Aylesbury

Heavy-duck shelter + pool

6 sq ft shelter + 25 sq ft run per bird, kiddie-pool water

Aylesburys are large (9–10 lb) heritage table ducks with pure white plumage and a pink bill. Provide 6 sq ft of dry shelter per bird, a 25 sq ft grass run, and a kiddie pool deep enough to submerge the head. Heavy bodies make them poor flyers — easy to contain with a 3 ft fence.

Shelter + grass run + bathing pool

8 sq ft shelter + 60 sq ft grass + 100 gal pool, per bird

A walk-in shelter, generous grass run, and a 100-gal stock-tank pool large enough to swim a few strokes. White plumage stains easily — rotate clean bedding and keep pool water fresh. Best in pairs/trios; keep ducks to a single drake per 4–5 ducks to prevent over-mating.

Pasture flock with pond

¼ acre+ pasture + natural pond, flock of 3–6

Rotated quarter-acre pasture with a natural pond or large stock-tank, hedge shade, and a deep-bedded shelter. Aylesburys are calm, sociable, and reach their best size and feather quality on grass and clean water.

Birds develop inside a hard-shelled egg incubated by the parent(s). Egg size, shell color, and clutch size vary by species; the embryo develops over days to weeks before hatching.

Hatchlings are either altricial — naked, blind, and dependent on parents (typical of parrots and songbirds) — or precocial — downy, mobile, and self-feeding soon after hatching (typical of poultry and waterfowl). Down gives way to the first feathers.

Fledglings grow in their juvenile plumage and begin to fly and feed themselves, though they may still beg from parents at first. Juvenile feathering is often duller than the adult and is replaced as the bird matures.

Adults attain full body size and mature plumage, and are capable of breeding. Many species show distinct adult coloration, and in sexually dimorphic birds males and females differ in plumage, size, or markings.

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