Ducks have a fundamental need to immerse their heads and preen with water, and systems providing only drinking water rather than open water access significantly compromise duck welfare.
Water immersion for ducks is not a luxury - it is a biological necessity for maintaining the eye health, feather condition, and behavioural wellbeing that define basic duck welfare. Ducks in systems with only nipple drinkers develop eye infections, cannot maintain feather integrity, and are denied one of their most strongly motivated natural behaviours. The provision of open water is considered a minimum welfare requirement for ducks by most welfare scientists, yet commercial production often fails to meet even this basic standard. Consumer demand for higher welfare duck products is the primary market driver for systems that meet duck water needs.