Indian Runner Ducks

By: Tim Daniels
January 18, 2015
Updated: 4 years ago

Uses: Utility – Eggs and good for organic pest control, particularly in vineyards.
Eggs: Up to 200 eggs per year.
Origin: East Indies.
Weight: Drake: 1.6 – 2.3 Kg, Duck: 1.4 – 2 Kg.
Classification: Runner.
Colours: Apricot Trout (Saxony), Black, Blue, Chocolate, Fawn, Fawn & White, Mallard, Silver, Trout, White.
Useful to Know: Indian Runners do not originate from India but the East Indies – Malaya, Java and Lombok. They are prolific egg layers that are happier spending most of their time foraging for food than being on water. Probably THE most popular duck that can be found in a multitude of colour varieties.

Indian Runner ducks are possibly the most influential of all of the duck breeds. Many of today’s breeds of light duck have in part been created from the Indian Runner Duck. The Welsh Harlequin, Abacot Ranger and the famous Khaki Campbell for example would not exist if it were not for the Indian Runner.

The Indian Runner is reported to have first appeared in the UK in 1835 and they were originally called Penguin Ducks. The first fawn and white runners were standardised in 1901 with other colours following (see colour varieties below).

Indian Runners are active ducks that enjoy foraging for slugs and insects. One of their original uses in Asia was to clear the paddy fields of pests. They would be driven there in the mornings and rounded up again at night so that they could be kept safe from predators over night. Of course, they are well equipped to cover the distance quickly being able to run at a reasonable pace. In some parts of the World, they are still used in this way. Some organic vineyards in South Africa are starting to use Indian Runner Ducks to clear the vines of pests to avoid the use of chemicals.

Colour Varieties

There are a number of different colour varieties of Indian Runner duck available but the Standards do vary by region. In America there have been 8 colour varieties admitted to the American Standard of Perfection whilst in the UK, the British Waterfowl Standard has 14.
[one_half][callout style=”lightblue” title=”British Waterfowl Standards 2008″ centertitle=”false” align=”left” width=”100%”]There are 14 colour varieties. The Fawn & White was admitted in 1901. The White and the Fawn in 1922, the Black and the Chocolate in 1930, the Mallard, Trout and Cumberland Blue in 1982. Finally, the Apricot Dusky, Blue Dusky, Apricot Trout, Blue Trout and Silver were admitted in 2008.[/callout][/one_half]

[one_half last] [callout style=”darkblue” title=”American Standard of Perfection 2010″ centertitle=”false” align=”right” width=”100%”]The American Standard has 8 colour varieties listed. The Fawn & White was admitted first in 1898 with the White and the Pencilled varieties following in 1914. Finally, the Black, Buff, Chocolate, Cumberland Blue and Gray varieties were all admitted to the Standard in 1977. [/callout][/one_half]
[clear]

Photos

Apricot Trout Indian Runner Drake owned by S. Carroll. Photo courtesy of Rupert Stephenson.

Head of Apicot Trout Indian Runner Drake. Photo courtesy of Rupert Stephenson.

Black Indian Runner Duck owned by Judith Barnett

Black Indian Runner Marcell Worley — Black Indian Runner Duck owned by Marcel Worley. Photo Courtesy of Rupert Stephenson.

Fawn Indian Runner Duck. Photo courtesy of the Rice Collection. Taken between 1920 and 1940.

Fawn and White Indian Runner Drake. Photo Courtesy of Rupert Stephenson.

Fawn and White Indian Runner Duck owned by Marcell Worley. Photo Courtesy of Rupert Stephenson.

Mallard Indian Runner Duck. Owned by M.V. Hicks. Photo Courtesy of Rupert Stephenson.

Sheep Dog Training with Indian Runner Ducks!

Silver Indian Runner Duck. Photo courtesy of Rupert Stephenson.

Trout Indian Runner Drake owned by Lisa Hirons.

Head of Trout Indian Runner Duck. Photo courtesy of Rupert Stephenson.

Trout Indian Runner Duck owned by Chris Ashton. Photo courtesy of Rupert

White Indian Runner Drake owned by John Richards. Photo courtesy of Rupert Stephenson.

White Indian Runner Duck owned by John Kay and Son. Photo Courtesy of Rupert Stephenson.

Books

The following books are available. Links take you to the Amazon or other sellers’ pages for the books.

Breed Clubs

UK: The Indian Runner Duck Association.

Discussion

Looking for stock? Visit the Waterfowl Section of our Forum
Please leave a comment below if you can provide further information or have a question about this breed.

Tim Daniels

Tim is the founder of the poultry keeper website and lives in Herefordshire, UK. He is passionate about poultry and keeps a range of different chickens, ducks, geese and quail.

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