The Cayuga is the one duck whose eggs are the story: the first eggs of a season come out coated in a sooty black bloom that fades through charcoal and grey to near-white as the hen keeps laying. The breed was fixed in New York's Finger Lakes region by the 1840s and was the main market duck in the Northeast until the Pekin arrived and out-grew it. Its beetle-green plumage is the other draw — black feathers that flash iridescent green in sun, and that whiten with age, so old hens go increasingly pied. Cayugas are hardy through hard winters, quiet by duck standards, and forage well, but the black pinfeathers make them awkward to dress for the table.
Beginner friendly
Quiet breed
Good with kids
Cold hardy
Broody
Egg colorNear Black Early In The Lay Season And Paler With Each Month Until White
Egg production130–180 / year
TemperamentDocile
BroodinessOccasional
ClimateCold hardy
PurposeEggs, Meat, Show
FlightFlightless
Weight
Duck6–7 lb
Drake7–8 lb
How to spot it
Bill
Black, sometimes with an olive cast in older drakes
Carriage
Slightly above horizontal, medium-heavy and well-balanced
Plumage
Solid black with a strong beetle-green sheen over the whole bird; white feathers appear with age
Legs & feet
Black to dusky slate
Look for
Green-black plumage plus the black-tipped early-season eggs — no other breed lays them
