The Campbell is a British

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of domestic duck. It was developed at Uley, in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of ...

, England, at the turn of the 20th century; being introduced to the public in 1898 and the Khaki variety in 1901.

History

Mrs Adele Campbell GRO & BMD Records commenced poultry-keeping around 1887 and later purchased an Indian Runner Duck of indiscriminate type which was an exceptional layer (182 eggs in 196 days), and which formed the basis in developing the "Campbell Ducks"; in her own words "Various matings of Rouen, Indian Runner and Wild Duck were resorted to produce them". The resulting birds were prolific layers. The "Campbell" breed was introduced to the public in 1898. In an attempt to create a more attractive buff-coloured duck Mrs. Campbell resorted to further cross-matings. The resulting progeny, introduced to the Public in January 1901, is alleged to have reminded Mrs. Campbell of

British army uniforms British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, hence naming this new colour-form "Khaki Campbell Duck". The Khaki Campbell Duck Club was formed and in 1923, Mrs. Campbell's husband, Dr. Arthur Campbell was elected president. The following year, 1924, the Khaki Campbell Duck was accepted to the Standards of the Poultry Club, UK. In 1941 Khaki Campbell Ducks were introduced to the

American Standard of Perfection The ''American Standard of Perfection'' is the official breed standard for the poultry fancy in North America. First published in 1874 by the American Poultry Association, the ''Standard of Perfection'' (commonly referred to as "the ''Standard''" ...

. This breed of duck is listed as 'Watch' by the

American Livestock Breeds Conservancy The Livestock Conservancy, formerly known as the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) and prior to that, the American Minor Breeds Conservancy, is a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting rare breeds, also known as " ...

Characteristics

Campbells can come in three colour varieties:

khaki The color khaki (, ) is a light shade of tan with a slight yellowish tinge. Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage relative to sandy ...

, dark and white. They were developed by crossing between

Mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...

and

Runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

ducks. The Khaki Campbell drake is mostly khaki-coloured with a darker head usually olive green lacking the white ring of its Mallard ancestors. The Khaki Campbell duck has a more modest plumage of Khaki covering the entirety of the body.

Use

The egg production of the Campbell breed can exceed even the most efficient of egg-laying domestic

chickens The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domestication, domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey junglefowl, grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster ...

, with the breed laying an average of 300 eggs a year. When provided a moderate "duck conscious" environment to live in they will lay a more than modest number of eggs per week. Campbells become mature at approximately 7 months. Campbell ducks seldom hatch out others' young; however, in very communal situations do hatch large broods together. Most brooding instinct has been selectively bred against in exchange for prolific egg laying ability in this breed. The ducks, when raised by hand, are not usually defensive of their eggs or nests, making collection of eggs very easy. Mechanical incubators or broody chickens are used to hatch out Campbell ducklings when ducks are not present in the process. Incubation takes approximately 23 to 28 days for a Campbell duckling to hatch and eggs need to be inspected for ducklings that have not emerged from their egg completely.

References

{{British livestock, R.4 Duck breeds Conservation Priority Breeds of the Livestock Conservancy Duck breeds originating in the United Kingdom