Crested
Duck
The Crested is defined by the pompom of feathers on its skull — a mutation depicted in seventeenth-century Dutch paintings and standardised in the United States in 1874. The crest is not merely cosmetic: it comes from a gene that leaves a gap in the skull filled with a fatty deposit, and in a double dose it is lethal, killing roughly a quarter of embryos from crest-to-crest matings before hatch. Responsible breeders therefore pair a crested bird to a plain one, which means only about half the ducklings will carry a crest at all, and even carriers can show neurological wobble or a poorly seated crest. It is a friendly, medium-weight, unremarkable-to-keep duck wearing a genuinely problematic hat, so it is worth going in with eyes open.
Weight
How to spot it
- Bill
- Orange to yellow, matching the variety's leg colour
- Carriage
- About 20–30° above horizontal on a medium, well-rounded body
- Plumage
- White, black, blue or buff — the crest, not the colour, defines the breed
- Legs & feet
- Orange
- Look for
- A round tuft of feathers sitting squarely on the crown; off-centre crests are common faults
Varieties
White
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8 providers currently list Crested.
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