Ducks are waterfowl with strong biological motivations to access open water. Commercial production systems that restrict water access create welfare deficits that are increasingly documented by welfare science and addressed by progressive standards.
Duck water access welfare is well-supported by converging evidence from behaviour, physiology, and health research. The motivation to access open water is among the strongest and most consistent documented in domestic duck research — ducks will work persistently against physical barriers to reach bathing water, and the absence of such access produces measurable frustration responses. The physical welfare consequences of water deprivation are concrete: feather structure degradation from inability to preen properly, ocular discharge and corneal irritation from dry eyes, and bill and nostril health problems from inability to flush. These are not speculative welfare concerns but observable, measurable welfare deficits that affect a significant proportion of commercially produced ducks worldwide. The regulatory gap is stark — EU minimum standards for domestic ducks do not require any open water provision beyond drinking access, creating a situation where legal minimum compliance is associated with documented welfare impairment.