Buff Orpington Duck

Facts about Buff Orpington Ducks. Buff Orpington Ducks are used for egg production as well as for meat. The Buff Orpington Duck is a dual-propose domestic duck. This species of duck was initially created by William Cook of Orpington, Kent, United Kingdom, from mis-marked Orpington ducks. The Buff Duck was introduced to the public in 1897 at a Dairy Show in Islington, London and accepted to the American Poultry Associations Standard of Perfection in 1914. In the United Kingdom, the Buff Orpington Duck was accepted to the British Poultry Standard in the year 1910.

Buff Orpington Duck Breeding

The Buff Orpington Duck breeds in swamps, freshwater, marshes and grassland with scattered trees. The male Buff Orpington Duck will guard their nest by chasing away other ducks. Once the female duck lays 5 to 8 eggs, she will start to sit on her eggs to keep them warm so that they can hatch into baby ducklings. The eggs are normally gray buff or white in color. The eggs will hatch on average within 26 to 28 days. Baby Buff Orpington ducklings are able to fly within 5 to 8 weeks.

Buff Orpington Ducks Appearance

Male Buff Orpington Duck are slightly larger when compared to the females. In addition, the female’s bill is brown-orange while that of the male is yellow. Buff Orpington Ducks have wings that are short and are small and well curled tail. The eyes are brown in color and the feet are orange-yellow. It has a buff plumage and an orange-yellow shank. In terms of weight, a mature Buff Orpington Duck measures approximately 7 to 8 lbs (3.1 to 3.6 kg) while its length is about 22 3/4 (58 cm). The primary color of this duck species is buff. The under parts are buff in color while the back, belly and back patterns are solid. Anas platyrhynchos has a unique and plain head pattern.

A Buff Orpington Duck is a Precocial (meaning) Born or hatched with the eyes open, a covering of hair or down, capable of a high degree of independent activity from birth and able to leave the nest just a few hours after hatching.

Scientific name for Buff Orpington Duck "Anas Platyrhynchos" meaning - Wild dabbling duck from which domestic ducks are descended; widely distributed. From New Latin "anas" meaning (Duck) and the word Platyrhynchos comes from "platyrrhine", Ancient Greek meaning (broad snouted, flat-bridged nose).
Buff Orpington Ducks are birds in the Class of "Aves". Buff Orpington Duck and Ducks of all types are part of the bird family "Anatidae". Buff Orpington Ducks are also called "waterfowls" they are generally found in places were there is water, such as ponds, rivers, streams, lakes and occasionally your back yard pool. The definition of Anatidaephobia is irrational fear that you are being watched by a duck.

The male adult Buff Orpington Duck is called a (drake) and a adult female Buff Orpington Duck is called a (hen). A young baby duck is called a (duckling). A group of ducks is called a brace, raft, team, flock, or paddling. The male Buff Orpington Ducks (drakes) are the brighter colored ducks while the female (hen) are usually a plain colored for hiding purposes to be camouflaged from their enemies when they are sitting in their nests.

Feature about the Buff Orpington Ducks feet

Buff Orpington Ducks have webbed feet, that makes them act like paddles, designed for swimming. The Buff Orpington Duck push their webbed paddle feet back in a kicking motion, this allows them to move swift through the water and when the feet come back, they will close for less water resistance. The Buff Orpington Ducks paddle feet do not feel cold, even when it swims in cold icy water. The webbed feet makes a duck waddle instead of walk. The Buff Orpington Ducks feet have capillaries which help blood flow to their feet. The warm blood flow down the leg and creates a heat exchange system. When the blood flows down the leg, it meets the cold blood and is warmed up to keep the ducks feet warm. Buff Orpington Ducks feet are thin because they contain soft tissue and few muscles.

Features about Buff Orpington Duck egg

A Buff Orpington Duck egg has twice the nutritional value than a chicken egg and will stay fresh longer because of their thicker shell.
Buff Orpington Duck eggs are richer with more Albumen "the white of an egg" making pastries and cakes richer and fluffier. A Buff Orpington Duck Egg has more Omega 3 fatty acids than a chicken egg. Omega 3 is thought to improve skin health, memory and Brain health. Buff Orpington Duck Eggs are an Alkaline producing food and a Chicken egg is an acid food and leaves your body more acid. Buff Orpington Duck eggs are high in Cholesterol. Duck eggs have 6 times the Vitamin D and 2 times the Vitamin A than a chicken egg. Buff Orpington Duck eggs have 2 times the cholesterol than a chicken egg.

Buff Orpington Ducks Diet

Buff Orpington Duck feeds on a number of foods such as aquatic invertebrates, grain, aquatic vegetation, insects and larvae, acorns and seeds.

Features about the Buff Orpington Ducks Bill

The "bill" is what is call a Buff Orpington Ducks mouth. There are no teeth in the ducks bill, they have rows of thin bristles, which helps them to filter pieces of nutrition out of the water. Buff Orpington Ducks swallow there food whole and it goes to an organ called a gizzard, were the food is first ground up and than moves on to the stomach. The different bill shapes and sizes for finding food, has over time mutated to fit each environment. The Buff Orpington Ducks bill is flat and broad and has rows of fine incision along the outer edge called "lamellae". meaning a thin membrane, plate, scale or layer, as of cell wall or bone tissue. The larnellae helps the Buff Orpington Duck to clutch food for feeding.

Buff Orpington Ducks Behavioral Patterns

Buff Orpington Duck filter feeds at the surface of water and tips up in shallow water. They also make occasional dives in deep waters. This type of ducks is found in wetland habitats. Statistics shows that Buff Orpington Duck population is declining by day.

Buff Orpington Ducks Water-proof feathers

A special feature that the Buff Orpington Duck has is its water-proof feathers, even when the Buff Orpington Duck dives underwater, its downy under-layer of feathers will stay totally 100% dry. There is a special gland called the "Preen Gland" also called Oil Gland or Uropygial, that produces oil that is near the Buff Orpington Ducks tail which covers and spreads the outer coat of the duck's feathers, which makes the duck water-proof.

Underneath the water-proof coat are downy soft fluffy feathers which keep the ducks body warm. Buff Orpington Ducks keep clean by being able to turn their heads completely backwards, and put their beaks into their feathers by preening themselves.

The Buff Orpington Ducks are related to swans and geese and the duck is the smallest of these birds with shorter wings and neck and a stocky body. Buff Orpington Ducks on average, live 4 to 8 years and can live up to 12 years, depending on the breed. Buff Orpington Ducks are omnivores; meaning - an animal that eats food of both animal and plant and origin.

The Buff Orpington Ducks see in color with very good vision and can see well underwater. Buff Orpington Ducks have three eyelids the third eyelid called nictitating membrane. They have a top and bottom as well as a third eyelid that is found on the side of the eye. The Buff Orpington Ducks eyelid blinking acts as a windshield wiper to clear the eye. This helps to see when diving under water can also help the eye from drying out while flying. This is an act of constantly cleaning and keeping the eye moist. Ducks fly will fly in a “V” shape to makes flying easier.
Ducks will lay more eggs, when there is more daylight, that's why farmers will keep the lights on in the ducks house for longer periods of time.