Domestic Ducks Farm Feeding In The Fields Stock Photo

Domestic ducks are ducks that are raised for meat and eggs. Many ducks are also kept for show, as pets, or for their ornamental value. Almost all varieties of domestic duck apart from the Muscovy duck Cairina moschata are descended from the mallard Anas platyrhynchos.Mallard ducks were first domesticated in Southeast Asia at least 4000 years ago, during the Neolithic Age, and were also farmed by the Romans in Europe, and the Malays in Asia. In ancient Egypt, ducks were captured in nets and then bred in captivity. During the Ming Dynasty, the Peking duck—mallards force-fed on grains, making them larger— was known to have good genetic characteristics.