Regular-sized ducks are cute, but Miniature duck breeds are undoubtedly more adorable and make better pets as well as meat source.
Because ducks forage for food in a manner that can be useful on a farm, Miniature duck breeds make entertaining pets. If you are dealing with a tiny piece of property, you will want to focus on Miniature duck breeds.
Although there are many different types to think about caring for, you should prioritize small breeds.
During your search for the ideal duck to keep as a pet, you will come across a few intriguing choices that you should examine.
Different Types of Miniature Duck Breeds
1. Black East Indian Duck
This species of duck, produced in the United States and initially bred for its appearance, is also known as the Black East Indies duck or the East Indies duck.
Other names for this duck include the East Indies duck and the Black East Indies duck. These cute little ducks have served as ornamental pets for as long as anybody can remember, and in modern times, People often breed them for display in shows.
The Black Indian East duck feathers are a dark green that, depending on the angle at which the sunlight catches them, can appear practically black.
They are not the best egg producers and may only produce 40 eggs in a year on average. These ducks only reach their full adult size at about one and a half pounds.
2. Miniature Crested Duck
People used the original Crested duck, Miniature Appleyard duck, and the Call duck in the breeding process in Britain to generate the Miniature Crested duck.
These Miniature duck breeds have lovely plumage and feathers on their heads that appear like little pom-poms. They come in a vast assortment of distinct solid colors or can be multicolored.
Both options are available. These young birds are lively, curious, and bright, and they delight in using their time to investigate every nook and cranny of the environment in which they live. In addition to this, they like socializing with both humans and other ducks.
3. Call Duck
These Miniature duck breeds were first bred specifically for hunting. Their loud, high-pitched calls would lure wild ducks to approach closer to them, where the hunters would then be able to get a good shot at them.
Because of their kind and warm personality, many people choose to raise them as pets today. They have an inquisitive nature but prefer to remain within the boundaries of their natural environment.
They are not prone to straying beyond the boundaries of their land, which contributes to their success as free-range livestock.
On the other hand, they are submissive towards other birds, which means that larger ducks may pick on them. We recommend that they only be housed with other animals of the same breed or size.
4. Silver Bantam Duck
Soon after World War II, researchers in the United Kingdom began developing these ducks. Although the Silver Bantam breed is not as common as the others on our list, their beauty does not diminish in any way.
The mature Silver Bantam duck weighs less than two pounds, has outstanding flying abilities, and is eager to investigate anything that piques its curiosity, regardless of whether it is within its owner’s property lines.
This breed lays an abundant number of eggs throughout the year. However, they tend to sit on their eggs until they are ready to hatch, so it is important to collect them daily to avoid wasteful brooding.
5. Mallard Duck
The Mallards are the most popular Miniature duck breeds currently in existence. These ducks are somewhat more significant than the other ones on our list as they reach adulthood weighing between 3 and 3.5 pounds and having an average weight in that range.
Despite this, they are still members of the smaller kinds of ducks. Several countries and regions around the world breed mallards and the United States are one of them.
The heads of the males are a dark green color, and their bodies are gray, but the females have brown feathers with spots all over.
These ducks can prosper in various climatic conditions, but they like to make their home in areas where they have ready access to a large body of water.
6. Miniature Silver Appleyard Duck
Tom Bartlett, a man who lived throughout the 1980s, was the one who came up with the idea of creating a little version of the ordinary Silver Appleyard duck.
The standard Silver Appleyard is nearly twice as large as the miniature version of the garden. They are a breed of small ducks that are quite adorable and have personalities full of life and devotion.
They are wonderful backyard pets for rural households that wish to raise their own food since they enjoy scavenging on garden bugs and other undesirables in the garden.
People also bred them for their meat because their small, compact bodies contain a lot of it. Similar to the Silver Bantam, the Miniature Silver Appleyard is a serious egg sitter, and owners must be active gatherers to keep up with their flock.
7. Wood Duck
The United States and Mexico are home to the majority of Wood Ducks, and many people believe this species to be one of the most colorful in the area.
These Miniature duck breeds are known as perching ducks because they prefer sitting in elevated areas, such as on the branches of trees. They have piercing red eyes and are one of the tiniest breeds we’ve included on our list.
Their small, compact bodies combined with their brightly colored heads make them appear to be still in their juvenile stages even when they have reached adulthood. People keep the ones bred in captivity for their eggs and as pets, but most live in the wild.
8. Welsh Harlequin
Even though the Welsh Harlequin didn’t come into being until the late 1940s, it wasn’t until the 1980s that they gained sufficient popularity in the United States to justify breeding them to sell them.
Miniature duck breeds have long thin bodies, and their chests are rounded, giving them a tough appearance. They are not prone to falling ill or developing diseases readily.
Because they can lay as many as 330 eggs in a year, anyone interested in keeping ducks for their eggs should consider this breed seriously.
The breed is also frequently used for the production of lean meat because it is simple to pluck and prepare the birds.
9. Khaki Campbell Duck
Adele Campbell, a local resident of Gloucestershire, England, is credited with being the first person to breed the Khaki Campbell duck in the early 1900s.
She used her own duck, a Penciled Runner, to mate with a Rouen Drake, which resulted in the birth of a Mallard and ultimately led to the creation of this breed.
The bodies of Khaki Campbell ducks might be khaki brown, black, mudpies, or white, while their beak and legs are dark. These Miniature duck breeds are of a smaller size.
They start out at about 4 pounds and can get up to 5 pounds by the time they reach maturity. These Miniature duck breeds are dual-purpose breeds that produce meat and eggs.
Female ducks will produce anywhere from 280 to 300 white eggs every year. Due to their amiable and submissive nature, raising Khaki Campbells is relatively straightforward.
10. Magpie Duck
In Wales at the beginning of the 20th century, Oliver Drake and M.C. Gower-Williams were the ones who developed the magpie duck.
People used the Belgian Huttegem and the Runner duck in the breeding process to produce this new breed.
People brought the first of this breed to the United States in 1963, but it wasn’t until 1984 that it gained widespread acceptance.
In 1977, the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Perfection standardized them so that People could compare them.
The flesh and eggs of the Magpie duck are the two primary reasons for raising this duck breed. The heads of these Miniature duck breeds are black, their beak is yellow, their legs are orange, and their bodies are white with dark gray or brown spots on the wings and back.
They start out at about 4.4 pounds and can gain up to 7 pounds by the time they reach maturity. People breed the Magpie duck for various reasons, including its flesh, eggs, and appearance in shows.
They can live for up to 12 years and lay anywhere from 220 to 290 big white eggs in a single year.
Conclusion
You shouldn’t have trouble finding the appropriate birds for your way of life because there are so many Miniature Duck Breeds to pick from.
Before making a final investment decision, it is important to familiarize oneself with each of the small duck breeds presented because each has characteristics and personalities that are distinct from the others.
Do any of these different ducks pique your attention more than the others? Is there even a single one that doesn’t work for you?
