Description.—The Pekin duck has a distinct type of its own, and differs from all others in the shape and carriage of its body. By some it is credited with having a shape much like an Indian canoe, owing to the full growth of feathers under the rump and the singular turned-up carriage of the tail. The legs are set far back, which causes the bird to walk in an upright position. In size these ducks are very large, some reaching as high as 20 pounds to the pair. Their flesh is very delicate and free from grossness, and they are considered among the best of table fowls. They are excellent layers, averaging from 100 to 130 eggs each in a season. They are nonsetters, hardy, easily raised, and the earliest in maturing of any ducks. The method given in this bulletin for raising ducks is based on the Pekin as a standard, and the treatment, food, housing, etc., is given as used by the largest and most successful raisers of Pekins. Other ducks are judged for practical qualities by the Pekin. [Fig. 2] shows a group of White Pekin ducks.
The standard-bred Pekin has a long finely formed head, a bill of medium size, of a deep yellow color, that is perfectly free from any mark or color other than yellow. The color of the bill is very important for exhibition birds, and it is not infrequent that one of the best ducks in a showroom is disqualified for having a faint tracing of black in the bill. The eyes are of deep leaden-blue color. The neck of a Pekin should be neatly curved; in the drake it should be large and rather long, while that of the duck is of medium length. The back is long and broad; breast is round, full, and very prominent. The body is long and deep, and the standard gives for adult birds a body approaching the outlines of a parallelogram. The wings are short, carried closely and smoothly against the body. The birds can not sustain flight, a 2-foot fencing being ample to restrain them in an inclosure. The tail is erect, more so than in any other specimen. The curled feathers in the tail of the drake are hard and stiff. The thighs are short and large; shanks short and strong, and in color are a reddish orange; toes straight, connected by a web, and reddish orange in color. The plumage is downy, and of a faint creamy white throughout. Recently it has been noticed that preference in the showroom is being given to birds of whiter plumage. The breeders are selecting as their show birds those that have the snow-white plumage instead of the creamy white, as given in the standard.
Weight.—The standard weight of the adult drake is 8 pounds; adult duck, 7 pounds; young drake, 7 pounds, and young duck, 6 pounds.
WHITE AYLESBURY DUCKS.
History.—The White Aylesbury ducks ([fig. 3.]) are second to the popular Pekins for market purposes, and are bred in large numbers in England and Europe. In this country they are not so extensively bred as the Pekin, neither have they been found so good as the latter. These ducks receive their name from Aylesbury, the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. They are of large size, pairs occasionally reaching the weight of 18 pounds, the male birds weighing 9 or 10 pounds, and the female 7 or 8. Birds weighing 15 to 16 pounds to the pair are the average.
Description.—The head of the Aylesbury duck is long and neatly formed; the eyes of a deep leaden-blue color; the long, wide bill is of a pale flesh color or pinkish hue, and should be free from dark spots, bills marked with black being a disqualification; the neck is slender, long, and gracefully curved; the body is long and oval; the breast is full and round; the strong shanks are of brilliant light-orange color; the wings are strong and nicely folded; the back is both long and broad, and the tail formed of stiff, hard feathers.
Fig. 3.—Group of White Aylesbury ducks.
The soft white plumage is one of the chief attractions of the Aylesbury breed, and like most white plumage has a tendency to assume a yellow hue if exposed to the sun. The beak will also lose its delicate pink hue and become yellow if exposed to too much sunlight in summer. The bill of the Pekin should be yellow, but the bill of the Aylesbury should be a delicate pink or flesh color, and birds intended for exhibition must possess this quality or they will suffer at the hands of the judge. Birds raised for exhibition purposes must be guarded against too much exposure to the sunlight in the summer. Of course, these delicate points are of no consequence to the market poulterer other than to show the true type of the breed.