How providing appropriate nest boxes for laying ducks reduces stress, meets nesting instincts, and improves welfare outcomes in commercial duck production.
Duck farming has received far less welfare research and regulatory attention than chicken production despite comparable numbers of animals involved. The nesting instinct in laying ducks is a highly motivated behavior - frustration of this drive causes measurable stress and behavioral problems. Simple, cost-effective nest box provision can meet this fundamental need. The regulatory gap between ducks and other poultry is a significant welfare policy failure that advocates are working to address. Better standards for duck welfare would benefit millions of animals with relatively modest changes to farming practice.