Pommern

Origin:  Germany

Category:  Light Breed Duck

Egg Colour:  White or Bluish White

Sitter:  Yes

Pommern duck, like the Pommeranian (Pommern) goose, is a native of Pommerania in North East Germany and is a medium size general purpose duck well adapted to the needs of the average farm in that section of Europe. It is a very active, sturdy quick maturing breed, with the ability to forage a large part of its living.

There are two colour varieties of this duck, i.e. the Blue and the Black, the latter no doubt being the inevitable recessive color pattern characteristic of all blue matings.

The Pommern is, in all probability, a descendent of the earlier blue ducks, which were prevalent throughout the low countries of North western Europe during the nineteenth century and to which the Blue Swedes trace their ancestry; although it differs from other blue breeds in that the head and neck are stated to be of the same shade of blue, as the remainder of its plumage. Like most all blue breeds of ducks, it features a white 'bib' on the breast, but there should be no white in the flights, as called for in the Swedes.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

SHAPE OF MALE AND FEMALE

HEAD: Somewhat elongated, with slightly flattened frontal; devoid of coarseness.

BILL: Moderate length and fairly broad, with slightly concave culmen.

EYES: Bright, full and watchful.

NECK: Medium length, slender and slightly curved, but not arched, rather upright.

BACK: About 65% longer than broad and very slightly convex from shoulders to tail.

TAIL: Compact and in line with the back.

WINGS: Proportionate and carried well up and smoothly against sides.

BODY: Corresponding to back in length and breadth, but compact, trim but, nevertheless, very heavily fleshed. Underline without keel. Breast; full, round, meaty, moderately prominent. Abdomen; capacious, well rounded, but neither baggy, nor pendulous.

LEGS: Thighs; well concealed by large thigh coverts; attached centrally to facilitate a horizontal body carriage. Shanks; of medium length and of medium bone.

PLUMAGE: Firm, smooth, with satiny web and very profuse under-fluff or down.

CARRIAGE: Nearly horizontal and spry.

COLOUR

COLOR OF BLUE MALE AND FEMALE

BILL: Slate with dark bean.

EYES: Brown.

SHANKS AND FEET: Dark slate, or black, which may be somewhat mot tled, or tinted, with reddish orange, in adult specimens.

PLUMAGE: An attractive shade of moderately light blue over the entire body, free from gloss, except for a well defined white 'bib', of a somewhat inverted heart shape design over the lower neck and upper breast. Undercolor to match surface as nearly as possible.

COLOR OF BLACK MALE AND FEMALE

BILL: Dark green in drake and dark slate in the duck, with dark beans in both.

FEET AND SHANKS: Color to correspond to that of the bill, although a slight tinge of reddish orange may appear in the older individuals.

PLUMAGE: Deep, lustrous black, with as much greenish sheen as possible, free from brown, rust, or gray in all sections; except the breast, which should feature the white 'bib', as in the Blues.

WEIGHTS

• Standard male between 5-6 lbs.

• Standard female female between 4-5 lbs.

• Bantam male 1.5 - 2 lbs.

• Bantam female, 1.5 - 1.75 lbs.

SCALE OF POINTS

Duck Points Scale from Universal Waterfowl Standards by Grow, O (1956).

SERIOUS DEFECTS

• In both color varieties; white flights;

• Oversize or ill defined white bibs;

• Pronounced brown, red, or yellow cast to plumage, or intermixture of white into the darker sections.

• Undersize, or sharply tapered posteriors.

• Yellow bills, or clear orange feet and shanks.

See Disqualifications

SOURCES

• Grow, O. (1956). Universal waterfowl standard and judging guide. Milwaukee: American Waterfowl Assoc., inc. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924003128190&view=1up&seq=9

• Australian Poultry Standards 2nd edition

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomeranian_duck

Rauna's image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6810476