The Cayuga duck is a medium-sized breed of domestic duck originating in the United States. It was developed in the middle of the nineteenth century and was a very popular breed. The breed is named after Cayuga Lake, which is located in the western part of New York. According to the American Livestock Conservation Service, these ducks are classified as “threatened”, although their popularity is growing rapidly.
Origin of the species and description
Photo: Cayuga Duck
There is a long history of the creation of this breed. It is believed that the Cayuga duck was bred from a cross between a duck in the Black East Indies and a Rouen duck. The Cayuga duck breed originated from a pair of wild ducks that a miller in Duchess County, New York caught in his mill pond in 1809. But this account is historically inaccurate and is in fact an account of the Hadwall duck. The historical belief in New York is that the cayuga descended from the region's wild duck population, but no concrete evidence has been found to support the hypothesis in modern times.
Video: Cayuga Duck
Another account of the origin of the cayuga duck breed indicates that the cayuga resembles (or was identical to) the English black duck breed often found in Lancashire, descended from this species. It is noted that the English black duck has since disappeared from Lancashire, having been replaced by the Aylesbury duck in the 1880s. By 1874, the Cayuga duck was accepted as the American Poultry Association's standard of excellence. This breed was raised in large numbers on duck farms in New York until the 1890s, when Peking duck came to dominate the duck market in the big cities.
Today, this breed of duck is very popular in the United States, they are mainly used for meat and egg production, and as domestic ornamental birds. The Cayuga duck breed first appeared in the United Kingdom in 1851 when it was shown at the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace and was recognized by the British Standard in 1907. The Cayuga duck was accepted into the American Poultry Association's Standard of Excellence in 1874.
Appearance and Features
Photo: What a cayuga duck looks like
Cayuga Duck — medium sized bird. It is easily characterized by its black bill and black plumage, which is iridescent green in the right light. Females get white spots on their feathers in their second and subsequent years. Ducks are very amazing to see in the sun. The legs and beak of Cayuga ducks are black. They usually hold themselves upright with a long neck. They have dark brown eyes, and Cayuga ducklings have black plumage. The average body weight of a drake is about 3.6 kg, while ducks on average weigh about 3.2 kg.
One of the reasons ducks can stay afloat in the water is because of the air sacs in their bodies that increase their buoyancy. Cayuga duck feathers trap air between them, which is another adaptation that helps them swim. Their feathers are also covered with a waterproof material that keeps ducks warm and dry. Ducks' webbed feet allow them to maneuver easily in the water.
Many ducks are excellent fliers due to their streamlined bodies, powerful wings, and hollow bones that weigh much less than the hard bones of mammals. Although Cayuga ducks are not good at flying due to their large and heavy bodies, they do have strong wings and hollow bones that are common to other types of ducks.
Fun fact: Cayugas ducks do not have teeth, but they do have jagged edges on their beaks that help them filter food from the water. The food is then swallowed and ground up in a part of the stomach that contains small stones to break down the food.
Now you know what a Cayuga duck looks like. Let's see where this bird lives.
Where does the cayuga duck live?
Photo: Cayuga duck bird
Cayuga Duck — the only variety of domestic duck that originated in the United States. Originally bred in upstate New York in the 1800s, the Cayuga duck later became popular throughout New England. But black cayuga ducks with deep jeweled green and blue feathers have fallen out of favor in the last 20 years due to the commercialization of poultry and domestic duck problems.
Domestic cayuga ducks require shelter from wind and rain, access to food and water and fencing to keep them in a confined space. Cayuga ducks require only a low fence due to their limited flight ability. At the zoo, cayuga ducks are kept in a pond surrounded by trees and shrubs that provide them with shelter.
Cayuga ducks need water to keep wet feathers from getting sick when the cleaning gland dries out. Water also prevents them from getting pests such as mites, fleas, lice, etc. Any birds kept in a flock must be dehydrated. Although Cayugas ducks are not as prone to this as other birds, they should still have a regimen aimed at combating worms. Well-fed cayuga ducks are unlikely to have any health problems.
What does a cayuga duck eat?
Photo: Cayuga duck in nature
Wild Cayuga ducks have a varied, omnivorous diet. While we think they eat mostly weeds, aquatic plants, and indulge in mud, you might be surprised to learn about some of the foods they eat.
While in the mud at the bottom of ponds and streams, they look for the following food items:
- crayfish;
- small shrimp;
- beetle larvae;
- little frogs;
- fish;
- newt.
They eat a lot of plant foods:
- seeds;
- greens;
- weeds;
- aquatic plants;
- roots;
- grass;
- berries;
- nuts (in season).
Because their wildlife is unpredictable, cayugas have evolved to eat a variety of health foods throughout the year. Cayuga ducks can carry large reservoirs of fat under feather insulation that will feed them through short bursts of bad weather. They also reduce exposure to the elements by finding sheltered seating areas and they have special blood flow to the legs and feet to prevent freezing.
