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A domestic duck is a farm bird that has been selectively bred from wild ducks and is raised by humans for eggs, meat, and feathers. These ducks matter because they provide an important and accessible source of food and materials for people around the world, while requiring relatively simple care compared to some other farm animals.
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- Domesticated ducks
- different from
- domesticated Muscovy duck
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Encyclopedic overview
Domestic ducks (mainly mallards, Anas platyrhynchos domesticus, with some Muscovy ducks, Cairina moschata domestica) are ducks that have been domesticated and raised for meat and eggs. A few are kept for show, or for their ornamental value. Domesticated ducks are descended mainly from the mallard, which was domesticated in China around 2000 BC, with contributions from the Muscovy duck.
Duck farming is simplified by their reliable flocking behaviour, and their ability to forage effectively for themselves. Over 80% of global duck production is in China. Breeds such as White Pekin are raised for meat, while the prolific Indian Runner can produce over 300 eggs per year. In East and Southeast Asia, polycultures such as rice-duck farming are widely practised: the ducks assist the rice with manure and by eating small pest animals, so that the same land produces rice and ducks at once.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “domestic duck” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.