Domesticated ducks are ducks that are raised for
meatMeat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs, livers, skin, brains, bone marrow, kidneys, or lungs...
,
eggAn egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of any number of different species, consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo and its nutrient reserves...
s and
downThe 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
MallardThe Mallard , probably the best-known and most recognizable of all ducks, is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and sub-tropical areas of North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, New Zealand , and Australia...
(
Anas platyrhynchos), apart from the
Muscovy DuckThe 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) .
There are many existing breeds with more being created today. Most domesticated breeds are descendants from the wild Mallard with exception of the
MuscovyThe 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...
.
Domesticated ducks are ducks that are raised for
meatMeat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs, livers, skin, brains, bone marrow, kidneys, or lungs...
,
eggAn egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of any number of different species, consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo and its nutrient reserves...
s and
downThe 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
MallardThe Mallard , probably the best-known and most recognizable of all ducks, is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and sub-tropical areas of North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, New Zealand , and Australia...
(
Anas platyrhynchos), apart from the
Muscovy DuckThe 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) .
Breeds
There are many existing breeds with more being created today. Most domesticated breeds are descendants from the wild Mallard with exception of the
MuscovyThe 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...
. Breeds are sorted into size classes. Below are breeds accepted by the
American Poultry AssociationThe American Poultry Association, or APA, is the largest poultry organization in the North America. Founded in 1873, and incorporated in Illinois in 1923, it is also the oldest livestock organization in the U.S....
.
Farming
Ducks have been farmed for thousands of years, possibly starting in Southeast Asia. They are not as popular as the
chickenThe chicken is a domesticated fowl. 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 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 cuisineHaute 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 grasFoie gras 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 rarely produced using natural feeding...
production. In
VietnamVietnam , 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 to the east...
their
bloodBlood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's cells — such as nutrients and oxygen — and transports 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 rangethumb|250px|Free-range chickens being fed outdoors.Free range is a method of farming husbandry where the animals are allowed to roam freely instead of being contained in any manner. The term is used in two senses that do not overlap completely: as a farmer-centric description of husbandry methods,...
, in cages, or in batteries. To be healthy, ducks should be allowed access to
waterWater is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life.In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71%...
, though battery ducks are often denied this. They should be fed a
grainGRAIN is an international non-governmental organization based in Barcelona, Spain, which works toward sustainable agriculture. It was formed upon the realization that the genetic diversity of the world's food crops are being drastically eliminated...
and
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
diet. It is a popular misconception that ducks should be fed
breadBread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and possibly more ingredients. Doughs are usually baked in the Western world , but in some cuisines breads are steamed, fried, or baked on a hot skillet. 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
H5N1Influenza 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 most breeds of domestic duck are very unreliable at sitting their eggs and raising their young, and it has been the custom on farms for centuries to put duck eggs under a
broody henThe chicken is a domesticated fowl. 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 bird...
for hatching; nowadays incubators are usually used. However, young ducklings rely on their mother for a supply of preen oil to make them waterproof, and a hen does not make as much preen oil as a duck; and an incubator makes none.
As 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 as a pet. They will often eat insects and
slugSlug is a common word, normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell, in contrast to snails, which are gastropods with coiled shells that are big enough to retract into. All slugs are descended from snails that gradually lost...
s. A pond or water dish is recommended, although in a pond they will probably dredge out and eat any wildlife and frogspawn, and swallow adult
frogFrogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by long hind legs, a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s and
toadA toad can refer to a number of species of amphibians in the order Anura. A distinction is often made between frogs and toads by their appearance, prompted by the convergent adaptation among so-called "toads" to dry habitats. Many "toads" have leathery skin for better water retention, and brown...
s up to the size of the British
common frogThe 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
mallardThe Mallard , probably the best-known and most recognizable of all ducks, is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and sub-tropical areas of North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, New Zealand , and Australia...
's "hull length" is about 6 inches. A coop should be provided for shelter from predators such as
foxFox is a common name for many species of carnivorous mammals belonging to the Canidae family. Foxes are small to medium-sized canids , characterized by possessing a long narrow snout, and a bushy tail ....
es,
hawkThe term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Europe and Asia, 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,
coyoteThe coyote , the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canid found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
s, and
racoonRacoon 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 rotations on the Dutch radiostation 3FM...
s, as their size makes them unable to fly properly.
Ducks are also kept for their ornamental value. Breeds have been developed with crests and tufts or striking plumage. Shows are held in which ducks can be displayed.
See also
- Poultry
Poultry is the category of domesticated birds that people keep for the purpose of collecting their eggs, or killing for their meat and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as...
- List of duck breeds
- Ways of cooking duck:
- Peking Duck
Peking Duck, or Peking Roast Duck is a famous duck dish from Beijing that has been prepared since the imperial era, and is now considered one of China's national foods....
- Zhangcha duck
Zhangcha duck, or tea-smoked duck, is a quintessential dish of Szechuan cuisine. It is prepared by hot smoking a marinated duck over tea leaves and twigs of the camphor plant...