Rouen duck
[5] Another feature of the female color pattern is the distinct, detailed penciling found on feathers of the head, neck, body, most of the wing and tail.
[8] The Rouen is sometimes considered superior to these breeds, because they can be easily fattened, making them an excellent meat bird with delicate flesh.
The French version resembled a larger than average Mallard, but by selective breeding, the British developed the exhibition-type Rouen.
[2] The final product was a bird with a deep, long keel, boat-shaped profile, enormous appearance, and refined markings, especially the penciling on the female.
[2] It was used chiefly as a roasting bird; though it produced 35 to 125 eggs a year, there were other breeds which were more reliable egg-layers with higher production.
B. Moubray was cited as calling it "the Rhone duck", yet Harrison Weir quotes "A Treatise on Poultry" (1810) naming them a "fine species that answers so well in the environs of Rouen, on the banks of the Seine.
It is far more probable that it is correctly called 'Rouen,' and that 'roan' is a corruption; for we know that quantities of poultry are raised in France, and Normandy is the most celebrated of the French provinces in this respect.
We have however, no proof that the breed of ducks in question are especially the product of Rouen, though you may always see a large number of them, or at any rate, birds closely resembling them, for sale in the market place of that glorious old city.In 1850, the first Rouens were introduced to the United States by D. W. Lincoln of Worcester, Massachusetts, and used as general farm ducks until becoming popular as show birds.
They were included in the Standard of Perfection of the American Poultry Association in 1874 and since then have won many titles, often having the most entries in the heavyweight class and doing well in competition with other breeds.
After the Civil War, American Rouen ducks could be traced either directly to Giles' stock or indicated a strong probability of a relationship to it.
