The Silver Appleyard duck is a charmer. A British heritage and dual-purpose breed, Reginald Appleyard developed the Silver Appleyard with the goal of creating a duck that would supply ample meat and plenty of eggs. He also bred a healthy duck that was stunning to look at and with a calm personality.
Silver Appleyard Ducks Origins and Uses
Bred by crossing the Aylesbury, Pekin, and Rouen breeds in 1930, the Silver Appleyard breed now exists as a domestic duck breed with no equivalent in the wild.
Before World War 2, the breed flourished, winning ribbons at shows even before the breed standard was submitted to any poultry association.
Despite Reginald Appleyard’s death before the standardization of the breed, it remained popular because of its dual purpose, personality, and public preference for its large white eggs. When interest in duck waned after WW2 and chickens took its place, this breed also waned.
It wasn’t until the 1960s that the breed was imported to the United States, and in the 1970s, Gloucester, England was responsible for certifying the breed and creating a standard for it. The same breeders also created a miniature Bantam version.
It took another twenty years before the duck was available to the public to purchase. Today, the breed is becoming popular among small breeders and hobbyists whether used for decoration, meat, eggs, showing, or family pets.
When butchered, the breed with its broad breast yields a large amount of desirably lean meat possessing less fat than the traditional Pekin breed, which accounts for a large percentage of the commercial market.
The Silver Appleyard has come close to disappearing a few times in its history, and it was thanks to breeders that enjoyed this well-rounded breed that it remains. Its livestock conservation status remains endangered.
Physical Characteristics of Silver Appleyard Ducks
A large, heavy breed due to its dual purpose breeding, Appleyard males (drakes) can weigh up to 9 lbs with a blocky physique, and the females (hens) weigh slightly less with a similar sturdy frame.
This weight makes the breed a lighter option than the Pekin duck but sturdier than breeds like the light, common Mallard.
Drakes and hens have dark brown eyes and a medium-length, gently curved bill with a black bean. Feet are medium-sized, with both genders possessing orange and yellow feet and white skin.
Hens and drakes differ when it comes to feather coloration:
- Hens have grey plumage, a white head with brown markings and wings with white markings, and a blue style marking that looks like a cross.
- Drakes possess a dark green head and neck, chestnut or red-brown breast, sides, flank, and shoulders with white feathers underneath.
Coloration and size aside, both male and female Silver Appleyard ducks are good options for meat production, as show animals, and as pets.
Do Silver Appleyard Ducks Fly?
No, as such a large and heavy breed, they can’t fly, although they do flap. Like many ducks, this breed likes to use its wings to flap around quite a bit, whether on land or in water.
Silver Appleyard Ducks Lifespan
In captivity, expect this breed to live 4-8 years, and they are considered good first duck breed candidates because of their low number of health issues.
Both drakes and hens have robust and solid immune systems strengthened even further with their love of foraging and their preference to stay close to home and away from danger.
For parasites, keep an eye on flocks for fleas, ticks, and other pests. Water can often eliminate these bugs and ‘wet feather’ disease. Ducks should have plenty of water to bathe in, as it aids in their daily preening.
With flocks deworming should be done regularly as a veterinarian recommends it. If the ground is rough or the duck has access to concrete, check for staph infections and Bumblefoot before it progresses.
With the offering of a balanced diet, few if any health issues should arise provided environmental conditions are also reasonable. The breed does well in mild cold and heat, with comfortable shelter and plenty of cool drinking water is available in the hotter temperatures.
Silver Appleyard Ducks Diet
Feed adult ducks a free-choice diet of commercial or ready-made feed with plenty of access to areas for foraging daily. As this breed is large and heavy, estimate roughly eight ounces of food per day with laying hens eating a bit more of a different calcium-enriched diet.
Their foraging diet may include grains, alfalfa, insects, and tiny creatures commonly present in water areas like slugs and snails.
In addition to being a fun addition to your garden, Appleyard ducks will also help eliminate some of the weeds and bugs that may destroy your plants.
Feeding ducklings involves a type of starter diet that comes in a crumble form that is high in protein and includes all the vitamins and minerals necessary to encourage healthy growth. The crumble or feed is usually wet down into a soup to prevent choking for the first few weeks.
Silver Appleyard Ducks Breeding and Egg Production
Each season Appleyards will find a new breeding mate, a practice that usually occurs every winter, although, in domestic duck flocks, this may occur other times of the year as well.
Ducks do not mate for life but instead remain together for the season, with drakes often giving attention to the eggs after laying and even sitting on them to keep them warm.
