Ducks are waterfowl with strong behavioral needs for water immersion, but most farmed ducks in commercial systems are denied meaningful water access, causing significant welfare harm.
Duck farming presents a clear case where standard commercial practice fundamentally conflicts with species-specific behavioral needs. Ducks without water access are not simply missing a preference — they are denied a behavioral need so fundamental that its absence causes measurable physical harm. Eye and nasal discharge, poor feather condition, and inability to perform natural bathing behaviors represent chronic welfare compromise in systems that claim to provide "adequate" housing. The provision of open water is achievable and not prohibitively expensive; the barrier is industry inertia and the absence of regulatory requirements in most jurisdictions. Consumer pressure and retailer standards are beginning to drive change, but the pace is slow relative to the scale of suffering.