Birds · Anseriformes · Anatidae

Domestic Duck (Pekin Duck)

Anas platyrhynchos domesticus

Not Evaluated

It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary

The domestic duck descends from the mallard and was domesticated independently in several places, with the Pekin duck as the most widespread breed in the world: white, with an orange bill and an upright body, selected in China centuries ago and exported to the West in 1873. It is kept for its meat and eggs, and in South East Asia it is integrated into rice growing, where it controls pests and weeds.

Weight

2 kg – 5 kg

Size

50 cm – 65 cm

Lifespan

10 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

FreshwaterGrasslandOmnivore Diurnal Bird Freshwater Grassland

42same family

Fun facts

GeneralIt descends from the mallard; the Pekin variety reached the United States in 1873 and dominates the industry today.
Whole-genome sequencing indicates that every domestic duck except the Muscovy comes from a single domestication event of the mallard during the Neolithic, followed by rapid selection towards meat or laying lineages.
It was probably domesticated in South East Asia, very possibly in southern China, by the rice-farming ancestors of today's South East Asian peoples.
The oldest written records are Chinese texts from the centre of the country dating from around 500 BC; there is hardly any archaeological record, so the exact date of domestication is unknown.
Almost every Pekin duck in the Western world descends from nine birds taken from China to New York in 1873.
The feathers stay dry thanks to the preen gland, and the duck preens by spreading that wax over the whole plumage several times a day: a duck that cannot preen loses its waterproofing within days.
In South East Asia integrated rice-duck farming is practised: the flocks work the paddies eating insects and weeds and fertilising the water, replacing herbicides and insecticides.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Farms, ponds and poultry units
Sexual maturity: 6 months
Gestation / incubation: 28 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 10 eggs

Sources consulted: EFSA 2023, Welfare of ducks, geese and quail on farm (Scientific Opinion); secuenciación de genoma completo de anátidas domésticas; Wikipedia (Domestic duck, Domestic Muscovy duck, Mulard); Universidad de Córdoba (Colombia), caracterización morfométrica de Cairina moschata domestica