Feeding Cayuga ducks the right diet has a huge impact on how they grow and develop. Poor diet and lack of nutrition will surely have a harmful effect on them. Very few feed manufacturers produce duck feed. You can use chicken feed instead. Chicken food, although similar, does not provide all the nutritional requirements for Cayuga ducks, so you may need to improvise.
Personalities and lifestyles
Photo: Cayugi ducks
The Cayuga duck is submissive in nature and has a very good personality. This is one of the hardiest domestic ducks. They are easy to tame if you can catch them. They are very cold and hardy and can tolerate harsh winters in the northeast. These birds are excellent feeders and get most of their diet from feeding, so they are very good for free range. The breed is suitable for both meat and egg production.
Well-preserved Cayugas can live longer than ten years, so the relationship you build with them will last. As they age gracefully, Cayugas begin to turn white with each molt, making the spotted duck look like a shadow on the water. Their legs will also start to turn orange.
Fun Fact: Cayuga ducks tend to stay close to home and are more likely to hatch an egg than other breeds because they sit on their eggs more often than other domestic ducks.
Cayugi ducks are quiet and beautiful ducks. They are unique because they have a brilliant green plumage. Cayuga eggs can be quite impressive in appearance as the black color is transferred to the shell, but this is only a superficial layer that is easily rubbed off. The degree of blackening varies during the laying season — the eggs begin to darken at the start of the laying season and lighten as the season progresses. When you erase the black cuticle, a green egg appears.
Social structure and reproduction
Photo: Cayuga Duck
Unlike other water birds such as swans and geese, Acayugi ducks do not mate alone once in a lifetime. Every seasonal relationship is monogamous, but most species choose a new mate at the start of the mating season in winter. In addition, a much smaller number of Cayuga duck species — about 7% — practice polygamy. In this system, a male duck can mate with several females that inhabit his territory.
On average, the Cayuga duck can lay 100 to 150 large eggs per year. Their eggs are initially black or dark gray in color. But by the end of the season, the color of the egg turns white. These ducks are quite loud. Cayuga ducks are hardy and can produce large numbers of offspring despite cold temperatures. They are vagrants, often sitting and incubating their eggs. The incubation period for cayuga duck eggs is 28 days. When using an incubator, the temperature should be 37.5°C at 86% humidity for 1-25 days and 37°C at 94% humidity for 26-28 days.
Interesting Fact: The average lifespan of a duck kept as a pet is 8 to 12 years.
Cayuga ducks live in groups. They lay eggs throughout the year, usually starting in the spring, and will incubate eggs if left to sit. The eggs are covered with a black or dark gray film that will wash off, although many birds now lay white eggs.
Natural enemies of Cayug ducks
Photo: What a cayuga duck looks like
The biggest problem in caring for Cayuga ducks is their predators. Cats, minks, weasels, raccoons, and owls will eat ducks if given the chance. Cayugas must be brought into the building or tightly closed at night. A raccoon can kill and eat a duck through wire mesh, so the bottom of the fence should be lined with wire to protect them.
The Cayuga duck also needs protection from the hot sun. She should be provided with shade when the temperature reaches 21° Celsius. They love to swim, so they like the children's pool if the water stays clean and dirt is not allowed in the surroundings. Ducks, however, can live well when given nothing but fresh drinking water.
The pool should be deep enough to cover their beak so they can use it to clear their nostrils. Water should be changed at least twice a week. Cayuga can get their own food if there is enough space for it. Where space is limited, help is needed to feed the cayuga duck. Ducks need a little gravel or coarse sand to help them digest their food.
Population and species status
Photo: Cayugi ducks
Cayuga black ducks were first introduced to Cayuga County (New York City's area of the Finger Lakes) in the mid-1800s, and have since been raised both for eggs and meat and as pets because of their friendly and social character. Cayuga ducks are considered an ancestral breed and are currently on the American Cattle Farm's “endangered” list due to their limited numbers in the United States.
The loss of popularity in the 1990s caused the number of Cayugas ducks to spiral into decline for several decades, but the breed does not seem to be leading the way for the dodo. The formerly endangered Cayuga breed has been placed on the Livestock Conservatory's “watch” list — an encouraging sign that waterfowl owners around the world are seeing the beauty and usefulness of this adorable duck.
Cayuga duck breeding is less popular than many other domestic ducks because this species — a fairly new breed of domestic duck, developed in the mid-nineteenth century. Currently, the Cayuga duck is a very popular breed of duck in the United States, and it is mainly used for meat and egg production, and as a decorative bird.
The Cayuga duck is an unusual, beautiful domesticated duck breed. Cayugas appear black until light hits them, then they show their beautiful green color. Their bills and feet are usually black. As Cayugas age, they begin to get white feathers that can eventually replace most of their colored feathers, and their shins and legs may take on an orange tint.
