Tradition has it this strikingly coloured breed was developed in the early 1800’s by a miller in New York County. He caught two wild black ducks and pinioned them, being unable to fly away they settled on his mill pond and raised large families. These ducks were good layers, good mothers and above all good eating and numbers increased. By the mid 1800’s they were they were established on the Finger Lakes in New York County and carrying the name Cayuga – named from Lake Cayuga which in tern was named for the indigenous Native American Cayuga people.

The Cayuga is considered one of the hardiest breeds of domestic duck, and considering the winters in the Tri-State area this is easily believable. A breed developed to withstand this climate makes them and ideal choice for here in Sweden. They are calm and easily tamed and quite quiet for a duck.

They are good layers averaging around 120-150 eggs per year, these change colour through the season starting almost black and fading through gray to a pale blue/green. Most of all they are a good flavoursome table bird with drakes weighing in around 3-3.5kg and ducks 2.5-3kg.