credit: http://www.rr-heartland.de/en/node/75
5 week old ducklings
History
The Aylesbury duck originates from the early 18th Century from the town of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England where it became a profitable cottage industry supplying the demands of London’s Markets.
Photo credit: Domestic Waterfowl Club
Originally called ‘White English’ until 1815 where they were known as Aylesbury Ducks. The most popular area in Aylesbury where the ducks were reared (and also one of the poorest) became known as ‘Duck End’.
The ducks often lived inside the cottages of their owners, which made conditions particularly unsanitary.
The Aylesbury was popular for its meat as a table duck in the capital due to its white carcass.
The feathers of the Aylesbury were used extensively in quilts and bedding.
White ducks were preferred by most people.
The ducks were walked to the London markets about 40 miles (64 km) south, a difficult job in itself! The feet of the birds were protected before leaving by driving the ducks across a ditch filled with a cold tar solution which made their feet sticky, then they were walked through sawdust which stuck to the tar on their feet. They would stop overnight at inns which provided enclosures in their yards for the cost of a few birds. In 1839 the Cheddington to Aylesbury railway line made transport easier and the trade flourished.
Breeding Tips
Kept as pairs or alternatively trios ..depending upon the drakes energy levels.
They are one of the larger duck breeds and as such must have good access to water for mating on as they are too heavy and ungainly to mate successfully on land.
For good fertility they need a rich and varied diet with plenty of greens as they are not as hardy as the other large breed possibly through a narrower gene pool due to their popularity as an exhibition bird.
*** Young birds drop in depth with age so watch from the middle aged sag in very elderly birds as they spend considerable time swimming . . ie they need water deep , clean and little mud.
An Aylesbury duckling incubates in the egg for 28 days.
Until eight weeks after hatching, the time of their first moult, ducks and drakes (females and males) are almost indistinguishable.
After moulting, males have two or three curved tail feathers and a fainter, huskier quack than the female.
Genetic profile/Gene
White bill and skin/symbol Y Characteristic of the Aylesbury. Causes skin and bill and skin be pink or white.. ie this is what defines the correct pure Aylesbury from the hybrid commonly known as an Aylesbury duck.
