Domestic duck

Domestication Domestic ducks appear from whole-genome sequencing to have originated from a single domestication event of mallards during the Neolithic, followed by rapid selection for lineages favouring meat or egg production. They were probably domesticated in Southern China around 200 BC Wild ducks were hunted extensively in Egypt and other parts of the world in ancient times, but were not domesticated. Ducks are documented in Ancient Rome from the second century BC, but descriptions – such as by Columella – suggest that ducks in Roman agriculture were captured in the wild, not domesticated; there was no duck breeding in Roman times, so eggs from wild ducks were needed to start duck farms. Mallards were domesticated in Eurasia. Domestic ducks have a potential lifespan of some 8 to 12 years in captivity, for instance as pets. Origins of breeds Most breeds and varieties of domestic duck derive from the mallard, Anas platyrhynchos; a few derive from Cairina moschata, the Muscovy duck, or are mulards, hybrids of these with A. platyrhynchos stock. Domestication has greatly altered their characteristics. Domestic ducks are mostly promiscuous, where wild mallards are monogamous. Domestic ducks have lost the mallard's territorial behaviour, and are less aggressive than mallards. Despite these differences, domestic ducks frequently mate with wild mallard, producing fully fertile hybrid offspring. A wild mallard weighs some , but large breeds like the Aylesbury may weigh (and hybrids even more), while small breeds like the Appleyard may be only . Those breeds are raised for meat and eggs, A phylogenomic analysis found that Indian breeds of ducks formed a cluster that was sister to the White Pekin duck (a breed derived from ducks domesticated in China), while Muscovy ducks are from another genus. File:Amerikanische Pekingenten 2013 01c.jpg|White Pekins are raised for meat. File:Canards de Barbarie.jpg|Muscovy ducks produce a richly-flavoured meat, and are kept as pets. File:Runner-ducks.jpg|Indian Runner ducks stand upright, do not fly, and may produce over 300 eggs per year. == Farming ==

Husbandry Ducks have been farmed for thousands of years. File:Vista Del Rio De Patero by Jose Honorato Lozano (1821).jpg|Painting by José Honorato Lozano of duck farms along the Pasig River in the Philippines, 1821 File:Fotothek df roe-neg 0006249 005 Wenden von Enteneiern vor Brutschränken.jpg|Turning duck eggs in front of incubators, Germany, 1952 File:Duck Raising.JPG|Duck farm in the Philippines, 2014 File:Mr. Thien inspects egg at his duck hatchery in Can Tho (14056482898).jpg|Inspecting duck eggs at a hatchery, Vietnam, 2014 Systems in Bali, Indonesia provide additional income and manure the fields, reducing the need for fertilizer. Pests and diseases with an acanthocephalan (orange) in its body cavity. Ducks eat the shrimps and become infected with the parasites. Domestic ducks have the advantage over other poultry of being strongly resistant to many bird diseases, including such serious conditions as duck plague (viral enteritis). They are however susceptible to the dangerous H5N1 strain of avian influenza. Ducks are subject to ectoparasites such as lice and endoparasites such as trematodes, cestodes, and acanthocephalans. A high parasitic load can result in a substantial reduction in the ducks' growth rate. Production In 2021 approximately 4.3 billion ducks were slaughtered for meat worldwide, for a total yield of about 6.2 million tonnes; over 80% of this production was in China, where more than 3.6 billion ducks were killed, yielding some 4.9 million tonnes of meat. Worldwide production of duck meat was substantially lower than that of chicken – 73.8 billion birds slaughtered, 121.6 million tonnes – but considerably greater than that of goose – about 750 million birds killed for 4.4 million tonnes of meat. Feathers are a by-product of duck farming. == As food ==

Meat Since ancient times, the duck has been eaten as food. Usually only the breast and thigh meat is eaten. It does not need to be hung before preparation, and is often braised or roasted, sometimes flavoured with bitter orange or with port. Peking duck is a dish of roast duck from Beijing, China, that has been prepared since medieval times. It is today traditionally served with spring pancakes, spring onions and sweet bean sauce. Eggs and other products In France, ducks are used for the production of foie gras de canard. In some cultures the blood of ducks slaughtered for meat is used as food; it may be eaten seasoned and lightly cooked, as in Ireland, or be used as an ingredient, as in a number of regional types of blood soup, among them the czarnina of Poland and the tiết canh of Vietnam. Duck eggs are eaten mainly in Asian countries such as China; in the Philippines, balut – a fertilised duck egg at about 17 days of development, boiled and eaten with salt – is considered a delicacy and is sold as street food. File:Chicken Eggs and Duck Eggs in San Hui Market at Tuen Mun.jpg|Duck eggs (left), larger and greener than chicken eggs (right) at market, Hong Kong, 2022 File:Zhangcha Duck at Restaurant Zen, Qianmen (20211008185323).jpg|Sichuan-style tea-smoked zhangcha duck File:Peking duck wrap.jpg|Peking duck with spring pancake File:Duck Liver Pâté.jpg|Duck liver pâté == In culture ==

For children 's illustrations for The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, 1908 The domestic duck has appeared numerous times in children's stories. Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck was published by Frederick Warne & Co in 1908. One of Potter's best-known books, the tale was included in the Royal Ballet's The Tales of Beatrix Potter. It is the story of how Jemima, a domestic duck, is saved from a cunning fox who plans to kill her, when she tries to find a safe place for her eggs to hatch. The Story About Ping is a 1933 American children's book by Marjorie Flack, illustrated by Kurt Wiese, about a domestic duck lost on the Yangtze River. Make Way for Ducklings, a 1941 children's picture book by Robert McCloskey, tells the story of a pair of mallards who decide to raise their family on an island in the lagoon in Boston Public Garden. It won the 1942 Caldecott Medal for its illustrations. The Disney cartoon character Donald Duck, one of the world's most recognizable pop culture icons, is a domestic duck of the American Pekin breed. The domestic duck features in the musical composition Peter and the Wolf, written by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The orchestra illustrates the children's story while the narrator tells it. In this, a domestic duck and a little bird argue on each other's flight capabilities. The duck is represented by the oboe. The story ends with the wolf eating the duck alive, its quack heard from inside the wolf's belly. In art and folk culture Domestic ducks are featured in a range of ancient artefacts, which revealed that they were a fertility symbol. Egypt, c. 1700 BC--> Egypt, 3rd century BC--> File:WMID-4241F2, Middle Early Medieval, Pendant (FindID 523861) (front).jpg|Pendant with duck's head,England, c. 650 AD File:Munch - Jensen with Slaughtered Duck, 1912, MM.M.00538 (cropped).jpg|Edvard Munch's painting Jensen with Slaughtered Duck, 1912 File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Het bewerken van de sawa TMnr 3525-23.jpg|Balinese traditional painting depicting paddy fields with ducks foraging for food, 1940 File:Big Duck 2018 05.jpg|'The Big Duck', Long Island, New York: built on a duck farm, 1931 == References ==