Chocolate Runner Ducklings

Hatching February to November

Chocolate Runner Ducks are striking pure chocolate brown birds. The chocolate coloring is not speckled - it is even and pure like a duck-shaped chocolate Easter candy. Bills and feet are a slightly darker chocolate brown color. Feet can get some orange coloring on older birds. Like all Runner Ducks, Chocolate Runners are tall and upright with a posture that reminds one of a penguin. 

Production: Runner Ducks were originally bred in Southeastern Asia and Indonesia for sustainable insect control in rice production. For today's organic and sustainable food producers, Runner Ducks can still be put to use to control garden insects. They are easy to herd and manage and are hardy and easy to care for. These birds have also been introduced to playgrounds or picnic areas to control spiders and insects. 

Beyond their useful insect controlling abilities, Runner Ducks are very solid production birds. They lay between 100-180 eggs per year. Their eggs are large and lightly tinted. Runner Ducks are known to outlay many breeds of chickens, making them a dependable production bird.

Temperament: Runner Ducks may be a bit shy and nervous, but this high-strung personality is also what makes them one of the most energetic and industrious barnyard birds. They are extremely active foragers and will briskly and effectively cover a whole yard searching and eating insects, slugs, spiders, and worms. They are often raised as pets or as exhibition birds. Their strong herding instinct makes them particularly easy to manage despite their high-strung temperament. Chocolate Runner Ducks do not usually go broody.

History: The Runner Duck is an ancient duck breed. Runner Ducks originated in Indonesia and were bred for two main purposes - prolific egg laying and controlling pests in the rice paddies. They were imported into Great Britain and Europe in the early 1500s. The Chocolate variation was admitted into the APA in 1977.

Conservation Status: Recovering

Weight: Males 4.5 lbs; Females 4 lbs.

APA Class: Light Duck