Domestic duck
2655767
222512690
2008-06-29T19:07:22Z
Anthony Appleyard
119438
/* As pets and ornamentals */ del spam link
{{Taxobox | name = Domesticated duck
| status = DOM
| image = Ducks and poultry.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = Domesticated ducks
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Bird|Aves]]
| ordo = [[Anseriformes]]
| familia = [[Anatidae]]
| genus = ''[[Anas]]''
| species = ''Various species of this genus''
| author =
| date =
}}
{{Refimprove|date=October 2007}}
'''Domesticated ducks''' are [[ducks]] that are raised for [[meat]], [[egg (food)|egg]]s and [[Down feathers|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]]<ref>[http://digimorph.org/specimens/anas_platyrhynchos/skull/ Anas platyrhynchos, Domestic Duck; DigiMorph Staff - The University of Texas at Austin]</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-360302/mallard Mallard; Encyclopædia Britannica]</ref>.
__TOC__{{-}}
==Breeds==
There are many existing breeds with more being created today. Most domesticated breeds are descendants from the wild Mallard with exception of the [[Muscovy Duck|Muscovy]]. Breeds are sorted into size classes. Below are breeds accepted by the [[American Poultry Association]].
{| cellspacing="0" border="1" bgcolor="white"
|-
!Bantam
!Lightweight
!Mediumweight
!Heavyweight
|-
|
*[[Call Duck|Call]]
*[[East Indie Duck]]
*[[Mallard]]
*[[Australian Spotted]]
|
*[[Bali Duck|Bali]]
*[[Indian Runner Duck]]
*[[Khaki Campbell]]
*[[Welsh Harlequin Duck]]
*[[Magpie Duck]]
|
*[[Ancona Duck]]
*[[Cayuga Duck]]
*[[Crested Duck (domestic breed)]]
*[[Buff Orpington Duck]]
*[[Blue Swedish duck]]
*[[Pink German duck]]
|
*[[Appleyard Duck]]
*[[Aylesbury Duck]]
*[[Muscovy Duck]]
*[[Pekin Duck]]
*[[Rouen duck]]
*[[Saxony Duck]]
*[[Gressingham Duck]] (Wild Mallard crossed with Pekin)
|}
==Farming==
Ducks have been farmed for hundreds of years, possibly starting in Southeast Asia.<ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=O2udiAazSEsC&pg=PA522&lpg=PA522&dq=domestication+of+duck&source=web&ots=rvn-4xQtKQ&sig=6BBtJqPf21vz6HS_GWClW8ETMQE&hl=en
</ref> They are not as popular as the [[chicken]], because chickens have much more white lean meat and are easier to keep confined. Nevertheless, the duck is a popular and well known farm bird.
Ducks are farmed for their meat, eggs, and down. 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, or in [[battery farming|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 [[duckling]]s. Ducks should be monitored for [[avian influenza]], as they are especially prone to infection with the dangerous [[H5N1]] 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 [[chicken|broody hen]] for hatching; nowadays [[incubator]]s 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 [[slug]]s. A pond or water dish is recommended although they will probably dredge out and eat any wildlife and [[frogspawn]] in a pond, and even swallow adult [[frog]]s and [[toad]]s, 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. A [[coop]] should be provided for shelter from predators such as [[fox]]es, [[hawk]]s, [[coyote]]s, and [[racoon]]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==
{{Cookbook|Duck}}
*[[Poultry]]
*[[American Poultry Association]]
*[[Indian Runner Duck]]
*Ways of cooking duck:
**[[Peking Duck]]
**[[Zhangcha duck]]
<br clear="all">
==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Ducklings.jpg|Domesticated ducklings
Image:Duck_in_Serbia.JPG|A domesticated [[muscovy duck]] in a [[Serbia]]n village
Image:Whitecrestedduck.jpg|White Crested Duck
Image:Duck head.JPG|A domesticated duck
Image:Brown Ducks.JPG|Some domesticated ducks
Image:Domesticated Duck in Water (Xytram).jpg|A domesticated duck, and its reflection in water
</gallery>
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Domesticated birds]]
[[Category:Poultry]]
[[de:Hausente]]
[[fr:Canard domestique]]
[[ko:집오리]]
[[it:Anatra domestica]]
[[he:ברווז הבית]]
[[ja:アヒル]]
[[ru:Домашняя утка]]
[[fi:Ankka]]
[[sv:Anka]]