Ducks are birds that can be semi-terrestrial or aquatic. They have a large family where many species, wild or domestic, are grouped, which in turn can have a wide variety of breeds. The reproduction of the wild ducks is determined by their own nature and the reproductive characteristics that they have developed during thousands of years in freedom, the domestic ones in turn are influenced by the conditions imposed by the breeders. Despite this, domestic ducks, unlike other farm animals and poultry, may be able to reproduce naturally without the need for human intervention.
The duck is a polygamous species, since the unions between the pairs usually only last a reproductive season (each year they choose a new pair). The different species of duck usually reach sexual maturity and with it their reproductive capacity, between 6 and 10 months of life, although some species such as blues (mallard) can take 14 months to complete the development of their sexual organs. In females, it is not common to observe revealing physical changes during this stage, but in males there are gradual changes in the plumage until they achieve adult appearance.
The matings can occur within the water or on the mainland, depending on the habitat of the couple and the species to which they correspond. For example, the domestic duck prefers water for sexual encounters, and it has been shown that they are more fertile in this environment. In the sexual act itself are not present the genital organs of either duck, the exchange is only through the cloaca, which in addition to being an excretory organ is also sexual. The sperm released by the male enters the female's vagina through the cloaca, and from there travels through the oviduct to fertilize their eggs.
After mating, it is the male's job to choose the place where they will nest. Generally the wild ducks follow a pattern when choosing the place for the nest, and it is that it is close to their place of birth and upbringing. They also take into account that the place is far enough from the water to remain dry, and that it is not accessible to other animals. For the preparation of the nest, the female collects grass and dry leaves, in addition to making it more comfortable with the feathers that she plucks from her own breast.
During the reproductive season, the couple stays together in the chosen nesting site, the male ensures that no other duck approaches the area. Sexual encounters between the female and the male can reach 10 in a single day, but very few of them end up being fruitful. After one or two weeks of mating the female will be fertilized and begin the gestation and incubation stage of the eggs.
The incubation period of domestic ducks (such as those of the Peking breed) is approximately 28 days. On the other hand, other ducks in the wild, such as the Muscovy (also known as the Creole duck), take 35 days to hatch their eggs and watch them hatch.
The stage of gestation and incubation of the duck runs only in charge of the mother, the father as of this moment no longer plays any role and returns to meet with the other males of the group.
As part of the process of gestation of the duck the eggs are formed in the uterus and then descend fertilized by the vagina to the cloaca. The development of the embryos does not start until the female begins to warm the eggs, bone to incubate them. The female can take several days to develop and lay all of her eggs, so she waits until the last one is in the nest to start incubating them all at once. In this way he ensures that all Paticos are born on the same date.
The ducks come to the world with a good psychomotor development, since they are born with their eyes open and a few hours after they are born they are able to leave the nest with their mother to start feeding. They also have their plumage of newborns covered in a yellow down that works as a natural shelter, isolates them from low temperatures and provides them with heat in the first days of life. However, they will not stop needing the heat of the mother until they get the adult plumage.
The breeding of the ducks is the task only of the female, since the male will leave after conception. The first two months of life, the ducks would not be able to survive without their mother, since she takes care of them during this time with dedication and protects them from predators such as turtles and snakes.
After 7 or 8 weeks the baby ducks are ready to fly and become independent from their mother. During these months the plumage grows enough so that they can take flight. In the case of wild ducks this process may take less time than in domestic ones.
A female can incubate between 4 and 12 eggs, so the average number of pups in the ducks is 8.
As one more livestock activity is the raising of ducks in farms with poultry production systems, mainly for obtaining meat and eggs. To this end, the nutritional requirements and the safety conditions demanded by these animals are provided in the farms, in order to obtain a good productive capacity. Duck meat is highly valued in the food industry and hypertrophied liver of these animals you get a gourmet product called foie gras (translated from French means fatty liver). Eggs on the other hand are as versatile as chicken eggs, so they are used in baking. Not even the feathers of the duck are wasted, because they are highly valued in the production of pillows, cushions and quilts.
