Khaki Campbell duck is one of the best, famous and most popular egg laying breed of domestic duck. It is a pretty old breed that originated in England and was introduced to the public in 1898.
The Khaki Campbell duck was developed by Mrs. Adele Campbell of Uley, Gloucestershire, England. She was a poultry keeper and purchased an Indian Runner duck of indiscriminate type which was an exceptional egg layer.
That Indian Runner duck formed the basis in developing the Campbell ducks. According to Mrs. Adele Campbell ‘various matings of Rouen, Indian Runner and Wild Duck were resorted to produce them’. And the resulting ducks were prolific layers.
She resorted to further cross-mating in an attempt to develop a more attractive buff-colored duck. And in January 1901, the resulting progeny was introduced to the public. The resulting color, not quite buff, reminded Mrs.
Campbell of British army uniforms, so she named these new breed as ‘Khaki Campbell duck’. The Khaki Campbell duck was accepted to the Standards of the Poultry Club, United Kingdom in 1924.
The breed made it’s way to the United States in 1929. Perry Fish of Syracuse, New York imported this breed. And the Khaki Campbell duck was admitted into the American Poultry Association’s Standard of perfection in 1941. But the number of this breed languished for many years in the United States.
Although the numbers increased dramatically by the 1970s. Today the Khaki Campbell duck is one of the most popular egg laying duck breeds and available throughout the world.
Khaki Campbell Duck Characteristics
The Khaki Campbell duck is a light weight bird. They have a modestly long body, head, bill and neck. Khaki Campbell ducks have a sprightly body carriage of 20 to 40 degrees above horizontal. The drakes have a green bill, rich dark-orange legs and feet.
They have dark brown eyes. The head, upper neck, lower back and tail culverts of the drakes are brown-bronze. And rest of the drake’s plumage is a warm khaki. The female Khaki Campbell has a green bill.
They have dark brown eyes and their legs and feet are brown. Their head, upper neck and lower back are seal-brown in color. Rest of their body plumage is khaki in color. Average body weight of the Khaki Campbell duck is about 1.3 to 2.2 kg. Photo from Wikipedia.
Feeding
Khaki Campbells are just like many other domestic duck breeds. If you allow them to roam freely, then they will eat insects, fish, oyster, snails etc. But if you don’t allow your ducks to roam freely, then you have to provide them with commercially prepared duck feed. Generally, a mature Khaki Campbell will consume around or up to 130 grams of food daily.
Breeding
Khaki Campbell ducks are naturally excellent breeders. They will breed easily if you keep good ratio of males and females in your flock. Generally one male is enough for breeding around or up to 8-10 females.
Caring
The Khaki Campbell ducks are naturally very strong and hardy birds, and they generally require less caring and other management. Although taking additional caring will ensure good growth and also good health of the birds. Vaccinate your birds timely and provide them with required medicines.
Uses
Most of the people are raising Khaki Campbell ducks mainly for their excellent egg laying ability. They are one of the most popular and best egg laying duck breeds. They are very suitable for commercial duck farming business. The breed is also pretty good for meat production.
Special Notes
The Khaki Campbell ducks are robust, active and very strong birds. Despite popular misconceptions of skittish or flighty behavior, the Khaki Campbells are a very gentle, passive and friendly breed when raised by hand until maturity.
They have excellent laying and foraging ability. Ducks start laying eggs at their 5 to 7 months of age. And on average a duck lay about 300 eggs per year. But the ducks can lay more eggs when provided a moderate duck conscious and environment to live.
The eggs are white or tinted in color and are of superb texture and flavor. As a strong and energetic breed, the Khaki Campbell duck require plenty of space to graze and forage. They are proven to be amazingly adaptable and are usually good birds for families with young and children to use and care for.
These ducks can perform well in almost all types of climates. They are also very cold hardy. However, review full breed profile of this duck breed in the following chart.
| Breed Name | Khaki Campbell |
| Other Name | None |
| Breed Purpose | Eggs |
| Special Notes | Active, Calm, Excellent Foragers, Energetic, Strong, Friendly |
| Breed Class | Light |
| Broodiness | Average |
| Weight | 1.3 to 2.2 kg |
| Climate Tolerance | All Climates |
| Egg Color | White or Tinted |
| Egg Size | Large |
| Egg Weight | Average 70 grams |
| Egg Productivity | High |
| Flying Ability | Medium |
| Rarity | Common |
| Varieties | Khaki |
| Country of Origin | England |
