Elizabeth duck

The Elizabeth is a breed of domestic duck, originating in Australia. They were developed as a small, fast growing meat breed in 1972 by Lance Ruting in Merrylands, New South Wales and named after his wife, Ann Elizabeth Ruting.[1] They are presently bred in Australia and New Zealand,[2] but are not wildly available[3][4] and classified as endangered by the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia.[5]

They come in only one colour and they are described as short, with a broad chest and round breast, slightly short legs and round head. Males have a glossy green head which ends at a white ring. Chest feathers claret coloured feathers and bordered in cream, off-white underbelly, charcoal grey feathers on back also ringed with white, solid black rump and dull black-brown tail. Females are fawn coloured, with brown marks in the center of each feather on the majority of the body. Off-white primaries spotted with grey, and blue-green secondary flight feathers. For both genders they have grey bills, dark brown eyes and bronze legs.[1] Ducks of the breed are reported to be able to lay between one hundred and one hundred fifty eggs per year.[4]

According to The Backyard Duck Book, the pedigree and status of the breed are controversial, and animals of the breed are sometimes not allowed to be shown.[4] The duck could, though, be a domesticated hybrid of the Rouen Clair duck and Mallard duck.[6]

References

  1. 1 2 Australian Poultry Standards (2nd ed.). Ballarat, Vic.: Victorian Poultry Fanciers Association Limited. 2011. pp. 259–260. ISBN 9781921488238.
  2. ↑ "Ducks". rarebreeds.co.nz. Rare Breeds Conservation Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  3. ↑ "Duck breeds". seqwa.net. South East Queensland Waterfowl Association. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Murtagh, Nyiri (2012-01-01). The Backyard Duck Book: For the Love of Ducks. Csiro Publishing. pp. 32–33. ISBN 9780643106512.
  5. ↑ "Status of Rare Breeds of Domestic Farm Livestock in Australia 2004" (PDF). rbta.org. Rare Breeds Trust of Australia. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  6. ↑ "Elizabeth Duck". Modern Farming Methods. ROYSFARM. 2016-07-24. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
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