The Borderer

The Borderer is a mix of editorial articles with stunning supporting imagery, Society gossip and people and places of interest that are connected to the figurines featured:

Photograph of Indian Runner duck chicks

Keep on Running

The Indian Runner duck is a breed like no other. Although it is closely related to the mallard, it bears one very different characteristic: its ability to run!…

Most domestic and wild duck breeds will waddle, and rather slowly at that. Having the ability to fly diminishes the need to be nifty on the feet. The Indian Runner, however, has tiny, under-developed wings, and is unable to fly, yet it has the less orthodox survival technique of being able to run somewhat faster than other duck breeds.

To watch these funny creatures on the move — with perfectly poised bodies, and legs working ten to the dozen — is an endearing sight! They possess a strange combination of grace and ungainliness, their adept movements posing something of a contrast to their curious ‘bowling pin’ bodies — the overall singularity of their appearance is added to by their small heads and large, flat bills.

We have tried to capture the unique traits of this breed in our model, which depicts a trio of runner ducks doing their utmost to evade the farmer’s collie! The hard working collie is doing what she does best, ‘rounding up’ the unsuspecting birds. Perhaps she and her pups received more than they bargained for with these swift sprinters — one of the pups has already given up on the chase, and seems more interested in the contents of the stream.

Although Indian Runners can be prone to panicking, here they seem unfazed by their pursuer and her brood. Despite this slight tendency to getting flustered, Indian Runners are incredibly easy to handle. For this reason they are often kept as pets, or exhibited in shows.

But the Indian Runner’s unique appearance and mild temperament only go part way to explaining their popularity, for they are also known to be prolific egg layers! They can far out-lay chickens or other duck breeds, and their eggs are rather tasty to boot. Although they can produce up to 180 eggs per year, they are not particularly broody animals. For this reason, owners hoping for chicks may have to use an incubation lamp to ready the eggs for hatching. Alternatively, a broody female of a different breed may be required to sit on the fertilised eggs.

Indian Runner ducks have been in existence for up to 2,000 years, indicated by the discovery of ancient Javanese carvings of the birds. The name ‘Indian Runner’ is somewhat misleading, as these birds are not Indian in origin. Instead the name refers to the East Indies, where it is believed the breed originated. In the early-to mid-nineteenth century, they were brought to Europe via cargo ships, their eggs having fed the sailors during the long voyages. It is thought that the breed first came to the UK via the Cumbrian port of Whitehaven, having caught the eye of a ship’s captain. He gifted them to friends in Cumbria and Dumfries, and their popularity soon spread throughout the region.

It was not long before London Zoo acquired an import of Indian Runners, no doubt assured of their appeal. Early importers commented on their likeness to penguins, not in their colours but in their posture, with muscular, agile legs and upright bodies. Reports suggest that they were even known for a time as ‘Penguin Ducks’. In truth, apart from their erect posture, they share few traits with the penguin. Little of their time is spent on water, for a start. Although they enjoy a dip in the morning, they are perfectly contented land-dwellers, and can breed well without water.

Their diet consists of insects, worms and grass, and they may also eat weeds and other morsels found in streams or ponds. Their contentedness to eat just about anything makes them efficient pest-controllers, and thus further endears them to farmers.

Indian Runners remain an extremely popular breed today. However, artificial breeding in the UK had nearly rendered the pure-breed Indian Runner extinct by the end of the nineteenth century. Luckily, the work of a few enthusiasts resulted in a new wave of pure-breed imports in the early 1900s. Now we have a healthy mixture of crossbreeds and pure breeds living side by side, each possessing their own distinctive qualities. This diverse gene pool means Indian Runners come in many different colours: fawn, white, black, trout, silver, Cumbernauld blue, mallard and chocolate, to name but a few.

The breed has been put on ‘watch’ status in the USA, as there are just 5,000 breeding birds there. In the UK, however, the Indian Runner Duck Association has been set up to safeguard their future. The association provides a valuable source of information for breeders, farmers, and pet owners alike, as well as artists who sculpt or paint these charming and unusual creatures.

Article by Sarah Donnelly, image by Lucy Johnson

Keep on running

B1207 Keep on Running, Limited Edition of 750 by Anne Wall, Height: 11.5cm Length: 26.0cm