Beginning at 29 to 30 weeks old, hens will start laying eggs at a rate of 2-5 eggs a day. This rate means that the annual count reaches levels as high as 200-270 eggs per year, one of the highest counts. The eggs are large, weighing approximately 80-95 grams each and pure white, making them prized by farms and hobby collectors alike.
Females can go broody and are often good mothers to their eggs. Owners should take care not to move these ducks during their brooding, which can result in the hen walking away from the eggs completely.
Silver Appleyard Ducks Behavior
A friendly, docile, and patient breed that is easily tamed and does well in flocks and other animals.
They don’t display any particular movements or behaviors that set them apart from other breeds and have the same calm temperament as breeds like Pekins.
Keeping Silver Appleyard Ducks as Pets
By breeding together a few well-tempered breeds, Reginald Appleyard developed a duck breed that can make a great pet and a great duck for first-time keepers and hobbyists.
Their need to stay close to home, their naturally friendly disposition and their docility mean they won’t start fights or become aggressive with humans or other animals.
Silver Appleyards enjoy playing with children with proper supervision and will tolerate dogs and cats. Always keep an eye on household pets; certain natural behaviors for ducks can encourage a predatory response from carnivores.
For duck-owners in the city, male Appleyards are noticeably quieter than female ducks who can become quite loud and chatty, especially when they are brooding. However, even the loudest Appleyard hens are not as noisy as some other breeds, and keeping two or more ducks can help with noise levels.
Although ducks themselves don’t smell when they are healthy and clean, a consideration for city dwellers is that ducks can create a lot of manure that the flock owner should regularly clean. A large free-range area when plenty of space can help cut down on the work required for upkeep.
Tips on Silver Appleyard Ducks Care
The Appleyard breed is prized for being a hearty duck that doesn’t require any special care above and beyond what is necessary for many breeds.
- Provide access to a bowl of water near their feed as ducks often like to wet their bill as they eat
- Keep foraging areas plentiful and local because Appleyards prefer to stay close to home.
- Limit flocks to 1-2 drakes and five hens
- Use straw or wood chips for bedding in the duck house to keep everything dry and warm
Silver Appleyard Ducks Cost
The cost of owning Silver Appleyard ducks is roughly the same as other more common breeds, aside from the fact that the ducklings and adults will be more expensive as they are a rare breed.
Unsexed ducklings, purchased in small numbers from online farms and suppliers, will cost roughly $10-13 each. Unsexed offers a middle price between the much cheaper male ducklings, averaging $7-15 per duckling, and the more expensive $15 – 25 per female duckling.
Adult hens and drakes are usually 1-2 years old at the time of sale and can be purchased for $20-30 per duck from farms or found on classified listings where farms wish to rehome them.
The care and feeding of your Appleyard duck doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. One of the reasons they make great beginner ducks is because they are easy to care for. They are well-known to be primarily foragers provided the food is available.
Large companies like Purina manufacture maintenance feed and duckling starter feed in addition to custom blends that can also be purchased from farms that sell ducklings. Other realtors like farm supply stores or online shops sell feed for as little as a few dollars per bag.
In addition to food costs, consider that Appleyard ducks require housing, the creation of bodies of water like ponds and pools, if naturally occurring isn’t available, and occasionally veterinary care for diseases and advice on deworming treatments.
Ducklings will also require warm boxes or incubators to hatch and for the first few weeks of their life. Some owners will choose to have a separate coop for ducklings to transition them from indoor to outdoor for protection and to allow the monitoring of their growth and health.
Housing for the flock requires a duck house or low-level coop with a cover that can be purchased pre-built for $100-300 or built at home through DIY plans.
Noteworthy Facts about Silver Appleyard Ducks
- This breed is considered threatened in the wild.
- They are a very sturdy duck both in personality and body composition.
Info Table
| Purpose | Meat, eggs, exhibition |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Breed Class | Heavy |
| Weight – Drake | 8 – 9.5 lbs (3.6 – 4.1 kg) |
| Weight – Hen | 7 – 8 lbs (3.2 – 3.6 kg) |
| Eggs per year | 200 – 270 |
| Egg size | Large |
| Egg weight | 2.5 – 3.8 oz. (57–85 g) |
| Egg production age | 6 months |
| Diet | Waterfowl feed, foraging |
| Lifespan | 4 – 8 years |
| Flying ability | Poor (stays close to home) |
| Personality | Calm and peaceful |
| Distinguishing features | Large with a blocky red and white physique |
| Varieties | Silver in large and miniature |
| Cost (USD) | $8-16 dependant on male or female |