Domesticated duck
Encyclopedia
Domesticated ducks are ducks that are raised for meat
, egg
s and down
. Many ducks are also kept for show, as pets or for their ornamental value. Almost all of the varieties of domesticated ducks are descended from the Mallard
(Anas platyrhynchos), apart from the Muscovy Duck
(Cairina moschata).
, because chickens have much more white lean meat and are easier to keep confined, making the total price much lower for chicken meat, whereas duck is comparatively expensive and, while popular in the haute cuisine
, appears less frequently in mass market food industry and restaurants in the lower price range.
Ducks are farmed for their meat, eggs, and down. A minority of ducks are also kept for foie gras
production. In Vietnam
, their blood
is used in a food called tiết canh. Their eggs are blue-green to white depending on the breed.
Ducks can be kept free range
, in cages, in barns, or in batteries. To be healthy, ducks should be allowed access to water
, though battery ducks are often denied this. They should be fed a grain
and insect
diet. It is a popular misconception that ducks should be fed bread
; bread has limited nutritional value and can be deadly when fed to developing ducklings. Ducks should be monitored for avian influenza, as they are especially prone to infection with the dangerous H5N1
strain.
The females of many breeds of domestic ducks are unreliable at sitting their eggs and raising their young. Notable exceptions include the Rouen Duck
and especially the Muscovy Duck
. It has been a custom on farms for centuries to put duck eggs under a broody hen for hatching; nowadays incubators are often used. However, young ducklings rely on their mother for a supply of preen oil to make them waterproof, and a chicken hen does not make as much preen oil as a female duck; and an incubator makes none. Once the duckling grows its own feathers it will produce preen oil from the sebaceous gland near the base of its tail.
s. A pond or deep water dish is recommended. Without access to plentiful water, ducks will not thrive. If ducks are given access to a pond they will dabble in the mud, dredging out and eating wildlife and frogspawn, and swallow adult frog
s and toad
s up to the size of the British common frog
Rana temporaria, as they have been bred to be much bigger than wild ducks with a "hull length" (base of neck to base of tail) of up to a foot or more; the wild mallard
's "hull length" is about 6 inches (15.2 cm). A coop should be provided for shelter from predators such as fox
es, hawk
s, coyote
s, and racoon
s, as many breeds of domestic ducks cannot fly.
Ducks are also kept for their ornamental value. Breeds have been developed with crests and tufts or striking plumage. Exhibition shows are held in which ducks, along with other breeds of poultry, are exhibited in competition. These shows can be "open" (meaning any exhibitor who pays the required entry fee can enter), or "closed" (accessible only to members of a given group). The most common of these is a 4-H
poultry show.
Meat
Meat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs and offal...
, egg
Egg (food)
Eggs are laid by females of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, and have probably been eaten by mankind for millennia. Bird and reptile eggs consist of a protective eggshell, albumen , and vitellus , contained within various thin membranes...
s and down
Down feathers
The down of birds is a layer of fine feathers found under the tougher exterior feathers. Very young birds are clad only in down. Powder down is a specialized type of down found only in a few groups of birds. Down is a fine thermal insulator and padding, used in goods such as jackets, bedding,...
. Many ducks are also kept for show, as pets or for their ornamental value. Almost all of the varieties of domesticated ducks are descended from the Mallard
Mallard
The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....
(Anas platyrhynchos), apart from the Muscovy Duck
Muscovy Duck
The Muscovy Duck is a large duck which is native to Mexico and Central and South America. A small wild population reaches into the United States in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas...
(Cairina moschata).
Farming
Ducks have been farmed for thousands of years, possibly starting in Southeast Asia. They are not as popular as the chickenChicken
The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
, because chickens have much more white lean meat and are easier to keep confined, making the total price much lower for chicken meat, whereas duck is comparatively expensive and, while popular in the haute cuisine
Haute cuisine
Haute cuisine or grande cuisine was characterised by French cuisine in elaborate preparations and presentations served in small and numerous courses that were produced by large and hierarchical staffs at the grand restaurants and hotels of Europe.The 17th century chef and writer La Varenne...
, appears less frequently in mass market food industry and restaurants in the lower price range.
