CHESTED AND ORPINGTON DUCKS. 



565 



be globular in shape, as large as possible, 

 and set evenly on the head : a common fault, 

 especially in ducks with large crests, being that 

 the crest hangs more to one side than the other. 

 The breed is to be found in certain districts 

 all over the British Isles, and is also known 

 in America and other places abroad. It is 

 known to have existed in Scotland at least 

 seventy years ago. As to origin, we can only 

 theorise, the theories we have heard advanced 

 being that the breed was introduced pure from 

 the East, or may have been produced by ducks 

 frequenting quiet lakes mating with crested 

 wildfowl, such as Grebes, if such mating be 

 possible, or may have been bred from sports 

 from common ducks ; the latter is, in our 

 opinion, the most feasible. 



"Whilst being decidedly ornamental, this 

 variety is also a first-class utility one, the 

 ducks being excellent layers of large eggs and 

 themselves making a very creditable appearance 

 on the table. Crested ducks always throw a 

 number of crestless ducklings, but these can 

 be picked out as soon as dry ; and, similarly, 

 the size of crest, in crested specimens, can be 

 readily told, as the crests are of the same size, 

 in proportion, as they will be when the bird is 

 full grown. This only holds good for the first 

 three or four days after hatching, as the bird 

 soon commences to outgrow its crest, which 

 grows little till the bird gets its first feathers. 

 Fanciers find that fewer crestless birds hatch 

 year by year. 



" It is a strange fact that those youngsters 

 with very large crests generally appear very 

 delicate for the first three days or so, and 

 many die during this period ; they rush about 

 apparently afraid of their large head-dress. 

 When this occurs, the breeder should try the 

 remedy of clipping the fluff of the crest short, 

 care being taken not to injure the scalp. In 

 breeding, it is advisable to use crested birds 

 on both sides, though good ones can be bred 

 from plain-headed birds, provided they are 

 crest-bred — that is, from crested parents ; but 

 in our opinion this encourages the plain- 

 headed element, which is most objectionable. 

 Choose nice, large, typical birds — one often 

 reads in poultry books that the female has 

 most influence on the size of the progeny, but 

 our experience in this breed is that the drake 

 influences the size quite as much as the duck — • 

 with nice, evenly-shaped, and well-placed 

 crests ; those having long feathers in the crest 

 are preferable to those with short, the reason 

 being that the crest in ducks, like that in Polish 

 fowls, is composed of a spherical protuberance 

 of the skull-bone, this being the main cause 



of the crest, length of feather greatly adding 

 thereto. Crested ducks may be of any colour, 

 and need no special care in rearing (beyond 

 what is mentioned above) or general manage- 

 ment, being hardy and reaching maturity at 

 an early age. Care should, however, be taken 

 that the crest feathers do not damage the eyes, 

 either by clipping the offending feathers or 

 binding with an elastic band." 



The Poultry Club standard for the breed 

 will be found at the end of this chapter. 



Blue races of ducks are obviously allied to 

 black, and have often appeared. The late Mr. 

 Teebay several times told us that about i860 



there was a recognised local race of 

 Blue large blue ducks in Lancashire, and 



Ducks. more or less of that colour would be 



produced by crossing white with 

 either black, or even any dark breed like the 

 Rouen. The same colour has been imported 

 and bred in the United States under the name 

 of blue Swedish ducks, which it is said really 

 were introduced from northern Europe, and 

 only differ from the foregoing in having a 

 white throat or semi-collar at the front of the 

 base of the neck. More recently blue ducks 

 have been bred and sold as " Orpingtons." 



Writmg to TJie Feathered World in 19 10, 

 Mr. A. C. Gilbert, Hon. Secretary of the 

 Orpington Duck Club, thus describes the 



origin of the Buff and the Blue 

 Buff and Blue Orpington duck: — 

 Orpington " Buff Orpington ducks were 



Ducks. made some twelve or fourteen years 



back, but not brought into promin- 

 ence in England until 1908, when they were 

 shown at several large shows, such as the 

 Dairy and Crystal Palace, where classes were 

 guaranteed for them by Mr. A. C. Gilbert, 

 who also at the same time drew up standards 

 for them and formed a club for them. In 

 Australia they had previously made their repu- 

 tation by winning two twelve months' laying 

 competitions in succession. 



" They were made to fill the demand for a 

 first-class layer, and at the same time a nice- 

 sized table bird of fine quality and flavoured 

 flesh. The start was made by mating Indian 

 Runners to Aylesburys, Indian Runners to 

 Rouens, and Indian Runners to Cayugas. 



" These different varieties previously to this 

 mating up had been carefully mated and bred 

 for three years for egg-production alone, all 

 laggards m this respect being noted and 

 weeded out, so that when the pure stock was 

 put together for the first crossing a line of 



