Rouen

We have (or maybe had) a group of nice Rouen ducks, 4 to be precise. We had more, but I'll explain why 10 dwindled down to 4.

Rouens are excellent meat ducks, and we sold two males to an old friend who liked duck meat. They gave a 5 out of 5 on the spot! Wham! The eggs they produced, around one a day for one female, sold for $10 a dozen! And, Rouens look like fat mallards, so they are disguised as flyers when they can barely jump!

This is where things turn drastically. These duckies CANNOT run!!! Do I need to specify? Our smartest female Rouen became lunch after a coyote spotted it. Two black labs almost killed all of our ducks! So, keep Rouens in a safe place protected on all sides. A LGD (Livestock guardian dog) would also work.

Anyways, Rouens are mainly gentle except when mating... keep in mind that you want a very balanced number of male and females when inside the same coop.

And last of all, when confining Rouens in a small space for even a week, they can turn bright green grass into a mud pit of all sorts of yucky stuff. It'll be a ninja warrior course to you, but duck's webbed feet help them glide over all sorts of terrain. This is also the reason why this is a 4/5 start review.

I've had around 4 ducks since 2021 (some hatched, some died) and most of them were Rouens. During mornings (not counting danger), the females quack very loud, so it's hard to sleep - one of the reasons I occasionally appreciate drakes haha. Especially in winter, when there's not much grass, they can turn a whole yard into pure mud, which can get things pretty dirty. The rouens I have are fair layers and lay eggs every day. I can also hand feed them.

I have had Rouen's for five years going, and have never had any problems with them, they are a great "all-purpose breed"

I have one Rouen duck. She is a decent layer; she lays an egg about 5 days a week. Her eggs are a pale green and large. They taste great and are great for baking. Our Rouen is super pretty to look at. She is speckled cream and brown with a dark mark across her eyes and a purple/blue slash on her wings. She is the smallest of my duck breeds, but did well through the Texas winter. She is trained to respond to my call, and comes to me when called. She is skittish unless it's dinnertime, then she will allow me to touch her (AFTER I've provided feed or treats). She will feed out of all my kids hands (ages 2-9)

I have owned Rouens twice now. Both times the Rouens I purchased and raised from a day old had very stand offish personalities. They approach with much caution and often eat when you stand back. Very pretty ducks. Vibrant colours and inquisitive. Another downfall is that both times I have owned Rouens they have attracted wild male mallards to my pond. Who pester my girls. Other breeds have not attracted unwanted male guests. I have owned Harlequins, Cayuga and Black Swedish as well as Muscovy. Very reliable egg layers. They lay pretty blue eggs sometimes. The other Rouen I owned layed white. They lay almost year round.

So far, I have had a variety of ducks (Buff, Crested, Pekin, etc. etc), but Rouens are by far my favorite. As ducklings they are incredibly affectionate and love to be cuddled and held. They will crouch down and dart around when they are feeling excited (I call this the "zoom"), and it's the most adorable thing you'll ever see. As an adult they continue to be very friendly towards people. My husband used to spend every spare moment working on a home-made pond for our ducks, and my rouen would always toddle along after him, nibbling on his legs and feet.
Sadly we lost that particular rouen to an attack, but when the time came to acquire new ducklings, all I wanted was another. They make fabulous companions and melt your heart with their personalities.

We have two Rouen’s Nibbles and Nubbens (We lost Nibbles this winter to a raccoon attack but we believe she’s still with us) and they have been the best pets out of all the breeds we have owned.

I have a Rouen duck named Howard, hes the loviest bird ever, he will fallow me almost everywhere, he lets me pick him up all the time, and even gives me little hugs by resting his beak on my shoulder, he is the sweetest duck ever. Howard loves to nibble things, weather its your jacket, foot, shoe, finger, hand, or pant leg, he is never aggressive though.

I love watching my little Amy, who is sitting on a few of her eggs as we speak, but she is not friendly (probably because she and her mate see me as a predator, but I tried to bond with them when they were little). Regardless of her flaws, I'd say that they could be a fine pet or whatever you want to use them for.

Great first time ducks. my female layed even through the winter, she only took about 3 weeks off. great foragers, my female is my loud one letting me know I went past feeding time, my male is a chatter and good protector. He has a prolapse penis from mating my chickens. All. The. Time. It does not other him and he is a healthy happy drake.

This is Phyllis, who we got this summer and has a very funny and cute personality!

if you are wondering why it says loud and quiet it is because they are mostly quiet but love to quack allot!
they are probably the best pet ducks made, altho saxonies are pretty good too. But they also lay almost 1.5 every day! So if you are looking to get this duck you should totally get them!

I love love love my Rouens!!!!
They are adorable, quiet, calm, tame, easy keepers, hardy, and active foragers- did I mention adorable?
I got mine at 4 weeks old. They had imprinted on each other. 4 Rouens and 2 Rouen crosses.

Since then, I have fallen in love! They are 9 weeks old now, and have grown a lot. All their adult feathers are in, and the drake is eclipsing. They have been raised outside from day 1, no heat lamp, and are hardy. They eat well, drink lots, and relatively tame. A couple ducks are a bit unsettled, and dislike being picked up, but the rest are good with being handled, although they do run away from me. (They imprinted on each other, and thus why they run away). When I leave, they are VERY quiet- almost nonexistent! They are so beautiful, and they are good ducks. They herd very well, already know that in the grass there is food, and are on alert for predators- Rouens have excellent instincts, thank goodness. Production Rouens are good layers- 120-200 eggs per year, per duck, year-round (although production increases in summer, as they're closer to the seasonal-laying Mallard than other breeds). Moreso than other breeds, the odd bird will raise ducklings. Their instincts are excellent. They're going to be 6-8 pounds, and tasty (the extra drake, the wild one, will be eaten. They typically can not fly, and even as ducklings are always alert, stopping foraging and watching the sky or ground when an animal or bird passes by. I LOVE my Rouens!
The only other breed I would consider, compared to Rouens, is an Ancona or Welsh Harlequin. But I promise Rouens will always be in my flock!
Here they are now, with the mixed breed in the front:

And a breeding pair: (note differences in bills, head, plumage, and stance)


*As ducklings, hens may have rings around their necks so don't sex by that method.

After a year with our chickens and a month with our BBW turkeys, my husband suprised me with four rouen babies for my birthday. I decided on the breed because they weren't heavy layers, and were considered a calm breed. I could be happier! I ended up with three ducks and one handsome drake. They each have their own personality and and so entertaining to watch. They love to run back and forth along their fencing with our dogs. I read a lot of ducks get mad when you clean and change their pool water but mine live for it. They go nuts when I change it, chasing eachother and splashing around. The only negative I have is they can be loud. It doesnt bother me, and havent heard our neighbors complain yet. Theyll hear me yelling at my dogs inside and all of a sudden ill hear loud quacking that sounds like their laughing. I cant wait for spring when I try, or let mama try and hatch some babies

I have one male an one female an they are both quiet an calm ducks. The male got his pretty big boy colors around 16 weeks. They walk up to me an give me kisses and follow me around. Not laying yet but they are just now 18 weeks.

Though I don't personally own any of these fine ducks, I have been very happy with them. They lay well, and are very docile and tame.
Also, they don't fly very well, so clipping their wings in not necessary.