We’re working in a number of different ways to try to improve the conditions in which all farmed ducks are reared, transported and slaughtered.

The behaviour of ducks

Farmed ducks have maintained many of the biological characteristics of their wild ancestors, including:

• Ducks are waterfowl and, under natural conditions, spend a large amount of time in and around water.
   
• They spend a lot of time performing complex preening behaviours to clean their feathers and to re-distribute oil onto them from a gland above their tail. This keeps them waterproof and helps to control their body temperature.
   

Further information

As well as the information on these pages, we've also produced:

Watertight: the case for providing farmed ducks with full body access to water. March 2015 (PDF 1.12MB)

The welfare of farmed ducks information sheet July 2012 (PDF 808KB)

If you’re concerned about the welfare of farmed ducks then find out how you can help.