The Blue Swedish duck isn’t as well-known as some other duck breeds, but it’s a great duck that you should consider making part of your flock. Whether you have a hobby farm, a functioning farm, or a homestead, the Blue Swedish is a fantastic duck.
In the United States, the Blue Swedish duck is generally considered a medium duck breed. British Standards, on the other hand, deem the Blue Swedish to be a heavy duck breed. The Blue Swedish duck is under threat in the United States, as the numbers are quite low. You can help by adding the Blue Swedish duck breed to your flock or operation.
Blue Swedish Duck Origins and Uses
Have you ever heard of the Pomeranian duck? The Blue Swedish duck is a cousin of this breed. Both the Blue Swedish duck and the Pomeranian duck were first created in the 19th century in an area of Europe called the Pomerania region. The Blue Swedish duck has been in the United States since 1884.
You won’t find the Blue Swedish duck in the wild, as this is a domestic breed. These ducks are popular as pets kept in yards and gardens. While some people use Blue Swedish ducks for egg production, most Blue Swedish ducks on operational farms are grown for meat.
The Blue Swedish Duck usually weighs between 7 and 9 pounds. If you raise Blue Swedish ducks for eggs, you may expect females to lay between 100 and 150 eggs annually. Blue Swedish ducks lay eggs in a variety of colors, including white, green, blue, and gray.
Physical Characteristics of the Blue Swedish Duck
The Blue Swedish is a beautiful duck with blue all over and a patch of white at the front that looks like a bib. If you have a male Blue Swedish, you’ll notice it has a dark head. The Blue Swedish also has some white on its wings.
The Blue Swedish duck’s eyes are dark brown. In female Blue Swedish ducks, the bill is a bluish slate-gray color. The bill on a male Blue Swedish duck is a green-blue. You’ll find white feathers on the duck’s breast and the front part of the neck. The Blue Swedish duck has reddish b brown feet and shanks. This part of the body has gray-black markings.
Blue Swedish duck weight usually ranges from 6 ½ to 8 pounds. When the Blue Swedish duck is used for meat, 5 ½ to 6.5 pounds is considered to be the market weight. The weight range for male Blue Swedish usually ranges from 6.6 to 8.8 pounds. For females, weight generally ranges from 5.5 to 7.7 pounds.
Does the Blue Swedish Duck Fly?
No, the Blue Swedish duck doesn’t fly. They can fly just enough to get off the ground, but they will not fly in the way you see other duck breeds fly. The Blue Swedish duck was created by humans to be a specifically domestic duck, so there was no need for it to fly. In fact, it was far better for them not to fly.
The fact that Blue Swedish ducks don’t fly makes them ideal as ornamental ducks and pets. You won’t have to worry about them flying away and escaping your garden.
The Blue Swedish Duck’s Health and Lifespan
The domestic Blue Swedish duck has an average lifespan of between 8 and 12 years. If you want a duck that isn’t likely to have health problems, the Blue Swedish is a great choice. As long as you take proper care of your Blue Swedish duck, it should stay happy and healthy.
Remember that ducks need constant access to water for both drinking and swimming. If a duck is deprived of water to go in, it will end up with a condition called “wet feather” disease. This condition occurs when your duck’s preening gland loses its moisture. A duck deprived of swimming water will probably also end up with lice, mites, ticks, and fleas.
If you keep your Blue Swedish duck in a flock, you will have to deworm it regularly. Ask for advice and assistance from a veterinarian. While your Blue Swedish duck isn’t as vulnerable to worms as many other kinds of animals, they are more likely to end up with this problem than other kinds of duck.
Blue Swedish Duck Diet
You must give your Blue Swedish duck an appropriate diet for it to stay healthy. The primary component of your duck’s diet should be food produced specially for ducks. You can find different commercial options available on the market.
To make sure your duck gets all the vitamins and minerals it needs, add in other foods such as worms, leafy greens, fruits (non-citrus), vegetable peels, zucchini, and corn. Some foods that you should never feed ducks include citrus fruit, bread, avocado, popcorn, garlic, chocolate, and onion.
Of course, your duck’s age impacts what you should feed it. For the first few weeks of the bird’s life, you should give it duck starter crumbles. Ensure the variety you choose has enough protein, which will be approximately 18-20%. Never give a duck this young chicken feed, as it doesn’t have several of the specific nutrients that your young duck requires to grow properly.
Once your duck gets to three weeks old and up until it’s 20 weeks old, you can feed it a duck food that has a minimum protein level of approximately 15%. This should be a grower food, and it can be one made for young chickens if that is what you can find.
