Initially bred in Southeast Asia, all Runners have ancestry that dates back to Java over 2000 years ago. They were mistakenly named “Indian” Runners when first imported to England in the 1850s because they arrived on a ship from India; the importing family finally disclosed in 1909, that these runners were in fact from Southeast Asia.
The first Runners imported into England were Fawn, Fawn-and White, or White. They were first exhibited in 1877 at the Dumfries Show in Scotland. Later in 1898, they were admitted into the American Standard Registry, though the Black, Blue, and Chocolate varieties were not recognized until 1977.
These Black Runners have plumage that is a lustrous greenish black color, and they have black bills, brown eyes, and dusky black to black shanks and feet. They breed true, so if you mate a Black Runner with a Black Runner, all of the progeny will be Black Runners.
Runner ducks are hardy because they typically cover hundreds of miles in their travels over the course of their lifetime, while foraging for seeds, insects, slugs and other bugs. However, they are light in weight at 3.25-4 lbs, so it isn’t likely that they will trample your garden or yard. Their egg production is average now as opposed to a century ago, due to extensive breeding with an emphasis on coloration. They will lay approximately 100-180 large (65-80 grams) eggs per year. Runner females will lay either white or light green eggs, with some laying dark gray or even blackish eggs at the beginning of the season.
Our ducks will fully integrate with all the other breeds that we offer. If you want purebred ducklings hatching from your ducks, make sure you separate your ducks by breed during the mating season. Or you can let your ducks cross and see what different shapes and colors you will get with their ducklings.