Gadwall Ducks

Gadwall Ducks

A PAIR is a male/female pair of unrelated birds.

• Breeding season pairs start bonding mid to late fall, breed early spring
• Clutch size  7-12 eggs
• Incubation period  25 days
• 2 and 2.25 pound

Gadwall Ducks, Anas Strepera, may not be the flashiest of ducks but are captivatingly patterned in contrasting browns, grays, creams, and black. Males have an appearance reminiscent of a tweed-clad Oxford professor. Males have a rounded and tall head, orange legs and feet, and a black bill. Females look very similar to female Mallards, but the female Gadwall has white speculum feathers. Males will molt into non-breeding or eclipse plumage, which looks very similar to the female coloration.

Gadwall Ducks do very well as members of a mixed collection. They are neither aggressive nor overly timid.

Although Gadwalls were originally found more in western North America, their range has been expanding in recent years to stretch further east. They are most commonly seen in the central areas of North America. Gadwalls are also found in Europe and Asia. Gadwalls are migratory, and populations move to Southern locales during winter and up to northern breeding grounds in spring. Gadwall Ducks inhabit the Great Plains, open wetlands, marshes, and prairie potholes, and tundra during the breeding season. Upon migration and throughout the winter, they can be found in lakes, large ponds, reservoirs, fresh and saltwater marshes, muddy edges of estuaries, and even in city parks and sewage ponds.

Housing Requirements: Gadwall Ducks do well in captivity. They are cold hardy and quite hardy and adaptable. They will need an adequately large enclosure with a cover as they do fly. Water for swimming as well as for dabbling is necessary as well.

Diet: In the wild, Gadwalls eat submerged vegetation, as well as water insects, snails, and other invertebrates. During the breeding season, protein requirements are higher, and the amount of animal matter consumed is, therefore, higher as well. A commercial waterfowl diet that is 18% protein would be very appropriate although providing diversity in vegetation and more protein during the breeding season would be optimal.