The Duck Breed Guide

The variety of duck breeds is astounding. Ducks come in every color, shape, pattern, and size you can imagine. When you first dive into the world of ducks, it can be difficult to decide which of these amazing breeds would be best for you.

Determine what you want out of your ducks:

Purpose—do you want eggs, meat, or pets? Do you want to preserve a rare breed, or bring your ducks to exhibitions? Do you just want a lawn ornament? Or do you want a breed that lays plenty of eggs, is big enough to provide meat, and makes a good pet?
Egg production—do you want 300 eggs a year, or are you okay with only 100?
Size—bantam, light, medium, or heavy? A two pound duck or a ten pound one?
Availability—which breeds are available in your area? If you’re in the US, for example, it may be impossible to find Abacot Rangers or Shetlands.
Popularity—do you want to preserve a rare breed, or do you want something that’s cheap and easy to find?
Flying—does it matter whether the breed can fly or not?
Foraging—do you need a breed that can find a good chunk of its own food?
Mothering—do you need a breed that will go broody, or one that won’t?
Personality—do you want a quiet, friendly, calm breed? Unfortunately, it’s difficult to go by blanket breed statements, because individuals vary so much.
And looks—do you like the looks of the breed?

Duck Breed Comparison Chart

Swipe to the side to see two more categories, “Flying” and “Mothering.” If you’re on a desktop computer, there is a scroll bar at the bottom of the chart to allow you to scroll horizontally to view the other categories.

Breed	Size	Utility	Eggs	Weight (lb)	Popularity	Flying	Mothering
Abacot Ranger	Light	Eggs	180-200	5.5-6.6	Rare	Poor	Good
Alabio	Light	Dual Purpose	200-250	3.3-4.4	Popular (Indonesia), Rare (Elsewhere)	Good	Good
Ancona	Medium	Dual Purpose	210-280	5-7	Watch	Poor	Good
Australian Spotted	Bantam	Exhibition/Pet	50-125	2-2.2	Critically Endangered	Good	Good
Aylesbury	Heavy	Meat	35-120	9-10	Critical	Poor	Fair
Bali	Light	Eggs/Ornamental	120-150	4-5	Endangered	Poor	Poor
Blue Swedish	Medium	Meat	100-150	7-9	Watch	Poor	Good
Buff Orpington	Medium	Dual Purpose	150-220	5-8	Threatened	Poor	Fair
Call	Bantam	Pet	25-75	1.2-1.6	Popular	Good	Excellent
Cayuga	Medium	Dual Purpose	100-150	7-8	Threatened	Poor	Good
Crested	Medium	Dual Purpose	100-150	6-7	Common	Poor	Good
Duclair	Medium	Meat	80-100	6-7	Rare	Poor	Good
Dutch Hookbill	Light	Eggs/Exhibition	100-200	3.5-5	Critical	Good	Good
East Indies	Bantam	Exhibition/Ornamental	25-75	1-2	Rare	Good	Good
Elizabeth	Light	Dual Purpose	100-150	2.75-4	Endangered	Good	Good
Indian Runner	Light	Eggs	150-300	3-4	Common	Poor	Fair
Khaki Campbell	Light	Eggs	250-340	4.5-5.5	Common	Poor	Fair
Magpie	Light	Eggs	220-290	4.5-7	Rare	Poor	Good
Mallard	Bantam	Ornamental	25-100	1.6-3.5	Common	Good	Excellent
Muscovy	Heavy	Meat	60-120	5.5-15	Common	Good	Excellent
Pekin	Heavy	Dual Purpose	125-225	8-13.5	Common	Poor	Poor
Rouen	Heavy	Meat	35-125	9-12	Common	Poor	Fair
Rouen Clair	Heavy	Dual Purpose	150-200	6-9	Rare	Poor	Fair
Saxony	Heavy	Dual Purpose	190-240	7-9	Threatened	Poor	Good
Shetland	Light	Eggs	150	4-4.4	Critically Endangered	Poor	Fair
Silver Appleyard	Heavy	Dual Purpose	200-270	7-9	Threatened	Poor	Good
Silver Appleyard Miniature	Bantam	Exhibition/Ornamental	60-160	2.5-3	?	Good	Good
Silver Bantam	Bantam	Exhibition/Ornamental	60-160	1.7-2	Rare	Good	Good
Welsh Harlequin	Light	Eggs	100-330	4.5-5.5	Rare	Poor	Good

