Farmed ducks are highly water-dependent birds — the welfare consequences of water access deprivation in conventional production are severe and underaddressed.
Duck welfare in conventional farming represents a clear mismatch between species biology and production environment. Ducks evolved as semi-aquatic birds with strong behavioral drives for water immersion that serve essential functions: bill cleaning, feather maintenance, eye cleaning, and thermoregulation. Denying these behaviors does not eliminate the drive — it creates chronic frustration and the physical consequences of unmet maintenance needs. Eye infections and feather soiling in water-deprived ducks are predictable welfare failures, not exceptional outcomes. Higher welfare duck production providing open water access is commercially viable, as demonstrated by RSPCA Assured producers. The challenge is that the majority of global duck production occurs in markets without welfare standards, and consumer awareness of duck welfare is low.