The Indian Runner Duck: A Historical Guide
by C. & M. Ashton
Hardback book, stitched, printed on good quality coated paper; 202
pages. Over 100 black&white illustrations and photographs. Eight
page colour section. A collection of documents and information going
back to the 1830s, some not previously available in print.
Available on Amazon UK (any currency) and in £Sterling from the
IRDA@£16 plus £2.00p&p [total £18.00)
Orders for the UK and the USA can be taken by Veronica Mayhew,
long-established dealer in specialist books. Contact
veronica.mayhew@virgin.net
Few ducks have ever had such an impact on the domestic waterfowl
scene in Great Britain as the Indian Runners, or Penguin Ducks, as
they were sometimes called in the early days. Groups of enthusiasts
almost came to blows on where they came from and what they should
look like. For nearly a century bitter rivalries existed between
groups of fanciers, each positive that it knew all the answers, and
each positive it was right exclusively. Between 1900 and 1930 the
poultry press contained letters of growing bitterness and often
quite inane stubbornness. The pages were littered with letters and
articles from experts like Matthew Smith, Joseph Walton, J. Donald,
E. A. Taylor, Reginald Appleyard. It is hard a century later to
wonder what all the fuss was about, and why this breed of duck
caused all the controversy.
When they appeared on the scene, Indian Runners had three sets of
characteristics that marked them as unique, and each of these
contributed to the subsequent conflicts within the Fancy:
1. Runners had what was seen as a “peculiar” shape and carriage;
2. they had plumage colours and markings that included very unusual
mutations;
3. they had very highly developed egg-laying capabilities.
At some time or other between 1840 and 1940, different groups of
fanciers would seek to capitalize on one of the sets of
characteristics, largely at the expense of the others. At the
beginning of the twentieth century, the most popular version of the
Indian Runner in England was the one from the Cumberland
importations. It was fawn (or grey) and white, laid plenty of eggs
but had on numerous occasions been crossed with native British
domestic ducks. This was the version that found its way into the
1901 Standards and was believed by many to be from India itself. At
this time another version was promoted by those who believed the
pure, upright Runner from Malaya was the genuine article. The focus
was on head shape, carriage and slim bodies, irrespective of colour.
Then before the end of the First World War, a third version of the
Runner was promoted. It was defined almost purely by its egg-laying.
The shape and colour were very much minor considerations.
