The most common domestic duck with dark plumage is the white-breasted duck, which is a meat type. Due to its high productivity and unpretentiousness, black duck is considered one of the best varieties for growing in a private backyard. There are also wild species with dark plumage, they can be tamed, but this is not advisable. Due to low meat and egg productivity, wild duck can only be used as an ornamental species.
Peculiarities
Of the wild species with black plumage, the most common is the coot duck with a white spot on its forehead.The wild bird differs from its domestic white-breasted relative in its small body, strong lower limbs and desire to spend more time out of water. The white-breasted duck was bred through selective breeding, is characterized by rapid weight gain, and produces dietary meat. Three breeds were used in breeding work: Pekingese, Ukrainian and Khaki Campbell. The duck is characterized by early maturity, rapid maturation, high egg production, and large egg weight.
The white-breasted duck not only produces meat and eggs, its feathers are used to make bed linen. The breed is suitable for breeding work aimed at increasing fertility and meat productivity.
Other wild black species are easy to tame. But poultry farmers do not see the need for this. The wild duck weighs little and produces a small number of small eggs, so keeping it is unprofitable.
But some amateur birders breed wild waterfowl with black plumage for decorative purposes.
Varieties of black ducks
Each species has individual features of appearance and behavior that determine the use of the bird for decorative or industrial purposes. In order not to make a mistake with your choice, you should consider what the duck of each variety looks like and how productive it is.
Black white breasted
Large early maturing duck. By the age of 2 months it weighs 2 kg. The weight of an adult reaches 5 kg. Slaughter for meat is carried out on 60-65 days. Laying hens are kept for 2-3 seasons. Drakes are brighter colored than females, their plumage is greenish-purple, and their paws are closer to each other.
The external features and productive qualities of the black white-breasted breed are shown in the table.
| Size | 35-40 cm |
| Weight | 3-5 kg |
| Egg production | 120-160 eggs weighing 80-100 g per season |
| Color | solid black, with a white diffuse spot on the neck and chest; eyes, beak, paws black |
| Body type | large oval body, small head, medium-length neck, short wings, not spread, short tail |
Coot
The wild black duck, which belongs to the rail family, has an unusual physique: the legs are disproportionate to the body, large, with long fingers. Other names for the species are “kashkaldak”, “black white-billed duck”. The plumage is solid black, the beak and forehead are white, the irises of the eyes are red, the paws are orange with gray toes. An adult weighs 1.5 kg and grows up to 40 cm.
Sex differences are not pronounced. You can distinguish a female from a drake only by her voice; hers is louder and clearer. The duck lays 2-3 clutches per season, each containing up to 12 greenish-brown eggs. After 3 weeks, the ducklings hatch, quickly become independent, and after half a month they get their own food.
Mallard
The progenitor of all domestic breeds. The female is brown in color with a brown-gray belly. The drake is distinguished by its green head and neck, dark brown chest, and speckled gray back and belly. During the molting period, the male becomes black with a brown tint. Body length – 60 cm, weight – about 2 kg.
If the mallard does not migrate, it spends the winter on an unfrozen body of water. The nest is made on wooded or tall grassy banks of water bodies. Reaches sexual maturity by one year of age. In late spring it lays up to 13 olive-colored eggs. A month later, chicks appear, which, as soon as the body dries out, immediately show independence.
A relative of the mallard is the African black duck, which lives south of the Sahara. Its plumage is black with white spots on the tail and back, and is more intense in females.
Red-headed Pochard
Small wild duck. Length – up to 50 cm, weight – no more than 1.3 kg. The male has a brick-red head and neck, a gray back, a black body, a red iris, and a gray-black beak. The female is more modestly colored, the head and body are light brown. Voice – quiet whistling and wheezing. When walking, the duck waddles due to its paws set back, but it swims and dives excellently, and can stay under water for up to 20 seconds.
The duck does not always spend the winter in warm regions; it can remain on an unfrozen body of water. The nest is made in thickets of high semi-aquatic vegetation.Hatches 8-10 bluish-green eggs. After 23-25 days, ducklings appear, which become ready to fly after 2 months.
Gray-cheeked grebe
A compact duck with a straight yellow beak, a long red neck and a small head decorated with a black crest. The main color is black with a brown tint. The iris is reddish brown. The duck weighs up to 1 kg, body length - 40 cm. The species is rare, was almost exterminated by poachers, and is gradually being restored.
Selection rules
When choosing birds, take into account the purpose of home breeding, the whimsicality and productivity of the species. Almost all wild black species can be domesticated, but productivity leaves much to be desired and weight gain is poor. Therefore, wild blackleg is not of interest to poultry farmers.
For meat and egg production, only a large black duck with a white breast, which is valued for its rapid weight gain, is suitable. The African mallard lives well in captivity; it is unpretentious in care and nutrition.The coot is an untamed duck and can fly away at any moment. When purchasing ducklings for breeding, pay attention to their appearance. Birds must be healthy, mobile, without anatomical defects and bald spots on the body.
How are they kept?
Enough space is required to keep birds. At 1 m2 There should be no more than 3 birds in the poultry house. The floor in the duck's home is made of wood, straw or sawdust is used as bedding, laid in a layer of 20 cm, and changed regularly. The optimal summer temperature in the poultry house is 16-18 °C, winter – 14-16 °C. Air humidity – 60-70%.
The birds are fed according to a schedule, at the same time every day. A standard duck diet consists of:
- grains;
- bran;
- garden herbs, vegetables;
- algae;
- bone and fish meal;
- chopped fish;
- sources of minerals - chalk, shell rock, eggshells;
- vitamin supplements.
A fenced walking area must be organized near the poultry house. If there is no natural body of water nearby, then a large basin of water is placed in the pen. At night, the birds are locked in the poultry house.
