We love our black iridescent green ducks. They also lay us beautiful light gray to dark grey eggs. Sometimes we get a gem like that to the left that is very mottled and speckled. They lay darker eggs earlier in the laying season which get lighter as the season wanes. They lay about 100-150 eggs per year and can also be used for meat purposes. This breed is a Livestock Conservancy breed listed on 'watch' list. First described in early 1800's and thought to be of English origin originally, the Cayuga duck is named for the Native American people of Cayuga Lake in the Fingerlakes region of New York. They are a very docile and hardy duck well adapted to the Northeast. They are also great foragers and can very easily sustain themselves on their native environment.
One of our first animals purchased together at a local auction was a 'wild' black drake. He stole our hearts when he hissed at us viciously peeking into the box so we had to buy him. He cost us about $6 and could fly so we had to clip his wings (domestic Cayuga ducks do not fly). Eventually his pin feathers grew out and he disappeared. A few weeks later I saw a familiar black duck about a mile below us bathing in a small mountain stream. We had a few more sightings of him over the next year at different water spots on 'the hill' till he disappeared completely but his namesake lives on at Black Duck Farm where we will always be a little different and a little wild.
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