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Black Runner Ducks
| Sex | Order | 1 to 29 | 30 to 124 | 125 to 299 | 300 to 749 | 750 to 1199 | 1200 to 1999 | 2000+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unsexed | $12.40 | $8.83 | $6.82 | $5.09 | $4.64 | $4.14 | $3.96 | |
| Male | $9.45 | $6.44 | $5.05 | $3.82 | $3.47 | $3.13 | $2.99 | |
| Female | $17.63 | $12.99 | $9.94 | $7.36 | $6.68 | $5.91 | $5.62 |
All Runners were originally bred in Southeast Asia for high egg production and excellent mobility. There is evidence of their ancient ancestry from stone carvings in Java that are over 2000 years old. These ducks are still being used as they were then. Flocks of ducks are herded daily from field to field eating waste rice, weed seeds, insects, slugs and other bugs. They are then put in a bamboo pen at night where they lay their eggs and are released the following morning to clean other fields. During the course of their lives the ducks may cover hundreds of miles in their travels. Therefore a hardy mobile duck is absolutely necessary - you will not find a better foraging duck than the Runner.
| Apr 22 | Apr 29 | May 6 | May 13 | May 20 | May 28 | Jun 3 | Jun 10 | Jun 17 | Jun 24 | Jul 1 | Jul 8 | Jul 15 | Jul 22 | Jul 29 | Aug 5 | |
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• Available
• Not Available
• Limited Availability (<10 birds)
As they are light in weight, there is also less chance of them trampling the vegetation in your garden or yard. Because of the high egg production of the native ducks, duck eggs are used in a variety of ways in Southeast Asia. Not only do they replace the typical chicken egg but duck eggs are made into two unique products, the balut (a partially incubated duck egg) and the salted egg (fresh eggs put in a salt solution or salt mud until the salt has permeated the entire egg). Due to the emphasis in coloration over the past 80 years in the breeding programs in England and the United States, the Runners no longer excel at egg production. They are very average at this point.
Why are they called Indian Runners? Tradition has it the ducks were first imported into England in the 1850s and were named Indians as the ship had proceeded from India and had traded with the "Indies". It wasn't until 1909 that the importing family acknowledged that they came from Southeast Asia - not India. But by then the name had stuck and the breed was extremely popular throughout the country. Until the Khaki Campbell was bred, Runners were by far the most productive egg laying ducks. Prior to the turn of the century there were many egg trials in England where representatives of different breeds and farmers were put on a common site and their egg production monitored and compared.
The first Runners imported into England were either Fawn, Fawn-and-White, or White in color. The first records of them being in an exhibition were in 1877 at the Dumfries Show in Scotland. In 1898 they were admitted into the American Standard Registry. The Black, Blue and Chocolate were not admitted until 1977. Though the Black and Chocolate breed true, the Blue do not as only 50% of their progeny are Blue. So that we produce 100% Blue colored birds, we have two pens of breeders. One pen has Black Runner males on Silver females. The other pen has Silver males on Black females. For more information on producing the blue color in poultry and our breeding program, see our page on Blue Swedish Ducks.
Customer Reviews of Black Runner Ducks
4.8November 7, 2020 | Review
Great ducks, very productive and as a bonus hilarious to have around.
December 28, 2020 | Perfect ducks
Our ducks showed up in the mail healthy and true to their breed. Great, healthy ducks. All have grown into beautiful egg layers! We are so happy with Metzer Farms.
January 12, 2022 | Beautiful, healthy ducks!
I love our black runner ducks! Our small family farm allows us to have them as pets. Our black runners are friendly, alert and act like guards of the mixed breed flock. They are very good egg layers, too. We had one of our black runner ducks go broody, too! Definitely recommend Metzer Farms to all my friends! Thank you!
March 30, 2022 | Happy health ducks
Got my ducks to day all 18 black runners where alive an well an doing great
February 3, 2023 | Recommend
Fun duck, arrived healthy. Sadly she recently died (she was abut 6 months old) we don't know why, but would definitely buy again. I recommend. Metzer farms.
July 3, 2023 | Rating
Unfortunately, our baby died after about a month. Along with some other breeds we had purchased. It was very upsetting, not sure if I can go through that again.
February 8, 2024 | Spicy Ducks
Oh I can not get enough of my two Black runner ducks. They are spicy girls, they have personalities. They definitely are fun to have around and to watch. They definitely are curious about everything and will make sure that you know that they are there
March 24, 2024 | AWESOME
The ducklings arrived healthy and happy. We only ordered two and were worried that only one would make it... But when they both showed up happy and healthy we were so grateful! Great experience wonderful purchase!