Duck farming raises welfare issues distinct from chicken production, including the critical importance of water access for bathing and thermoregulation, and the extreme welfare concerns of foie gras production through force-feeding.
Duck welfare in commercial farming is compromised by a fundamental mismatch between the animal's evolutionary needs and the environments in which it is kept. Ducks evolved as waterfowl with specific physiological needs for water immersion: they maintain feather waterproofing through preening with bill oil glands that requires water bathing, they thermoregulate through dipping their heads, and they express complex foraging behaviour in water. Denial of bathing water — the norm in conventional duck farming — prevents all of these behaviours and causes measurable welfare costs including eye problems, feather degradation, and frustration behaviour. Foie gras production represents the most extreme end of duck welfare harm: force-feeding to pathological liver enlargement causes pain, distress, and disease that has led to bans in many countries. Consumers have meaningful power through purchasing choices and political advocacy in this sector.