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 1. Homepage

2.  Chicken, Duck and Quail Information

3.  Ducks

4.  About Ducks

5.  History

 About Ducks

o History

o Why Ducks?

o Anatomy

o Pecking Order

o Lifespan

o Quacking
 o Breeds

o Other Pets
 Eglu Guide
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Where Did It All Begin?

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Nearly all the breeds of ducks that are common today can trace their origins to the wild Mallard, Anas
Platyrhynchos. The name comes from the Latin anas (a duck) and a combination of two Greek words,
platus (broad) and rhynchos (bill).

No one knows for certain when Mallards were first domesticated, but there is some evidence to
suggest that the Egyptians used ducks in religious sacrifice (see picture which shows Akhenaten
sacrificing a duck, ca. 1353-1336 B.C) and possibly also bred them for food. The Southeast
Asians were also raising ducks in captivity prior to 500 B.C and the Romans certainly enjoyed
the company of ducks so long as they had been properly roasted first. Until the 19th century,
ducks were kept mostly for eating rather than their wonderful eggs. This was most unfortunate
for the white feathered breeds as their paler meat was considered tastier.
There is only one duck which isn't a decendant of the Mallard. The Muscovy is a large, heavy
duck which in the wild roosts in trees and originated from of Central and South America. Next
time you take a trip down the Amazon you could still spot one. The Spanish Conquistadors
brought the Muscovy back from such a trip in the 16th century.
Wild ducks are excellent fliers and have also traditionally been hunted for sport and for eating. A
lovely little breed of duck known as the Call Duck was used by hunters to lure in wild ducks
because she had a very load and frequent quack. In more recent times though the Call Duck has
become an incredibly popular garden duck because of its size, beautiful colours and shape.
Duck eggs are larger and richer than chickens' eggs which makes them popular with cooks.
There are now many breeds which will lay as many eggs every year as the best chickens.

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Comments
Caspar, 13 February 2019

Thanks alot used this in a school presentation helped a lot :D

 Kyly, 9 November 2018

I LOVE ducks and I had to do a essay about them so this info was very helpful thanks

Chris, 3 June 2018

this is awesome I was able to write 3 argumentative papers with different info on the same
subject

Sarah, 20 March 2013

Good information helped a lot with an ag project thanks

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