Shopping guide for duck
By choosing high welfare products such as those labelled Freedom Food, you are directly helping to improve the lives of farm animals.
The Freedom Food logo can be found on duck products in many major supermarkets – check our Where to Buy guide. Whatever the farming system – indoor, free range or organic - you can be assured that all products labelled Freedom Food come from farms approved by us to strict RSPCA welfare standards.
What do the different systems mean?
Standard Indoor
If a duck product’s packaging does not make it clear which farming system it was reared in, it’s likely the bird was reared in a standard indoor production system. It’s not mandatory to provide natural light in this type of system, in fact the ducks may be provided with only a very low level of artificial light. Unfortunately current practice does not require water to be provided to ducks for anything other than drinking, and ducks may only have access to water from drinkers such as a nipple drinker. We believe that, as ducks are waterfowl, they should be provided with access to hygienically managed open water sources that enable them to carry out their water-related behaviours, such as preening and head dipping.
Freedom Food Indoor
Freedom Food indoor-reared ducks must be given more space, natural light and open water facilities as specified within the RSPCA’s strict welfare standards. There are nearly 400 RSPCA welfare standards that must be adhered to by Freedom Food members covering the whole of the birds’ life from hatching to slaughter.
Free range
By law free range ducks must have daytime access to the range – with a set amount of space per bird – for at least half their life. Additionally, Freedom Food free range birds must be provided with shade and shelter to offer protection from adverse weather and predators. The RSPCA also have set standards for the management of the range to encourage the birds to make full use of it. As free-range birds often spend the first weeks of their life indoors so Freedom Food birds are provided with natural light then too.
Organic
The organic mark is governed by legal requirements and organic duck is free-range. Organic certification scheme standards do vary and of course focus on other issues such as the sustainability of the soil and the environment with some welfare benefits.
Freedom Food Duck
The RSPCA believes that in all duck farming systems – both indoor and outdoor – standards must include the following: enough space to move around freely, enough food and water to avoid competing, good quality, clean and dry litter for comfortable resting, natural lighting , good ventilation, access to open water facilities sources to carry out their water related behaviours, daily inspections for health checks, and if the birds are free range then shade and shelter to encourage full use and easy access to the range.