Magpie Duck: Characteristics, Origins, Uses, and Complete Breed Information

The piebald duck is a light breed of domestic duck bred at the beginning of the 20th century. It is bred as an all-purpose duck and owes its name to its distinctive black and white plumage.

The Magpie duck was developed by Oliver Drake and MC Gower-Williams in Wales. Magpie ducks are suggested to have evolved from the Belgian Huttegem and Runner ducks, primarily due to their size, plumage, and somewhat upright posture.

The Belgian Huttegem was an ancient Belgian duck breed with a possible racer breed origin that was popular in the duck breeding area north of Brussels. And the description of Huttegem (from old paintings of the time) is surprisingly similar to the modern Magpie duck.

In 1963 the breed was first imported to the United States from Great Britain, but did not become popular until 1984. The breed is still one of the rarest varieties of domestic ducks.

The magpie was included in the British Waterfowl Standards in 1926 and in 1977 in the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Excellence.

Characteristics of the piebald duck

According to the American Poultry Association’s Standard of Excellence, the magpie is a light breed of domestic duck. And it is named because of the characteristic black and white plumage, reminiscent of the coloring of the European magpie.

It is similar in size and shape to Campbell’s Khaki Duck, but more substantial. And it’s moderately streamlined, with a somewhat upright stance, reminiscent of the Indian runner duck in its ancestral ancestry.

An agitated piebald duck tends to stand more upright, but a relaxed duck is more horizontal. The plumage of the magpie duck is mainly white with two large black spots on the back and crown.

And on the black cap, white spots usually appear depending on the age of the ducks. The black cover can turn completely white over time.

A magpie’s beak is yellow or orange, but turns green in older ducks. The chest is rounded, the neck is moderately long. Pied ducks have orange colored legs and feet, but may be spotted.

Drakes have curled tail feathers when fully feathered. And ducks in the fully feathered state have straight tail feathers.

There are many color varieties of the Magpie duck, such as black and white, blue and white, chocolate white, gray and white. But the Black & White and Blue & White varieties are accepted by the American Poultry Association Standard of Excellence.

The average weight of the Magpie duck is 2-2.7 kg. And drakes weigh an average of 2.5 to 3.2 kg. Photo from Wikipedia.

Advantages

The Magpie duck was created as an all-purpose breed. They are good laying hens, and also good as a meat breed of ducks. It is also a good show breed.

Special Notes

When handled regularly, the magpie is generally a calm and docile breed of duck. They are a friendly breed that are easy to manage if handled regularly from a young age.

Pied ducks are very active foragers and will graze and hunt, getting much of their food from grass, seeds, insects and aquatic life. While foraging, they eat and eagerly search for slugs, snails, and insects.

Thus, large producers of piebald ducks consider these ducks effective in controlling liver fluke infestations. These ducks are among the good breeds of laying ducks and lay between 220 and 290 eggs per year. Their eggs are large and white.

The meat from these ducks is of exquisite quality and the carcasses will be carefully selected because of their light undersides. The breed is very hardy, strong and lively.

The average lifespan of these ducks is 9-12 years. See the complete profile of this duck breed in the table below.

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Breed nametalkative
another nameeverything
Purpose of the breedMeat, Eggs, Exhibition
Special NotesActive, calm, obedient, excellent forager, friendly
breed classLight
sullen instinctMedium

Duck

From 2.5 to 3.2 kg
Duck2 to 2.7 kg
climatic toleranceAll climates
egg colorWhite
Egg sizebig
egg weightUp to 80 grams
Egg performancemedium
Ability to flyNot really
scarcityOrdinary parts
VarietiesBlack and white, blue and white, chocolate and white, gray and white. But the Black & White and Blue & White varieties are accepted by the American Poultry Association Standard of Excellence.
Native countryUK
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