Here’s a list of duck breeds with a link to a complete guide to each duck breed (although this list is still in progress and some breeds are missing). Click on a breed name to see pictures of the duck breed and read about its history, use, egg production, meat production, appearance, and more.

Abacot Ranger

Abacot Rangers are extremely rare, beautiful, dual-purpose light ducks. They’re not only extremely talented egg-layers, they’re also good for meat, good…

Alabio

The Alabio duck is one of the rarest duck breeds in the world. It is not globally recognized as a duck breed and is almost unheard of…

Ancona

The Ancona duck is a large dual-purpose duck breed that’s beautiful, friendly, excellent at foraging, and has recently been experiencing a surge…

Australian Spotted

Australian Spotted ducks are critically endangered and underappreciated, despite their beauty, friendliness, and adorable Call-like conformation…

Aylesbury

The Aylesbury is a large meat breed of duck developed in the town of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England in the 18th century. Their status is…

Bali

The Bali duck is an endangered, lightweight breed of duck that is something like a cross between a Runner and a Crested duck…

Blue Swedish

The Blue Swedish (or Swedish Blue) is an attractive dual-purpose duck breed that makes a perfect addition to any homestead, hobby farm, or backyard…

Buff Orpington

The Buff Orpington duck is the epitome of a dual-purpose duck. For someone looking for one single “do-it-all” breed, these would be one of my first…

Call

Sometimes Call ducks look more like stuffed toys than real birds. With their chubby cheeks, adorable short bills, dark button eyes, and plump round bodies, Call ducks can solidly stake their claim as the world’s cutest duck breed…

Cayuga

The Cayuga is almost unmistakable, with their solid black bills and feet, and solid black feathers that are a beautiful luminescent green in…

Duclair

The Duclair duck is an old French breed of duck that used to be an extremely popular meat bird, but is now difficult to find. Most Duclairs…

Dutch Hookbill

The most striking feature of the extremely rare Dutch Hookbill duck is, of course, its curved “Roman-nosed” bill. No other duck breed has…

East Indies

East Indies are relatively rare ducks and are primarily used as ornamental birds, exhibition birds, or pets. They are shyer and quieter than other…

Magpie

First documented in the early 1920s, the Magpie is a relatively modern breed with a lot to offer. They make fabulous dual-purpose homestead ducks, with…

Muscovy

The Muscovy is a very unique breed of duck. In fact, it’s not even a true duck – it’s simply called a duck. The Muscovy is to the duck world what the donkey…

Pekin

The Pekin duck. Oh, we’ve all seen the Pekin duck. Many “city people” and other laypeople have hardly seen any duck but the Pekin (and Mallard). They are the duck. The duck of all ducks…

Rouen Clair

This is not the Rouen. The Rouen Clair is a totally different breed that has slipped out of the spotlight. It doesn’t lay enough to be mentioned in any “best egg layers lists,”…

Saxony

The Saxony duck is a heavy dual-purpose duck breed that is considered one of the most beautiful breeds. Its status is threatened. They are…

Shetland

Shetland ducks are a small, critically endangered breed of duck, one of the rarest breeds in the world. They are so rare that there is currently no…

Silver Appleyard Miniature

As the name implies, the Silver Appleyard Miniature is a miniaturized bantam version of the Silver Appleyard duck. This rare duck breed was created in the 1980s…