TODAY'S FARM ANIMALS
THE INSIDE STORY
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DUCKS
Ducks are waterfowl. They choose to spend most of their time on the water, swimming and searching for food. Even newly-hatched ducklings can follow their mothers onto the water.
These ducks were bought from a leading commercial hatchery and reared by FAWN. From day one they displayed an intense interest in water and now spend most of their waking hours swimming and investigating streams and puddles. Photo: Chris James
Ducks Are Big Business Too
Millions of ducklings are now 'factory farmed', to be killed at around eight weeks of age. A leading duck producer recommends a space allowance of five ducks per m2, while the Ministry of Agriculture (MAFF) suggests seven ducklings per m2 on solid floor and eight on slats/wire. In practice a mixture of both systems (straw or wood shavings, and wire) is common.
MAFF estimates that around 75% of the national duck flock is kept intensively, in broiler-type sheds, where lighting may be almost constant, but dim.
The MAFF welfare code for ducks advises:
The system employed should be appropriate to the health and
behavioural needs of the ducks'.
Fine words, but empty ones. In its ADAS Reference Book 70 'Ducks and Geese', we are told:
'... wire floor rearing and fattening has much to commend it' and
'water for swimming is not a necessity'.
Many ducklings never know anything better than a shallow drinking trough or, worse, systems that don't allow immersion of the head. Eye problems (even blindness) and poor feather condition can result from this deprivation. It is cruel to deny ducks water to swim in since they are genetically programmed' to spend most of their time in water.
Diseases
Major causes of duck mortality include bacterial infections such as E. Coli septicaemia and streptococcal septicaemia, and viral infections. Cardiovascular disease also takes its toll, a result of stress and fast growth. In the crowded conditions, ducks can be knocked over and 'stranded' on their backs, and may be left to struggle for long hours in a vain attempt to right themselves.
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| Ducks on wire flooring - a far cry from the village pond |
The breeders' deprivation is long-lasting, and therefore more extreme. Intensively-reared breeders are kept (usually at a ratio of one male to five females) with shallow drinking troughs as their only source of water. Sheds often contain up to 4,000 birds. For these adult birds MAFF suggests five ducks per m2 on wire floors and three per m2 on solid floors. Optimum fertility is promoted via lighting regimes and genetic selection. The birds are regarded as mere machines, to produce the sperm/eggs for the meat market. Anyone who has observed with understanding the lively and complex behaviour of ducks in their natural environment will agree that the 'supermarket' duck and its parents lead a barren existence.
Catching, Transport and Slaughter
Ducks are the Cinderella of factory-farmed poultry. Little is known about their suffering.
A European document on duck welfare mentions 'the welfare problems which currently arise' (in relation to catching and transport) - problems no doubt similar to the cruel 'problems' seen in the chicken and turkey industries.
Despite research which indicates that ducks require a much stronger electric current to ensure a humane stun, no specific recommendations are given for ducks in the existing MAFF code for the welfare of poultry at slaughter. More suffering may be caused when ducks lift their heads when entering the stun bath. This movement can result in the electric current passing through the crop, rather than the head. Birds may then not be stunned at the neck cutting stage, and bleed to death while fully conscious.