In recent years, interest in breeding unusual Indian runner ducks with our farmers and poultry farmers has grown significantly. And this is not surprising, because the bird has a beautiful egg-laying and is famous for extremely tasty, juicy and tender meat. However, the rearing of ducks will be successful only if certain rules and conditions are observed. What - let's consider.
History reference
Indian ducks are very similar in appearance to penguins, so it is generally accepted that their ancestors were penguin ducks. The first mentions of an unusual bird are found in the writings of Charles Darwin, when he described the meat of the birds as the most delicious and unusual product of the XIX century.
Did you know? The homeland of Indian runners is the island of Ost-India, where they were first bred more than two thousand years ago.
Runners appeared on the territory of European countries at the beginning of the 20th century, in 1926. However, at that time birds were kept in zoos and shown as unusual and rare specimens.
Video: Indian duck runners
Description and differences in color
Since its appearance Indian ducks are similar to penguinsIt is difficult to confuse them with other species of birds. They have a vertical, elongated upward, bottle-like torso, a round chest, a long and thin neck, wings tightly attached to the body, long legs, a shape similar to a penguin, and thick plumage.
There are several subspecies of birds that differ in the color of their plumage. 
Wild
The female of wild color is distinguished by brown plumage and golden-yellow beak with dark speck on the tip. While the male can be recognized by the emerald color of the neck, the red-brown chest and the characteristic white closed rim connecting the neck to the breast. The drake has a small tail of black and green color, dark gray wings and pumpkin orange paws. 
Silvery-wild
The male of silvery-wild color can be recognized by the red-brown breast and silver belly. His head is almost black with a greenish tint and with a green beak, the wings are completely white. The limbs are orange.
The duck is distinguished by yellowish-white plumage, with small lemon-gray specks on the neck, back and nape.
Trout
A trout-colored drake has a red chest, a dark back and gray wings. A small beak with a characteristic black claw mark adorns a willow coloring on its head. A distinctive feature of this tail is the presence of an open rim on the green neck. Paws are bright orange. 
The female "trout" has a light-brown coloring, while on the back, throat and abdomen it is more highlighted. The beak of a duck is bright orange with small dark specks.
White
The males and females of the white subspecies have the same coloring - completely white both on the body and on the wings. The beaks of birds have a beautiful lemon-yellow hue. 
The black
Unlike the white subspecies, the representatives of black ducks have dark plumage with an emerald sheen and an unusual dark green beak.
You can also see oriental ducks with a unique blue, spotted color or coloring in the "peas". There are birds with "Ukrainian" yellow-blue plumage. 
Puberty and egg production
Indian runners are of particular interest to farmers due to high egg production. Birds become sexually mature at the age of 5-6 months.
Did you know? Runners of different colors rush in different seasons. For example, whites carry eggs only in winter, and black ones only in summer. What is the reason for such a regime of egg production, scientists have not yet established.
On average, one female, depending on the conditions of housing and nutrition, is able to carry from 150 to 360 eggs per year. The weight of one egg is 65-80 g, the shell thickness is 0.38 mm, the color is mostly white, it is found with blue and greenish tint.
Eggs of ducks of this breed possess excellent fertilization and high hatchability. After hatching, the chicks quickly gain body weight and weigh over 1.5 kg by the age of two months.
Live weight duck and drake
Indian ducks belong to the birds of the egg direction, although their meat is also considered a useful delicacy, the main feature of which is the absence of the characteristic duck smell. 
On average, live weight of a drake ranges from 1.8 to 2 kg. The weight of the female is slightly less and with good nutrition it can reach 1.7-1.8 kg.
Find out how to eat duck meat and fat and how to chop and pluck duck without hemp.
Conditions of detention
Despite the fact that the eastern runners have a "foreign" origin and have an outstanding appearance, they are quite undemanding in content. They tolerate frosty winters well, but in such cases they reduce egg production to 130 eggs per year.
How to equip the house
To obtain decent egg laying indian ducks should be equipped with high-quality house. The main requirements for the premises are: clean, dry bedding and good lighting. Since the runners are heat-loving birds, they should organize a warm comfortable atmosphere and a minimum of 12-hour light day. 
In winter, to create the necessary lighting, you should use additional sources in the form of energy-saving lamps. It is important to maintain a normal, average humidity level of 65-75%, otherwise at elevated rates the birds can be exposed to various diseases.
Learn more about building your own barn for ducks, as well as whether you can keep ducks and chickens together.
Obligatory aspect of keeping ducks is considered regular bedding change. As bedding material, it is recommended to use dry straw, sawdust or peat, which perfectly absorbs excess liquid and keeps the litter dry for a long time. 
The territory where the birds live should be rather large: for one herd of at least 10 square meters. m
Did you know? Many people mistakenly believe that duck eggs are not suitable for human consumption. This is absolutely not true. Duck eggs are much more nutritious and healthy than chicken eggs, they do not have cholesterol, but there are fats that are well absorbed by the body.
Walk and access to water
Runners must have access to water. If it is not possible to organize free walking and swimming in the reservoirs, then it is necessary to make a poultry yard special bath. Regular water procedures help clean the feathers and prevent various skin diseases, problems with feather loss. The lack of a reservoir adversely affects the health of the ducks, as well as their productivity.
