Indian Runner

Duck

Also called Runner

The Runner stands nearly vertical and moves at a trot instead of a waddle — the 'penguin duck' of Victorian menageries, and the shape from which the Campbell and most other laying breeds were built. It has nothing to do with India: the birds arrived in Europe from the East Indies, chiefly Java and Bali, where they had been herded through wet rice paddies for centuries by farmers who wanted a duck that could walk miles a day and eat pests without trampling the crop. That heritage makes them the best foragers on this list and the most eager walkers, but also the least interested in sitting on their own eggs. They come in more standardised colours than any other duck breed and are unmistakable in a lineup from fifty yards.

Beginner friendly

Cold hardy

Heat tolerant

Flighty

Egg colorWhite To Blue Green

Egg production150–200 / year

TemperamentFlighty

BroodinessRare

ClimateCold hardy, Heat tolerant

PurposeEggs

FlightFlightless

Weight

Duck3.5–4.5 lb

Drake4–5 lb

How to spot it

Bill: Long and wedge-shaped, running in a straight line with the top of the skull
Carriage: Near-vertical — 45–75° above horizontal, giving a bowling-pin silhouette
Plumage: Many recognised colours; the classic is fawn-and-white with a solid coloured back
Legs & feet: Orange, set very far back, which is what forces the upright posture
Look for: A duck that stands like a wine bottle and runs rather than waddles