Duclair duck | Breed Profile | Top 10 Individual Facts

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History
General Characteristics
Personality and behavior
Attributes
Variation
Uses
Feed
Egg
Tabular Summary
Gallery

History Of The Duclair Duck

Originating from France, the Duclair duck is a dual purpose domestic duck breed named after the town of Duclair in Normandy, where it was developed. Duclair duck is a type of Rouen duck and is also described as being similar and/or bearing striking resemblance to the Swedish Blue. People have trouble telling the difference between the two breeds of duck Official standards were established for the Duclair on the 23rd of November, 1923.

Duclairs were originally bred and domesticated from flocks of migrating ducks passing through northern France. The French heritage breed has further been perfected in New York State.

Other names:
Canard Duclair in French and Duclair Enten in German.

General Characteristics of The Duclair Duck

Duclair ducks are a medium sized duck breed. There are two color varieties of the Duclair duck; the black and the blue colored duclair. Both varieties have a single white feather and a white dib on each wing. Some farmers described the Duclair duck as a ‘classic manky Mallard‘ that portrays a green head and white bibs. They are vigorous and hardy with strong legs and a black, solid brown or even a blue-grey body.

Females:

They have an average body weight of about 2.5 kg (5.5pounds). Females are a bit smaller than stakes in size.

Males:

They have an average weight of about 3 kg (6.6 pounds). Duclair drakes have rounded heads.

Personality And Behaviour Of The Duclair Duck

The Duclair Duck is a free range duck breed as it is a marvelous forager. It is very easy to produce the Duclair duck on a large scale, unlike the crested duck. The practical fear of losses due to susceptibility can be safely ignored, since the Duclair Duck can tolerate diverse habitats and much so, is also less prone to physical injuries as compared to the crested duck.

The Duclair duck is a good beginner’s duck, due to it’s tame and very calm personality. They are a good option if you want to have it as a pet. Also, they are friendly and non-aggressive in general. They also are effective foragers and are great at slugs, snails and all round slug control.

Attributes:

Duclair ducks see in color with an excellent vision and can see well underwater. Duclair ducks have three eyelids with the third found on the side of the eye. The third eyelid is called the nictitating membrane.

When ever Duclair Ducks fly and/or swim under water, they blink their eyelid. This acts as a windshield wiper to clear the eye; which helps them see when diving under water and also helps the eye from drying out while flying. The act of eyelid blinking constantly cleans and keeps the eye moist.

Duclair Duck Variations

Duclairs are white and look smaller but very similar to Pekins. They have large dark eyes with orange bills and legs. The original French Duclairs are mostly colored in black or blue with a white bib, however this particular strain is bred to be all white. This particualr reason is because, breeders want to make processing easier and to get truly beautiful table birds.

Duclair Duck Uses And Benefits

Duclairs are mainly grown for their meat, the flavor of which has been described as complex, rich, and earthy. These ducks are in highly valued by chefs and gourmets. They grow quick; by 7 to 12 weeks of age they should weigh between 5 and 6 pounds and be should ready for processing. Asides from their meat production, Duclairs are also very good layers. They lay about 80-100 eggs or more per year; the eggs are beautiful, green-colored, and large.

Duclair ducks are considered excellent for roast duck, and are considered table ready at 8 weeks old.

What The Duclair Duck Feeds On

Duclair duck has a very flexible food diet since the bird is an omnivore. Factors that include the availability of nutrients, short term variations of the food available, its stage of the breeding cycle are responsible for causing variations in the Duclair Ducks normal diet. The Duclair duck mainly feeds off invertebrates such as, flies, beetles, caddisflies, dragonflies, worms, gastropods, and a wide range of crustaceans.

Watch this video on YouTube

Duclair Duck Egg

A Duclair duck egg in nutritional value and shelf life will stay fresh longer because of their thicker shell and also have more nutrients than the chicken egg.
Duclair duck eggs are richer with more Albumen which makes the cakes and pastries richer and fluffier – to the chefs. The Egg has more Omega 3 fatty acids than a chicken egg. Omega 3 improves skin, memory, and brain health. Also, Duclair duck Eggs are an Alkaline producing food and a Chicken egg is an acid food and leaves your body more acid. They are high in cholesterol and have 6 times the Vitamin D and 2 times the Vitamin A than a chicken egg. Duclair duck eggs have 2 times the cholesterol than a chicken egg. The eggs have a blue-green shell.

Duclair Duck | Tabular Summary

Breed Name	Duclair
Scientific Name	Anas Platyrhynchos
Other Names	Canard Duclair and Duclair Enten
Breed Purpose / Use	Numerous
Characteristics / Personality	Calm, Fast Grower, Excellent Foragers
Broodness	Average
Weight	Drake About 3 kg Duck About 2.5 kg
Climate Tolerance	All Climates
Egg Colour	Bluish-Green, Green.
Egg Size	Large
Egg Weight	About 70 grams
Egg Productivity	Low
Flying Ability	Poor
Availability	Common
Varieties	Black, blue, white
Country Of Origin	France