Breeds Of Duck We Farm (Based on 2017 Breeding Stock)
The Muscovy -
One of the first breeds of duck we ever farmed was the Muscovy. They are great pets and reasonable egg layers, laying up to 160 eggs per year. Muscovy is also the healthiest duck meat on the market, it is 98 or greater fat free.Due to their large size, they are great table birds. The fleshy, red bits on their faces are called caruncles and they are the same type of flesh the turkey has on its face. The Muscovy does not quack (making the bird the ideal backyarder as it does not annoy the neighbours) but a quiet, friendly hiss, like a goose. In the breeding season, the female will make a 'pip' sound and her caruncles will turn a lighter shade of red, sometimes orange. The Muscovy is a natural hybrid of a turkey, goose, duck and chicken, so inherites many of these qualities. It swims like a duck, hisses like a goose, roosts like a chicken and has caruncles like a turkey. Every domestic specie of duck is related to the Mallard apart from the Muscovy, so this bird is unique. The Latin name is Cairina Moschata.
If you have any questions about the Muscovy please email Upper Brook House Farm on [email protected]. These ducks can be kept semi-wild (feral) or domestic.
If you have any questions about the Muscovy please email Upper Brook House Farm on [email protected]. These ducks can be kept semi-wild (feral) or domestic.
The Mallard -
The Mallard is the original duck you see on the local duck ponds. The male has a green-ish head and the female is completely brown. They are great as ornamental birds and can be tamed so can also be used as pets although they only lay around 20 eggs a year. They are great as table birds. We only sell these as day-olds, week-olds and poults (5-6 weeks). Please check our 'For Sale' page to check if we currently have any avaliable. If you have any questions about the Mallard please email Upper Brook House Farm on [email protected] .
The Buff Duck
The Buff Orphington Duck (often referred to as the Buff Duck, Orphington Duck or simply 'Buffies' are a large specie of duck which lay 220+ eggs per year. They are also great table birds and excellent pets as they tame easily. These birds will first be avaliable next year (2018) as we only bought our first clutch at 5 weeks old on 29/7/2017. They are unable to fly so you do not have to clip their wings. They need swimming water, like all ducks, but this could just be a large but shallow water container: they only need enough to bathe their head and nostrils in.
The Mandarin
The Mandarin is a very beautiful specie of ornamental waterfowl that originated from Asia. The male is more colourful and the female is a brown-ish bird with white eye markings. Currently we have no mandarin ducks for sale, as they are very popular. We have no more hatchings planned for the Mandarin this year. If you have any questions about the Mandarin, please email Upper Brook House Farm on [email protected] .
The Call Duck
The Call Duck is an adorable little bird, weighing a mere 800g! They are lovely, sweet little birds and make great pets as they are the easiest to tame. You can tame them in a matter of hours. They will produce a good amount of eggs for their keeper, around 100 eggs a year. Due to their size, they are not suitable for meat. However, they are a firm favourite in poultry shows. The Call Duck comes in many colours, the most common white, but we raise a rarer colour called the Yellow Belly. It has striking markings when it is an adult. Next year, (2018) we are looking into purchasing another colour of Call Duck named the Blue Bibbed (please see 'What we hope to get in 2018' for more information). If you wish to know more about this sweet little bird contact Upper Brook House Farm by emailing [email protected] .