The ideal option would be to arrange a feathered free range. They love to collect "grass" food, do not give up various plants, insect larvae. During walking, you need to ensure that the birds are not on the site where they grow vegetables, because vegetables are the most favorite treat ducks. If it is impossible to walk birds, they should definitely be given different greens daily: nettle, dandelions, lettuce, dill, etc. 
Diet
When growing runners, one should not save on their nutrition. They are quite voracious, so it is very important to control the diet and provide food in the required, metered amounts.
Important! Since ducks belong to egg breeds, it is necessary to ensure that the female does not become fat, otherwise her egg production will drop significantly, or even disappear altogether.
Grazing and feeding in the summer
Feeding during the summer period should be based on regular walking of birds. Ducks belong to the pasture birds, so they are happy to find their own food, eat greens, tops of plants, nettle leaves, dandelions, insect larvae, worms, etc. all day long
Also, birds are allowed to give food waste, vegetables, roots, unlimited quantities of duckweed from reservoirs.
An approximate "summer menu" should consist of such ingredients (per bird):
- greens - in unlimited quantities;
- boiled potatoes (steamed) - 30 g;
- carrots - 20 g;
- bone meal - 10 g;
- bean flour - 10 g;
- wheat bran - 25 g;
- grain flour - 130 g
In the summer, it is enough to feed the ducks once a day in the evening, using cereal mixtures from corn, wheat, barley, oats and peas. 
Differences in winter feeding
In winter, the frequency of feeding ducks increases up to three times per day. During the period of active egg production, birds are recommended to feed up to four times a day. It is necessary to enrich the menu with balanced complexes of biologically active substances and minerals, add grated beets, carrots, zucchini, boiled potatoes, chopped bran to the main feed.
The main winter menu of runners includes:
- wet mash
- specialized feed;
- cereals - corn, wheat, barley, millet, oats, peas;
- boiled vegetables;
- vitamins and mineral supplements;
- chalk, coquina, limestone.
Learn how to make feed for ducks do it yourself.
In winter, the bird needs more food, but you need to control the daily ration: not to allow overeating, but also to put a duck on a diet is also not necessary. 
Breeding Indian runner (ducklings)
In order to get healthy, strong offspring, five of the most productive females and one of the most high-quality drake are selected from the herd in the fall. When choosing "parents", preference is given to birds with a developed round sternum, well divorced pelvic bones, a soft belly and beautiful plumage. The Indian breeds are quite active, high-spirited, easily coping with the task of mating, ready to cover the ducks from 5-6 months of age.
Egg Incubation
Layers are excellent hens. They are happy to incubate chicks, and the hatchability of the latter under natural conditions is 90-95%. The small size of the female does not allow her to warm up more than 8-10 eggs, so the poultry farmers use incubators to grow the numerous livestock.
We advise you to read more about breeding ducklings in an incubator.
Eggs for incubation should be:
- approximately the same size;
- always fresh - up to 8 days;
- without external damage, chips, cracks.
Maturation of chicks through the incubator lasts about one month. During incubation, you must adhere to certain indicators. temperature, humidity and rollover mode:
- first week: temperature indicators should be + 38 ... +38.2 ° C, humidity - 70%. Eggs should be turned at least 4 times a day;
- second week: temperature - +37.8 ° C, humidity level - 60%, number of rolls - 4-6;
- 15-25th day: humidity and temperature indicators remain at the previous level, but at the same time, the eggs are cooled twice a day for 15-20 minutes using a cool, weak solution of potassium permanganate;
- 26-31st day: the temperature is left at +37.8 ° C, the humidity is increased to 80%. Cooling is stopped.
Important! It is very important to adhere to the optimum temperature during incubation. Since eggs contain large amounts of fat, under the influence of high temperatures, it can simply kill future runners.
Nestlings begin to “hatch” from eggs approximately on the 29th – 31st day. The ducklings hatch strong and healthy, gain weight rapidly and reach two pounds after two months. 
Care for the young
Runner females are beautiful mothers and happily take care of their offspring. However, if the babies are left to the mother, then the egg-laying performance will decrease significantly, because the duck raising chicks does not rush itself. Therefore, all efforts to care for young stock fall on the shoulders of poultry farmers. The main advantage of the runners is that their chicks have excellent immunity, resistance to various ailments, and therefore do not need special care. The main thing that they need is a warm room, dry bedding, good food and constant access to fresh water.
It is interesting: Why is a duck swimming?
What to feed
Eating young is a little different from the diet of adults.
- The first days of life, ducklings are fed 6-8 times a day exclusively with chicken yolks, to which protein is mixed in a few days later.
- By the end of the fourth day, compound feed soaked in water is added and served in small portions.
- Greens must be present in the menu of young animals. Dill, dandelion and spinach are especially fond of little ducklings. These plants in large quantities contain micro and macronutrients, vitamins required for proper growth and development of birds.
- By the end of the first month, chicks are transferred to adult nutrition.
Video: all about indian runners
Reviews of breed Indian runner
Indian runners are an amazing breed of ducks, which has many unique advantages. The birds, despite their origin, are absolutely unpretentious in care and nutrition, they are able to please breeders with year-round egg-laying and become a source of delicious dietary meat that does not have a specific smell of tina. The only difficulty that poultry farmers may encounter is the acquisition of high-quality breeding material.
