Indian Runner
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
| Indian Runner | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Origin | Category | Egg Colour | Sitter |
| Asia | Light Breed Duck | White or greenish white | Not usually |
The Indian Runner Duck is thought to originate from the archipelago of the East Indies. There is no evidence that they came originally from India itself. Attempts by British breeders at the beginning of the twentieth century to find examples in the subcontinent had very limited success. Like many other breeds of waterfowl imported into Europe and America, the term 'Indian' may well be fanciful, denoting a loading port or the transport by 'India-men' sailing ships of the East India Company.
The Indian Runner is a breed of domestic duck that stands erect like a penguin. Rather than waddling, they run. The erect carriage is a result of a pelvic girdle that is situated more towards the tail region of the bird compared to other breeds of domestic duck. This structural feature allows the birds to walk or "quickstep", rather than waddle, as seen with other duck breeds.
Indian Runner ducks have a long, wedge-shaped head.The bill blends into the head smoothly being as straight as possible from bean to the back of the skull. The head is shallower than what is seen with most other breeds of duck. This effect gives a racy appearance, a breed trait. Eye placement is high on the head. Indian Runners have long, slender necks that smoothly transition into the body. The body is long, slim but round in appearance. The eggs may be white or greenish-white in colour. Indian Runners have tight feathering, with the drake having a small curl on the tip of their tails unlike the duck which has a flat tail.
The female of the breed may lay between 300 and 350 eggs a year, depending on breeding history. The Runner is unusual not only for its high egg production or its upright stance, but also its variety of color genes, some of which are seen in seventeenth century Dutch paintings. Other references to such domestic ducks use the names 'Penguin Ducks' and 'Baly Soldiers'.
The most profound impact of the Indian Runners was on the development of the modern 'light duck' breeds. Before 1900, most ducks were bred for the table. Aylesbury and Rouen ducks were famous throughout the nineteenth century, and these were supplemented or replaced, after 1873–74, by importation from China of the Pekin duck. As soon as the Indian Runners became fashionable, a demand for egg-layers and general purpose breeds developed in the United Kingdom. Using Runners crossed to Rouens, Aylesburys and Cayugas, William Cook produced his famous Orpington Ducks. Mrs Campbell crossed her fawn-and-white Runner duck to a Rouen drake to create the Campbell ducks introduced in 1898. Later, she introduced wild mallard blood and managed to create the most prolific egg-layer, the Khaki Campbell (announced in 1901). Other breeds followed, some of which emerged as direct mutations of the Khaki Campbell, along with crosses back to Indian Runners, the most famous being the Abacot Rangerand the Welsh Harlequin.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
Head: fine and somewhat flattened over the skull, with the eyes full, bright and clear, showing alertness, and situated high up in the skull.
Bill: strong and deep at the base where it joins and fits almost insensibly into the skull, and thence comes as nearly as possible straight down to the tip, giving it a wedge-shaped appearance, of good average length. (Note - The shape is more important than actual length or width, and it should be proportionate to the build and size of the bird and well set into the head at the junction. Very flat or dished bills with rounded under-line are objectionable, and abnormally long heavy bills are liable to be accompanied with coarse heads and thick necks, which are serious faults.)
Neck: very fine, thin and slender, to where it begins to form the expansion towards the base of the neck, which expansion should fit almost insensibly into the upper part of the body, so as to appear almost part of it, the head and neck carried high and slightly forward, and not curved or carried swan-like.
Body: the lower portion of the neck expansion is included. Long and narrow, of nearly uniform thickness, very tightly feathered.
Wings: closely packed; approximately about twice the length of the neck to the top of the head. When standing erect, the stem appears comparatively short and curves round to the tail, which is close and neat, and in the best specimens carried nearly in a line with the body. A fullness of the lower stern is frequent in the most prolific layers.
Legs: placed much farther back than in other breeds of domestic ducks. Shanks comparatively short, with small supple feet and strong thighs to enable the bird to balance properly and maintain an upright position when on the run.
