Cayuga duck

Lore & Background

The origins of the Cayuga are obscure. A much-repeated theory that it descends not from the mallard like almost all domestic ducks, but from Anas rubripes, the American black duck, remains unsubstantiated and unverified by any scientific evidence. Unlike A. rubripes, the Cayuga is a true black in color, the result of a genetic mutation fairly common in breeds derived from A. platyrhynchos. The Cayuga has other characteristics compatible with derivation from the mallard; in particular, it shows the typical curled 'drake feather' in the tail, while A. rubripes does not.

Around 1840, one John S. Clark obtained some ducks of this type in Orange County, New York, and took them to Cayuga County in the Finger Lakes region. The breed is named for the indigenous Cayuga people of the area. It was included in the first edition of the American Standard of Perfection in 1874, and first exported to the United Kingdom in 1851; the first British standard was published in 1901.

Reader's Guide

The Cayuga duck holds a significant place in American agricultural history as the principal duck breed reared for meat in the United States during the second half of the 19th century. Its dominance began to wane around 1890 with the rise of the American Pekin, which lacked the black pinfeathers of the Cayuga and was thus easier to pluck and clean for sale. By the 21st century, the Cayuga is most often kept for ornament or showing, though it may still be reared for meat and eggs. Its conservation status has shifted over time: in 2007 the FAO listed it as 'not at risk' worldwide, but in 2008 the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy listed it as 'threatened' in the United States, and by 2025 it was listed as 'watch'. The breed's distinctive black plumage with beetle-green iridescence, along with its dark eggs that lighten over the laying season, make it a unique and historically important domestic duck.

Did You Know?

• The Cayuga was the principal duck reared for meat in the United States until the last years of the 19th century.
• Its eggs are dark at the beginning of the laying season, sometimes almost black, and gradually lighten to pale greenish blue or almost white.
• The breed is named for the Cayuga people of the Finger Lakes region of New York.
• The Cayuga shows the typical curled 'drake feather' in the tail, a characteristic of mallard-derived ducks.