Silver Appleyard Ducklings — Heritage Breed, Pasture-Raised

Silver Appleyards are one of the great dual-purpose heritage breeds — developed in England in the 1940s by Reginald Appleyard with the explicit goal of producing a beautiful, heavy, productive farm duck. They deliver on all three counts. Hens lay 200–270 large white eggs per year, drakes dress out at 8–9 pounds, and the breed’s distinctive chestnut, silver, and cream plumage makes them among the most visually striking ducks on any farm.

Appleyards are active foragers with calm, personable temperaments. They’re large enough to deter aerial predators more effectively than lightweight breeds, and their dual-purpose value means every bird in the flock is earning its feed whether you’re running an egg operation, a meat program, or both. They’re on the Livestock Conservancy priority list, making every flock a contribution to breed preservation.

USA Duck Team sources Silver Appleyard ducklings from NPIP-certified network farms with verified bloodlines, placed by producer assessment. This is a breed worth doing right — we don’t place Appleyard stock casually. A lot of appleyards are genetically incorrect, they have been mixed with Welsh, so we do our best to get the genetics correct before selling them as Appleyard.

Pickup locations vary by network farm — see the map below for farms currently raising Silver Appleyards near you.