Length and size: As layers of a great number of large eggs, substance and constitution are necessary in the breed; small, square specimens are undesirable, while heavy, bulky birds are less active as foragers and open to the same objections. A medium size with good reach and perfect symmetry is advisable, but appearance and activity should be a truer guide than actual weight and measurements.
Carriage: In comparison with other ducks, the body is more tightly feathered and appears longer and thinner, and this impression is heightened by the remarkably erect carriage, and the fact that the bird, when on the alert, carries its neck and body almost in a line, at an angle of from 50 to 70 degrees to the horizon. Its gait is peculiar in that it travels with a straight-out run and does not waddle or roll like the ordinary duck. In general appearance and shape when in motion, it has, not inaptly, been likened to a soda-water bottle set at an angle of 50 to 60 degrees, a character which is best seen in a front or semi-front view. When startled, standing at attention, or trained in the show pen, it assumes an almost perpendicular pose or attitude.
COLOUR
The oldest and best-established varieties are whole-coloured Fawns, pure Whites, and Fawn-and-Whites; but many colour varieties are admissible in exhibition. In Australia the following are accepted:
- Black
- Chocolate
- Cinnamon
- Cumberland Blue
- Fawn
- Fawn and White
- Harlequin
- Mallard Coloured
- Trout
- White
WHITE
Plumage pure white throughout.
The White has bright orange legs and feet, and orange-yellow bill.
FAWN
Plumage: From the earliest times it has been a distinctive character of the Runner plumage that the coloured body feathers are laced in ducks and pencilled in the drakes. The feathers of the duck have dark and somewhat brown centres with margins or fringe of a somewhat lighter shade, which overlap and give the colour of the surface plumage the appearance of a more or less even shade. The body feathers of the drake are minutely pencilled or peppered with darker lines terminating in a fringe or margin of more pronounced tint, which imparts an even shade of surface colour. At the front of the breast, towards the throat, the colour frequently deepens a little in drakes. The head, rump, and upper part of the tail are of a dark bronze colour, often showing a faint green lustre. In both sexes the body colour lightens as the season advances, and in judging the colour of full-plumaged birds, preference is to be shown for those with regular or uniform surface colouring, and in the Fawn and White even, cleancut markings are to be preferred to irregular or incomplete division.
WEIGHT & SIZE
- Drakes : 4 lb. to 5 lb.; length 26 inches to 32 inches.
- Ducks : 3 lb. to 4 lb.; length 24 inches to 28 inches.
The above are fair standard weights and lengths, but must count for nothing if not accompanied with type and well-balanced proportions.
SCALE OF POINTS
- Body — 20
- Legs and feet - 5
- Carriage - 20
- Head, eyes, bill and neck - 20
- Colour and condition - 25
- Size - 10
Total - 100
Serious Defects
- Thick necks;
- Legs in the centre of the body;
- Horizontal shape or carriage, less than an angle of 40 degrees;
- waddling or rolling gait;
- above maximum standard weights;
- any deformity;
- Any dark coloured marks in bill or coloured feathers in White variety
[The Indian Runner Duck Club of England, from whose Standard of Perfection the above has largely been compiled, insists that "In judging Runners, type must occupy the first place and receive chief attention. It is the most essential attribute of a Runner duck, and any failing in shape and gait, or low carriage, should tell heavily against the bird, and on no account must evenness of markings and colour be considered in preference to correct type and action"; while in its Standard, under " Dis qualifications," the following is printed in red ink: " No duck that is unable to maintain a natural body carriage of at least 40 degrees is entitled to be considered a pure bred Runner, no matter what its other points or qualifications may be, and this fact requires to be forced upon breeders, exhibitors, judges and the press."]
SOURCES
- Fancy Waterfowl by Frank Finn published by The Feathered Word in 1900. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100424127
- Accorn Hollow Bantams. http://www.acornhollowbantams.com/waterfowl_basics.cfm?id=85
- Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks, 2nd Edition: Breeds, Care, Health By Dave Holderread
- Grow, O. (1956). Universal waterfowl standard and judging guide. Milwaukee: American Waterfowl Assoc., inc.
- Australian Poultry Standards 2nd edition