Facts and Figures
The Prince keeps Indian Runner Ducks at Birkhall
The Prince keeps a number of Indian Runner Ducks at Birkhall, Their Royal Highnesses’s home in Scotland.
There is a long history of keeping Indian Runner Ducks in Scotland.
From the middle of the 19th Century, merchants imported them from Indonesia in South East Asia (not India, despite their name) because they were excellent egg layers and could breed with ducks from this country to improve the latter’s egg-laying productivity.
Because of their long bodies and the way they walk upright, the ducks used to be known as Penguin Ducks.
As well as being great characters, the ducks act as a natural form of pest control in the organic Birkhall garden by nibbling on slugs and snails that can damage plants and vegetables.
The Prince is very fond of the ducks and they regularly arrive on the lawn in time for afternoon tea!