I am a duck breeder who relocated from urban life in Tampa, FL, to a rural mountainous area outside of Radford, VA.
What Are the Best Duck Breeds for Eggs?
This is a tricky question. To answer it properly, we first need to determine a couple of things.
- What do you want the eggs for?
- Do you live in an urban setting or somewhere rural?
- Do you like greenish-blue eggs?
You need to know what you are looking for before you get started.
In general, Pekin and Campbells produce the most eggs. Runners produce a substantial amount of greenish-blue ones. The Aylesbury, a form of Pekin, produces a good number of eggs, but it is critically endangered according to the Livestock Conservancy.
For this article, I used the duck comparison chart data from Metzer Farms, my personal experience raising ducks, and research data. I hope that all of this information will help you decide on the best duck breed for your egg-laying needs.
The 4 Best Duck Breeds for Laying Eggs
Breed | Description | Pekin
They produce the biggest eggs.
Aylesbury
They are similar to the Pekin, but they are endangered.
(Khaki) Campbell
They produce the most eggs, but their eggs are smaller than Pekin eggs. They are small birds, so they are ideal to raise in an urban setting.
Runners
They lay blueish-green eggs, however they produce fewer eggs per year than most other duck breeds. They are good gardeners.
Comparison of the Best Duck Breeds for Egg Production
Pekins, Aylesburies, (Khaki) Campbells, and Runners are the best ducks for eggs, at least in terms of production. The Pekin and Aylesbury breeds are nearly identical, except for their bills: Pekin ducks have orange bills, and Aylesburies have pink bills.
Pekins and Aylesburies
If you are looking to consume a lot of eggs, then the Pekin should be your number one choice. I say this based on two factors:
- It produces the biggest eggs.
- It lays an impressive amount.
Khaki Campbells
- The Campbell lays, on average, eight more eggs per year than the Pekin. However, Pekin eggs are, on average, 15 grams heavier than Campbell eggs.
- For urban egg production, Campbells are the best choice because they are half the size of Pekin ducks, which means you can fit more of them into a smaller area.
- Their average egg production is a bit higher than the bigger ducks, but the eggs are about 15 grams lighter. This isn't too big of a deal for most people because Campbell eggs are around 10 grams bigger than the largest average chicken egg!
Runners
- Runners are farm birds that lay the sought-after blueish-green eggs, however, they produce fewer eggs per year than most other duck breeds.
- Their eggs are comparatively similar to chicken eggs.
- They are bug-eating machines.
- Because of their taller stance and lighter weight, they can reach and jump higher than most other ducks, making them "garden ninjas." They have been gardeners for over two-thousand years.
Breeding: The Best Ducks for Egg Hatching
If you intend on breeding ducks, the questions you must ask yourself are totally different. The new questions revolve around what your breeding purposes are.
