The Elizabeth duck is a very beautiful breed of domestic duck originating in Australia. It is a pretty new breed which was developed in Merrylands, New South Wales, Australia in 1972. The breed was developed by Lance Ruting, and named after his wife, Ann Elizabeth Ruting.
Lance Ruting created the Elizabeth duck from crosses between Rouen Claire and Mallard duck. His aim was to develop such a duck breed which is fast growing for the purpose of meat.
The breed is not widely available throughout the World. Currently, it is only bred and available in Australia and New Zealand. Elizabeth duck is classified as endangered by the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia. Read more information about this meat duck breed below.
Elizabeth Duck Characteristics
Elizabeth duck is a very beautiful small sized meat duck breed. It has similarities to the Welsh Harlequin in coloring. But it is smaller and stockier bird than the Welsh Harlequin duck.
The Elizabeth ducks come in only one color and they are short with a broad chest and round breast. They have rounded head and slightly short legs.
Elizabeth drakes have a glossy green head which ends at a white ring. They have claret colored chest feathers and bordered in cream, off-white underbelly. On the back, the drakes have charcoal grey feathers ringed with white.
They have solid back rump and dull black-brown tail. While the ducks/females are of fawn colored with brown marks in the center of each feather on the majority of their body. The ducks have blue-green secondary flight feathers and off-white primary flight feathers spotted with grey.
And both ducks and drakes have grey bills, bronze legs and dark brown eyes. On average Elizabeth duck weights about 1.2 to 1.6 kg. And drakes weight about 1.6 to 1.8 kg. Photo from SEQWA (South East Queensland Waterfowl Association, Inc).
Uses
The Elizabeth duck was created as a small, fast growing meat duck breed. It is also a quite good egg laying duck breed. Currently the breed is mainly kept as an interest breed, but in Australia it is classed as an ornamental domestic duck.
Special Notes
The Elizabeth ducks are smaller in size. They are stocky birds with a very good temperament. They are relatively calm in nature and friendly. They are also good as pets. Review full breed profile of the Elizabeth duck in the following chart.
| Breed Name | Elizabeth |
| Other Name | None |
| Breed Purpose | Meat, Ornamental, Pets |
| Special Notes | Calm, Fast Grower |
| Breed Class | Light |
| Broodiness | Average |
| Drake | About 1.6 to 1.8kg |
| Duck | About 1.2 to 1.6 kg |
| Climate Tolerance | All Climates |
| Egg Color | White |
| Egg Size | Medium |
| Egg Weight | About 50 grams |
| Egg Productivity | Low |
| Flying Ability | Poor |
| Rarity | Rare (common in Australia and New Zealand) |
| Varieties | Coffee or Mallard type coloration |
| Country of Origin | Australia |
