Why water access is fundamental to duck welfare and how even limited open water dramatically improves outcomes for farmed ducks.
The absence of open water in most commercial duck farming is a fundamental welfare failure for an essentially aquatic species. Ducks use water for every aspect of hygiene: cleaning eyes that are susceptible to respiratory secretion accumulation, clearing nasal passages, maintaining feather condition through preening after bathing, and engaging in the social and foraging behaviours that water enables. A farmed duck denied water access cannot maintain its own health normally and cannot express any of the natural behaviours most central to its species. The cost of providing minimum open water — a trough deep enough to immerse the head — is modest, making this one of the most cost-effective welfare improvements available in duck farming.