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In 365 BC the white geese kept by the Romans saved their city from capture by the Gauls in a night attack, when the noise of the alarmed birds awoke the citizens. The keeping of geese and ducks by people as a source of food dates back much earlier, perhaps as far as the first human settlements, when an uneasy relationship between man and Mallard may have arisen. Today’s pure breeds of domestic ducks and geese have been evolving ever since, and indeed all modern domestic duck breeds descend from the Mallard, except the Muscovy (which came from South America, not Russia). While commercial duck breeders now generally use cross-breeds, there is an increasing interest today in keeping, breeding and exhibiting the pure breeds of duck as a hobby and to enhance old ponds that have been cleaned out for their amenity value. Traditional methods of goose production are also being revived. In this book Fred Hams describes and illustrates most of the domestic breeds that can be seen in Britain today, including Aylesbury, Pekin, Rouen, Indian Runner, Khaki Campbell and Call ducks, Embden, Toulouse, Brecon Buff, Pilgrim and Chinese geese.


Paperback