Thriller shrouds the origins of the Cayuga duck. A few of the many legends, one claims the breed got here from a couple of untamed geese in New York. Some other claims the Cayuga derives from the traditional Black duck of Lancashire in the UK.
Regardless of the case, the duck will get its identify from a Local American tribe in New York’s Finger Lakes area. The Cayuga duck was once admitted to the American Same old of Perfection in 1874.
Bodily Attributes
The Cayuga is fully black, together with its invoice, legs, and toes. In daylight, alternatively, the plumage has an iridescent inexperienced sheen.
As those geese age their colour regularly mottles with white, particularly a number of the hens. Selective breeding towards white feathers additionally selects towards the feature iridescence, which then could be misplaced in long run generations.
The toes of growing older drakes would possibly broaden lines of orange, and their legs and invoice would possibly colour to darkish olive. Mature drakes broaden gender figuring out curled feathers on the most sensible in their tail.
Breed Qualities
Cayugas are a number of the hardiest of home geese. They’re superb foragers and, given sufficient just right looking floor, can fulfill maximum of their very own dietary wishes. They particularly relish bugs, snails, and slugs. However, as a result of they don’t readily fly, free-range Cayugas will have bother escaping predators.
Cayuga geese are particularly chilly hardy. In heat climate, regardless that, their black plumage absorbs warmth from daylight, so they want some colour.
This breed was once as soon as a well-liked meat and egg duck on New York farms. Cayugas mature unexpectedly. The hens succeed in 7 kilos reside weight at adulthood, the drakes develop to eight kilos. For meat functions, they’re able for harvest between 8 and 12 weeks of age.
Cayuga hens lay 100 to 150 medium to huge eggs according to season. The shells are white, coated with a black movie early within the laying season that regularly turns into grey because the season progresses. The hens would possibly brood, and once they do they’re truthful moms.
The Cayuga is a reasonably quiet, calm, and pleasant breed. Because of their shocking colour and their docile temperament, Cayuga geese are particularly fashionable at exhibition. For a similar causes, they make terrific yard pets.
Useful Hyperlinks
And that’s these days’s information from the Cackle Coop.
Gail Damerow is the writer of An Absolute Amateur’s Information to Elevating Yard Geese : Breeds, Feeding, Housing and Care, Eggs and Meat.