Ducks are semi-aquatic birds with strong behavioural needs for open water. Denying water access in commercial duck farming is a significant and often overlooked welfare issue.
Farmed duck welfare centres on water access — a need so fundamental to their biology that denying it represents systematic failure to meet species-specific requirements. The preening, bathing, and head-dipping behaviours that ducks perform in water serve critical functions: cleaning, thermoregulation, sensory exploration, and social interaction. Ducks deprived of water show compromised eye health (dried mucous membranes), nasal blockage, impaired thermoregulation, and reduced feather quality that undermines insulation. The welfare fix is achievable and relatively inexpensive: even simple open water troughs provide significant benefit. Regulatory frameworks for duck welfare that mandate minimum water access are overdue in most jurisdictions, and consumer pressure on retailers to require water provision is an effective accelerator.