Mixed Breed

A mixed breed mulard duck is best understood as a hybrid duck with mixed parentage, not as a breed that can be standardized. The essential cross is between Muscovy duck, Cairina moschata, and a mallard-derived domestic duck, Anas platyrhynchos domesticus. When the parent breeds are not specified, the resulting birds may differ in size, face caruncling, stance, feather texture, and color. Black-and-white, pied, barred, blue, chocolate, lavender, and bronze tones all can appear when those genes are present in the parent flock.

For smallholders and rescues, the mixed-breed label is useful when a duck looks and behaves like a mulard but its ancestry is uncertain. Management should allow for a heavy-bodied bird: secure housing at night, gentle handling, and access to water for eye and nostril cleaning. They are usually quiet and hardy, but individual temperament follows the parents and early handling. Do not plan a breeding pen around mixed mulards; fertility is rare and unreliable.

Colors: Barred, Black, Black and White, Blue, Blue Fawn, Bronze, Chocolate, Chocolate and White, Lavender, Pied, Ripple, Self-Blue, Solid, White, White-Headed