Blue Swedish Breeding and Egg Production
It’s difficult to breed completely blue Blue Swedish ducks. Even if you breed two entirely blue Blue Swedish ducks together, half of the ducklings won’t be 100% blue. They may be one of a variety of color patterns, such as Splashed White or Silver Swedish (a pale gray shade) and Black Swedish. This will happen no matter what you do.
The best effort you can make when breeding Blue Swedish ducks is to keep all your Blue Swedish ducks away from other kinds of ducks before and during the mating season.
Blue Swedish ducks lay between 100 and 180 eggs every year, these eggs are generally 65-90 grams heavy. Compared to other duck breeds this is not many eggs per year.
Blue Swedish Behavior
The Blue Swedish duck is known for being friendly and a great family pet for people of all ages. This duck will even let children pick it up. The Blue Swedish duck is a popular pet on hobby farms and backyard flocks because of its friendly and sweet personality. These are strong ducks not likely to get sick or end up in difficulty.
They are excellent at foraging. Female Blue Swedish ducks are known for their devoted maternal instincts. This is an advantage if you plan on breeding your Blue Swedish ducks. Ducklings with a devoted mother have a better chance of thriving. This combined with the Blue Swedish’s natural hardiness and resilience, means that you have a great chance of a healthy duck over the long term.
Keeping Blue Swedish Ducks as Pets
As mentioned earlier, the Blue Swedish is a great breed if you want to keep ducks as pets. Of course, you can also take the eggs your pets lay. You can keep a flock of Blue Swedish ducks in your garden, and these ducks make especially good pets because of their calm and friendly temperaments. The fact they don’t fly also makes them ideal.
It’s easier than you might imagine keeping ducks as pets on your property. Don’t worry if you don’t have a pond. As long as you have a small kids’ pool, your ducks will stay happy and healthy. Remember, they need constant access to water to swim in to keep their feathers healthy and maintain their well-being.
Ducks aren’t fussy about the weather, and they can deal with cold weather quite easily. Make sure they always have access to some kind of shelter, though. Examples may include a playhouse or dog house you can make into a duck house. Your duck shelter must have proper ventilation and a door to which you can attach a lock that will keep out predators.
Make sure to use a welded wire (half an inch thickness) to cover all the openings. This is essential for keeping your pets safe during the night hours. Of course, you’ll have to change the bedding in your duck house regularly. This is true for several reasons, including the fact that ducks will bring a lot of moisture and mud into their house.
Tips on Blue Swedish Care
Compared to other ducks, Blue Swedish are quite easy to care for. In fact, many people who have never had ducks before have a good experience starting out with the Blue Swedish. Like other kinds of ducks, Blue Swedish ducks must be fed appropriately and given the shelter they need from adverse weather. This shelter must also protect them from predators.
Blue Swedish Duck Cost
If you want to have Blue Swedish ducks, you will have to buy some ducklings or ducks in this breed. This is a one-time cost, but you will also have the high and ongoing costs of maintaining and feeding the animals.
Like any other kind of pet, you should never get Blue Swedish ducks if you aren’t able or willing to spend money on taking care of them. Find out how much their food will cost and what arrangements you will make for their outdoor shelter.
You can purchase Blue Swedish ducklings for extremely reasonable prices. In fact, a male Blue Swedish duckling may cost as little as $7 U.S. You will pay a little more if you want a female duck, which will be closer to $11. This makes sense when you consider you’ll get the benefit of the eggs a female duck lays.
Noteworthy Facts about the Blue Swedish Duck
- One of the heartiest duck breeds there is.
- Great for free-range due to their foraging abilities.
Info Table
| Purpose | Domestic breed kept as pets and raised for meat |
| Country of origin | Originally from the Pomerania region in Europe, where it was first bred in the 19th century |
| Breed Class | Medium |
| Weight – Drake | 6.6-8.8 pounds |
| Weight – Hen | 5.5-7.7 pounds |
| Eggs per year | 100-150 eggs |
| Egg size [S/M/L] | Medium |
| Egg weight | 80-95 grams |
| Egg production age | 25-30 weeks old |
| Diet | Feed your ducks food produced especially for ducks. Ducks also eat pupae and larvae that exist in water under objects such as plant material, aquatic animals, and rocks. |
| Lifespan | 8-12 years |
| Flying ability | Non-flying |
| Personality | Friendly and calm |
| Distinguishing features | Blue feathers |
| Varieties | Blue, black, silver, splashed |
| Cost (USD) | About $11 for a female Blue Swedish duckling; about $7 for a male Blue Swedish duckling |