The Silver Appleyard is a British

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable 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 seve ...

domestic duck Domestic ducks (mainly mallards, ''Anas platyrhynchos domesticus'', with some Muscovy ducks, ''Cairina moschata domestica'') are ducks that have been domesticated and raised for meat and egg (food), eggs. A few are kept for show, or for thei ...

. It was bred in the first half of the twentieth century by Reginald Appleyard, with the aim of creating a dual-purpose breed that would provide both a good quantity of meat and plenty of eggs.

History

The Silver Appleyard was bred in the 1930s at Priory Waterfowl Farm near

Ixworth Ixworth is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, north-east of Bury St Edmunds on the A143 road to Diss and south-east of Thetford. The parish had a population of 2,365 at the 2011 Census. History Ix ...

, in

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, by Reginald Appleyard, an expert poultry breeder who also created the

breed of chicken. His aim in creating the breed is described in a leaflet he put out after the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

: to create white-skinned duck with a wide, deep breast, which would also be beautiful to look at and would lay abundant white eggs. By the time the pamphlet was issued, his birds had won prizes at the

Dairy Show The Dairy Show is an annual British agricultural show, organised by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers. It was founded in 1876 and was first held at the Agricultural Hall in Islington, London; it was later held at Olympia, London ...

in London and at

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

. In 1947 a pair of Silver Appleyards was painted by the

animal painter An animal painter is an artist who specialises in (or is known for their skill in) the portrayal of animals. The ''OED'' dates the first express use of the term "animal painter" to the mid-18th century: by English physician, naturalist and writ ...

Ernest George Wippell. Appleyard worked on the development and stabilisation of the breed until his death in 1964, but never produced a standard. The appearance of his original stock is unknown; when the Silver Appleyard standard was drawn up in 1982, it was based on Wippell's painting. Some birds were taken to the United States in the 1960s. The breed was added to the ''

Standard of Perfection The ''American Standard of Perfection'' is the official book of breed standards of the American Poultry Association. It classifies and describes the standard physical appearance, coloring and temperament for many breeds of poultry recognized i ...

'' of the

American Poultry Association The American Poultry Association (APA) is the oldest poultry organization in North America. It was founded in 1873, and incorporated in Indiana in 1932. The first American poultry show was held in 1849, and the APA was later formed in respons ...

in 2000. It is listed as "threatened" by the

Livestock 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 breed (agriculture), ra ...

. There are two small-size versions of the Silver Appleyard. A Silver Appleyard Bantam was bred by Reginald Appleyard in the 1940s by

cross-breeding A crossbreed is an organism with purebred parents of two different breeds, varieties, or populations. A domestic animal of unknown ancestry, where the breed status of only one parent or grandparent is known, may also be called a crossbreed though ...

Khaki Campbell The Campbell is a British breed of domestic duck. It was developed at Uley, in Gloucestershire, 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 ...

ducks and

Call Call or Calls may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Call (poker), a bet matching an opponent's * Call, in the game of contract bridge, a bid, pass, double, or redouble in the bidding stage Music and dance * Call (band), from L ...

drakes; it thus did not have the same genetic origin as the large bird. A Miniature Silver Appleyard, created by Tom Bartlett of Folly Farm, was recognised in 1997; it is about a third of the size of the large bird, and so is not small enough to be termed a bantam. Appleyard's bantam version was renamed, and is now the Silver Bantam.

Characteristics

The Silver Appleyard is a compact duck of medium length, with a broad and rounded body carried at some to the horizontal. The bill is broad and of medium length; it is yellow with a dark bean, somewhat more greenish in the drake than in the duck. The legs are yellow, the eyes hazel. The plumage is closely similar to that of the Rouen Clair, but with pigmentation of the head and body reduced by the action of the restricted mallard gene. Body weights are in the range for ducks, for drakes.

Use

The Silver Appleyard was created as a dual-purpose breed, reared both for

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

and for

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

. Birds for the table may reach a weight of at nine weeks; ducks are good layers of white eggs, and may lay some 200–270 per year. The birds are also kept for showing.

References

Duck breeds Duck breeds originating in the United Kingdom Animal breeds on the RBST Watchlist {{bots, deny=Citation bot