UK farmed ducks largely derive from the wild Mallard, with the exception of the Muscovy, also known as Barbary (cross between Muscovy and Mallard). In natural conditions, Mallards live socially in large flocks during Autumn and Winter, and can fly speeds of 50 miles per hour. They disperse into pairs in the breeding season. The duck (female) lays about 8 eggs 2-3 times per year. Incubation takes 27-28 days. All the eggs hatch within 24 hours. The mother then leads them to the water. They rarely return to the nest. After 2 months, they can fly, and become independent. The drake has nothing to do with rearing them. Only the duck makes the familiar ‘quacking’ call, the males make a ‘rasping’ sound.
During the Summer moult, both sexes shed the feathers they use for flying. Until they grow back (a few weeks) they can’t fly. They are essentially aquatic birds who spend 80% of their time in water and need access to ponds, lakes and rivers, with space to roam freely. Ducks obtain food from land and water, and use their complex bills to sieve food particles from rivers and ponds. Their diet consists of water plankton, seeds, plants, insects and worms.
Ducks spend considerable time performing complex preening behaviours. After feeding, and bathing, they carry out a variety of shaking movements to remove the water. Foreign bodies are removed, followed by an elaborate sequence to distribute oil on their feathers from the uropygial gland above their tail. This is necessary for water proofing and heat regulation. The duckling’s down feathers are oiled by contact with their mothers’ oily feathers.
Duck welfare is cruel and oppressive. It is as horrifying and inhumane, as it is for poultry. Throughout the world, they are reared for meat and eggs in factory farms. The Pekin variety is the most commonly used breed of duck in commercial meat production in Britain. They have creamy white feathers and a deep orange bill and legs, and originated in China but are now produced and eaten worldwide. Nearly all duck meat comes from factory farms and 95% of duck meat sold in restaurants (most ducks are bred for this) and supermarkets are from birds reared indoors. There are 4,875 Chinese restaurants in UK (since 1908) with crispy duck being the favourite meal. However, a nightmare for the ducks!
Indoors: most ducks are reared (up to 10,000 in one ‘flock’), in crowded concrete sheds in semi-darkness. At best, they have deep litter bedding on solid floors. At worst, perforated flooring with no bedding. Those kept on wire floors suffer tears and abrasions to their feet. (Wire flooring isn’t used in UK but imported duck meat may be from ducks raised on wire). They have no outdoor access or natural light. Straw has to be added frequently to the manure laden flooring, to control high ammonia levels, which can result in ulcerated legs and feet.
Their wing span is around 1.5m, and their lives consist of pushing their way through a mass of other birds, to reach their food pellets and drinking water from drinking points or nipple drinkers (similar to a hamster’s bottle). Some fall or are pushed on their backs where they are unable to right themselves and can starve to death. Muscovy ducks have sharp beaks (unlike Pekin ducks) and can inflict serious injury. They may have their bill rim removed to reduce the risk of damage to others. Ducks have highly sensitive beaks due to an intensive cluster of nerves in this area. The procedure is extremely painful and can result in chronic pain and difficulty eating. It can also lead to increased dosing, general inactivity and depression.
Despite this evidence, rather than change the conditions they are kept in, mutilation is sanctioned. Since Viva’s campaign against this, most supermarkets have withdrawn selling Barbary (Muscovy) duck meat. It’s not illegal in UK. Some will still sell it. The Pekin duck is not beak trimmed, but this procedure is common outside the UK. They are usually given high-protein feed, to speed their path to maturity. Birds selected for meat, have difficulty walking, compounded by overcrowded conditions and are subject to leg disorders. ‘Spraddle leg’ is where tendons pull the legs in the wrong directions, forcing them apart. Female ducks are inseminated three times per week . Semen is collected from drakes. Parent ducks may be individually caged throughout their lives (e.g. in France).
The main welfare problem for ducks is that they are not given water. Many suffer from eye disease, and this is unacceptable. The Ministry of Agriculture stated, if ducks cannot immerse their heads in water, their eyes are seen to get scaly and crusty, and in extreme cases blindness may follow. Ducks with no access to water can’t preen and clean themselves properly, so their feathers are in poor condition, which results in an inability to keep warm. Vet Dil Peeling and campaign director (CIWF) points out, that when they don’t get water they can display physical and psychological problems.
Free-range: has similar housing to indoor, but have access to an outdoor range during the day. To be labelled organic, ducks must have access to a stream, pond or lake. But this only applies when weather conditions permit. There are no rules how deep or wide the water must be, and no legal requirements to provide free-range ducks with access to open water. The RSPCA (2015) stated that none of the ducks are raised according to the minimum welfare standards it supports, and is demanding new laws to improve conditions.
They stipulate that it is very difficult, for consumers to find any meat from ducks reared to welfare standards that they would find acceptable. The charity is calling on families to boycott buying duck until farmers and supermarkets implement dramatic improvements to the way they are treated. Today’s ducklings are normally slaughtered around 42-56 days. A species with a potential life span of around 15years.
You can’t imagine those yellow fluffy ducklings, a symbol of Spring, being treated so cruelly. No ducklings ever see their mother. They have no one to protect them, teach them how to swim, what to eat, how to preen or fly. Like chickens and turkeys the life of a duck on a factory farm is far from what nature intended, and bears no resemblance to ducks you feed in the village pond. The only water they see is drinking water. Yet, they have webbed feet for swimming and brilliantly designed bills, both made redundant.
Duck egg industry: some breeds of duck have been bred to produce large numbers of eggs. There are only a few flocks kept for egg production in the UK, so they are not widely available. You may be find them in local farm shops, farmer’s markets, butchers or delis.
Christians Caring For Gods Creatures 