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Aylesbury
Ducks;
'The white Aylesbury duck is, and
deservedly, a universal favourite. Its snowy plumage and
comfortable comportment make it a credit to the
poultry-yard, while its broad and deep breast, and its ample
back, convey the assurance that your satisfaction will not
cease at its death' So wrote Mrs Beeton in her 'Book of
Household Management', published in 1861.
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Names
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Also known as Les carnard du Nord in
France/ Les canards du Mertchem in Belgium
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Country Of Origin;.
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........ England
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Carriage;
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deep keel
which makes it difficult for this type to
successfully mate naturally without a deep
pond
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Purpose;...
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.......Eggs..Meat...Broody...a good utility
duck
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Egg Colour
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; ...................white ..large (
often blue in the USA)
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Egg Numbers
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.............35-125
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Breed Defects. .
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Plumage other
than white. Bill other than white (flesh
pink).Heavy droopy behind.
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Flying .
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rarely flies
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Breed Hints....
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Kept as trio or pair .. will go
broody and hatch
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Weights;
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9 to 12 pounds
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Breed Tip
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****They
should be of horizontal carriage with a keel
that is parallel to the ground.The
bill is pinkish
white or flesh coloured NOT ORANGE THAT IS A
COMMERCIAL X. ie
Plumage white .Legs orange.
There are two types
of Aylesbury- exhibition and utility. The
exhibition bird has a very deep keel which
makes it difficult for this type to
successfully mate naturally.
The commercial type
Aylesbury is able to mate naturally,
especially if the birds are protected against
obesity by being allowed to be active. and is
in effect an Aylesbury /Pekin crossbreed with
occasional nasty temperaments as found in
'meat' breeds destined for a short life.. can
be nasty to other ducks
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Breeding Tip
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Kept as pairs or alternatively trios
..depending upon the drakes energy
levels.They are one of
the larger duck breeds and as such must have
good access to water for mating on as they
are too heavy and ungainly to mate
successfully on land. For good fertility they
need a rich and varied diet with plenty of
greens as they are not as hardy as the other
large breed possibly through a narrower gene
pool due to their popularity as an exhibition
bird.
Young birds drop in
depth with age so watch from the middle aged
sag in very elderly birds as they spend
considerable time swimming . . ie they need
water
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Genetic profile
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Gene :White bill and skin
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symbol Y
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Characteristic of the Aylesbury. Causes skin
and bill to and skin be pink or white.. ie this
is what defines the correct pure Ayleabury from
the hybrid commonly known as an Aylesbury duck
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HISTORY;
According to Lewis
Wright in the 188o's the AYLESBURY ducks should be
of the purest white with a bill set well up on the skull
and the beak almost in a line from the top of the head to
the tip (similar to the Runner) and of a delicate flesh
colour . Although pure ducks exist and are thriving as a
breed most of those that the general public perceives as
an Aylesbury are commercial meat crosses which are
frequently pictured in children's story books.
Historically they
were walked from the Vale of Aylesbury to London (40
miles max). Each of the inns they stopped the night at
allowed the birds to be kept in large enclosed yards and
in the morning the birds were driven through a cold
sticky tarry solution in a shallow ditch and then through
a layer of sawdust. This made somewhat crude shoes to
protect their feet for the day and the next night this
was repeated with a charge of a few birds at each stop.
The alternative was to try to camp on the common or
'waste' and stop the local poachers from removing a few
for the pot.
The breed is thought
to have evolved during the early years of the eighteenth
century by selective breeding of the common duck, usually
brown or grey in colour but occasionally white. Breeders
were aware that the London dealers had a preference for
white plumage, the feathers being popular on the
continent as quilt-filling and the pale pink skin of a
plucked white bird is somewhat more attractive than the
yellow of coloured ducks.
Prior to 1839, the
ducklings if not "walked" were transported to London by
packhorse or carrier's wagon, the opening of the branch
railway line from Cheddington to Aylesbury in that year
providing a boost to the industry. J. K. Fowler, writing
in 1850, tells us 'oftentimes in the spring, in one
night, a ton weight of ducklings from six to eight weeks
old are taken by rail from Aylesbury and the villages
round to the metropolis'. Throughout the nineteenth
century the main market for duck meat was provided by the
wealthy people of London, very little of it being sold
locally. Aylesbury ducks start laying eggs in early
November, the two month old ducklings coming to market
from February whereas the Rouen, its main competitor,
began laying in February, coming to market as a six-month
old bird in the last three months of the year. Peak
season for Aylesburys was therefore late March and early
April, the Rouen being geared for autumn and
Christmas.
The number of
establishments in Aylesbury began to decline after 1850
due to a number of factors, including the introduction of
sanitary regulations which made duck rearing in cottages
difficult. The deterioration in the quality of soil in
Aylesbury following many years of duck raising has also
been given as a contributory factor.
Bibliography: The
Aylesbury Duck by Alison Ambrose, published
1991.
young birds not to full size note bill
colour and pronounced keel
AYLESBURY;
....these will be
the giant exhibition birds that are now very rare NOT the
cheap commercial meat
hybrids
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Rinke Beikenbosch
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HOLLAND
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Tel 010 501 7787
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Colin Dick
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Scotland
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01721 752 297
http://www.ducksforfun.co.uk
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HICKS WATERFOWL WORLD
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OSWESTRY
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Tel 01691 655 635
weekends
Tel 07818 036 118
weekdays
grahamhickss@hotmail.co.uk
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Alan McKee
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ANTRIM
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Tel 02825 651 284
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Paul Meatyard
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SOMERSET
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Tel 01749 812 758
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Darrel Sheraw
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PENN:. USA
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001 814 745 2941
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Links;
............
http://www.feathersite/Poultry/Ducks/Ayles/BRKAyles.html...Feathersite
.................http://www.myweb.tiscali.co.uk/jim55/aylesburies.htm...............pics
...............http://www.iwight.com/branstonefarm/ducks.asp.............IOW
pics etc
**Standards used are
the Poultry Club of Great Britain pub 1998**
Please note that photographs and text on this
site belong to the Domestic Waterfowl Club of Great Britain.
They should not be reprinted (commercially) without prior
permission but are freeely available for educational
purposes and can be printed up for classroom use; we do not
have printed fact sheets/booklets for sale etc but can
occasionally email uncompressed digital images
email rosking@domestic-waterfowl.co.uk
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