Australian Spotted Ducks

These delightful bantam ducks are smaller than mallards, but slightly larger than show-type call ducks. They also have longer bills than calls, so they have no trouble hatching. There is much information about these ducks on the internet, so I won’t repeat it here, but rather post a few of the most useful links:

brochure

https://livestockconservancy.org/heritage-breeds/heritage-breeds-list/australian-spotted-duck/

http://www.holderreadfarm.com/photogallery/australian_spotted_page/australian_spotted_page.htm

http://www.duckcreekfarm.com/australianspotted

Video of my flock of Australian Spotted Ducks

These make great pets, and if you choose to build a raised pen as shown in the photos below, they are really not very messy.

The 3 color variants, greenhead, bluehead and silverhead, interbreed like blue/black/splash in chickens. This is a common gene in some ducke, notably the swedes, where breeding 2 blue swedes together will produce some blacks and silvers, as well as the blues. When added to a wild, mallard pattern, the names are changed. In Call ducks, the “grey” is the wild type color. Adding a single blue gene creates a Blue Fawn, and 2 copies of the blue gene would be called Pastel. In Australian Spotted ducks, no blue genes represent the Greenhead. A single blue gene produces a Bluehead, and of course 2 copies makes a Silverhead.

Breeding group showing several colors
Greenhead drake in front, bluehead drake behind
Mostly bluehead ducklings, 1 silver (all yellow) and 1 greenhead (darker)
A greenhead, a silverhead, and 2 blueheads (right)
Closeup of a bluehead duckling