Ducks are waterfowl with a strong drive to immerse their heads and bodies in water, yet most commercially farmed ducks have no access to open water, creating significant behavioral frustration.
Duck welfare on farms without water access represents a fundamental mismatch between biological needs and production conditions. Ducks have evolved to live in and around water — their waterproofing depends on regular preening with water, their eyes require flushing with water to remain healthy, and their feeding behavior involves water-soaking of feed. Without water access, eye infections accumulate, plumage loses waterproofing quality, and the behavioral drive to engage with water produces frustrated and repeated attempts to immerse in non-existent water. The provision of even minimal water — a shallow pan for head immersion — measurably improves duck welfare at modest cost, yet remains absent in many systems.