Crested Ducks

Crested Ducks have a feather puff on the top of their heads. Ideally, the puff should be like a round ball.

They can have feathers in many colours, though there are only two officially recognized varieties, White and Black.

The crest is caused by an incompletely dominant mutation gene. It causes a gap in the skull, from which a mass of fatty tissue emerges, and feathers grow from this. Sometimes the crests will be quite full, other times very skimpy.

Owing to the mutation, 25% of the eggs won't hatch, even though fertile. Of those that do, 25% of the ducklings won't have the crest and the remaining 50% will.

The ducklings grow quickly. Males weigh up to 7 pounds (3.2 kg); females up to 5.9 pounds (2.7 kg.)

These ducks are largely kept as pets. They are quiet, and novel to look at.

They can also be raised as a dual purpose duck for meat and eggs. If kept as a "working duck", though the meat is considered good, they tend to be kept more as layers / pets.

They are moderate layers of eggs, 100 to 130 eggs per year. The eggs weigh about 60g, with whitish shells. Occasionally the egg shells will be greenish.
There is no real country of origin for Crested Ducks. Britain is often shown as country of origin, but that is just because first official showing of them started there.

The mutation can occur in any duck breed (except Muscovy), but selective breeding over the centuries in many countries has increased the chances of crests occuring in this particular breed of duck.

The Crested Duck breed was admitted to the American Standard in 1874, and to the UK Standard in 1910.

Also called:

Abacot Ranger Ducks, Allier White Ducks, Ancona Ducks, Appleyard Ducks, Australian Spotted Ducks, Aylesbury Duck, Black East Indies Ducks, Bourbourg Duck, Call Ducks, Campbells Duck, Canvasback Duck, Cayuga Duck, Challans Duck, Coast Ducks, Crested Ducks, Danish Black White-Breasted Duck, Dark Rouen Duck, Duclair Ducks, Eider Ducks, Elizabeth Ducks, Estaires Duck, Forest Duck, Germanata Veneta Ducks, Gimbsheim Ducks, Golden Cascade Ducks, Gressingham Duck, Haut-Volant Ducks, Herve Ducks, Hook Bill Ducks, Huttegem Duck, Idegem Duck, Indian Runner Duck, Kaiya Duck, Laplaigne Ducks, Magpie Ducks, Magret, Merchtem Duck, Mini Ducks, Mule Duck, Muscovy Duck, Naked-Neck Ducks, Nantes Ducks, Orpington Ducks, Overberg Ducks, Pekin Duck, Pommern Ducks, Rouen Duck, Saxony Ducks, Semois Duck, Silky Ducks, Swedish Blue Duck, Swedish Yellow Duck, Termonde Duck, Tsaiya Duck, Vouillé Duck, Welsh Harlequin Ducks

Bustards, Chicken, Cornish Game Hen, Goose, Guinea Fowl, Parson's Nose, Poussin, Quail, Turkeys

Affettati, Beef, Goat, Minced Meat, Offal, Pork, Sausages, Sheep, Steak, Steak