Ducks are farmed for their meat, eggs, and down. A minority of ducks are also kept for foie gras
Foie gras
Foie gras ; French for "fat liver") is a food product made of the liver of a duck or goose that has been specially fattened. This fattening is typically achieved through gavage corn, according to French law, though outside of France it is occasionally produced using natural feeding...
production. In Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, their blood
Blood
Blood is a specialized bodily fluid in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....
is used in a food called tiết canh. Their eggs are blue-green to white depending on the breed.
Ducks can be kept free range
Free range
thumb|250px|Free-range chickens being fed outdoors.Free range is a term which outside of the United States denotes a method of farming husbandry where the animals are allowed to roam freely instead of being contained in any manner. In the United States, USDA regulations apply only to poultry and...
, in cages, in barns, or in batteries. To be healthy, ducks should be allowed access to water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, though battery ducks are often denied this. They should be fed a grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
and insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
diet. It is a popular misconception that ducks should be fed bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
; bread has limited nutritional value and can be deadly when fed to developing ducklings. Ducks should be monitored for avian influenza, as they are especially prone to infection with the dangerous H5N1
H5N1
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1, also known as "bird flu", A or simply H5N1, is a subtype of the influenza A virus which can cause illness in humans and many other animal species...
strain.
The females of many breeds of domestic ducks are unreliable at sitting their eggs and raising their young. Notable exceptions include the Rouen Duck
Rouen duck
The Rouen Duck is a heavyweight breed of domesticated duck raised primarily for decoration or as general purpose ducks, since they are not prolific egg layers...
and especially the Muscovy Duck
Muscovy Duck
The Muscovy Duck is a large duck which is native to Mexico and Central and South America. A small wild population reaches into the United States in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas...
. It has been a custom on farms for centuries to put duck eggs under a broody hen for hatching; nowadays incubators are often used. However, young ducklings rely on their mother for a supply of preen oil to make them waterproof, and a chicken hen does not make as much preen oil as a female duck; and an incubator makes none. Once the duckling grows its own feathers it will produce preen oil from the sebaceous gland near the base of its tail.
Pets and ornamentals
Domesticated ducks can be kept as pets. They can be kept in a garden or backyard, and with special accessories, have also been known to be kept in the house. They will often eat insects and slugSlug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell...
s. A pond or deep water dish is recommended. Without access to plentiful water, ducks will not thrive. If ducks are given access to a pond they will dabble in the mud, dredging out and eating wildlife and frogspawn, and swallow adult frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s and toad
Toad
A toad is any of a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura characterized by dry, leathery skin , short legs, and snoat-like parotoid glands...
s up to the size of the British common frog
Common Frog
The Common Frog, Rana temporaria also known as the European Common Frog or European Common Brown Frog is found throughout much of Europe as far north as well north of the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia and as far east as the Urals, except for most of Iberia, southern Italy, and the southern Balkans...
Rana temporaria, as they have been bred to be much bigger than wild ducks with a "hull length" (base of neck to base of tail) of up to a foot or more; the wild mallard
Mallard
The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....
's "hull length" is about 6 inches (15.2 cm). A coop should be provided for shelter from predators such as fox
Fox
Fox is a common name for many species of omnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail .Members of about 37 species are referred to as foxes, of which only 12 species actually belong to...
es, hawk
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
s, coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
s, and racoon
Racoon
Racoon is a Dutch rock band, formed in 1997. Their first big appearance was at the 1999 Noorderslagfestival. First album Till Monkeys Fly appeared in January 2000, produced by Michael Schoots . The first single, Feel Like Flying, became a hit and got a lot of airplay on the Dutch radiostation 3FM...
s, as many breeds of domestic ducks cannot fly.
Ducks are also kept for their ornamental value. Breeds have been developed with crests and tufts or striking plumage. Exhibition shows are held in which ducks, along with other breeds of poultry, are exhibited in competition. These shows can be "open" (meaning any exhibitor who pays the required entry fee can enter), or "closed" (accessible only to members of a given group). The most common of these is a 4-H
4-H
4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture , with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development." The name represents...
poultry show.