Facts about ducks: Ducks love the water, make endearing pets, and produce nutritious eggs and meat, but there are still so many things we don’t know about them. Here are twenty facts about ducks that duck owners may not know.
Duck Egg Records
Some of the most fascinating facts about ducks include egg world records. So let’s learn about some famous world record holders.
#1 Khaki Campbell females are the most popular duck kept for egg production, with each female laying an average of three hundred eggs annually. A Khaki Campbell duck and a Black Australorp hen hold the record for the most eggs laid in a year. With each layer producing three hundred and sixty-four eggs in three hundred and sixty-five days.
#2 The largest duck egg on record was laid by a Pekin duck in Ireland, named Queen Maeve. The egg was not double-yolked, but an egg inside an egg, and measured over eight inches in diameter and weighed half a pound.
Duck Egg Nutrion
Facts about duck eggs often include that ducks are prolific egg layers. But did you know that duck eggs contain a lot of nutrients?
#3 Duck eggs contain more vitamins A, B6, B12, E, selenium, folate, and protein than chicken eggs. However, they also contain more fat and three times the amount of cholesterol as a chicken egg.
Unique Breed
Our facts about ducks would not be complete without this truly unique breed with characteristics like no other domestic duck breed: the Muscovy duck.
#4 Muscovy ducks perch like chickens. Although there are other perching ducks, such as wood ducks, Muscovies are the only truly domestic ducks to exhibit this behavior. This unique breed is also the only domestic duck not descended from the Mallard.
#5 Did you know that Muscovy ducks do not quack? Instead of quacking, Muscovies make a variety of noises, from hissing and puffing and croaking sounds to cooing to their eggs.
Strange, but True
While duck owners love their ducks, we can all agree that they have some unusual habits. These facts about ducks might be a little strange, and you probably don’t want to try them out at home!
#6 Did you ever wonder why the Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers were bred to be red? The reason is that ducks are attracted to the color of a fox, so the dogs were bred to resemble foxes. The trick worked as both domestic and wild ducks continue to be fascinated by foxes. These retrievers easily lure them out of the water to be caught by hunting and retrieving canines.
#7 Some ducks have actually been trained to pick pockets and steal from women’s purses.
Drake Fun Facts
No facts about ducks list would be complete without some fun facts about drakes. While they may not produce eggs, these special boys deserve a little recognition, too.
#8 Drakes make excellent pet ducks and get along well in all drake flocks called bachelor pads without the presence of female ducks.
#9 Drakes work hard to impress the ladies by performing courtship displays to win the hearts of the female ducks. From tucking their heads and necks in and dropping their wing feathers to reveal their wing speculums (the blue patch on the wings visible in Mallards and other gray ducks), to spraying water with their bills and letting out a whistle, a drake’s performance is quite impressive.
True Love
#10 One of the most unknown facts about ducks is that some domestic duck pairs will mate for life. Even though they may breed with other members of the flock, the bonded pair will remain a couple for life.
Water Myth Busters
As a member of the waterfowl family, there are some misinformed facts about ducks and water.
#11 Did you know ducklings can drown even though they can swim and float? That’s right. Ducks have an oil gland at the base of their tails that produces the oil that makes them waterproof. When preening, adult ducks spread the oil over all their feathers to keep themselves dry and able to float. However, until they are fully feathered and their oil gland begins to work, ducklings can only stay afloat for small periods of time. To protect ducklings from drowning, only allow them to swim for several minutes at a time.
#12 If given the option of choosing between a pond or a kiddie pool, many domestic ducks will choose the kiddie pool, where they can safely see and feel the bottom with their webbed feet.
Pekin Facts
#13 The King of Ducks is well known and is the most popular duck in the world, with tens of millions of Pekins in the U.S. alone. This hardy breed is kept for eggs and meat and is the most popular breed kept as pets.
#14 Pekins were named after Peking, China (what is now known as Beiing), where their breed originated.
Old Duck
#15 The oldest living duck on record is Desi, a Mallard female in Britain. She was reported to be twenty years old when she died.
Just Being Ducky
Behaviors are some of the most interesting and informative facts about ducks. From their cute waddles and happy quacks, we can learn a lot about these amazing creatures just by watching their behaviors.
#16 Ducks often sleep with one eye open and one eye shut. This behavior allows the duck to rest half of its brain while the other half of its brain is awake and on the lookout for danger.
#17 As summer fades to autumn, many domestic ducks will begin to engage in the destructive behavior of ripping out grass and tunneling into the ground with their bills. If there is a water source nearby, the entire yard can quickly become a muddy mess. However, ducks aren’t just having fun; they are looking for tasty morsels under the ground surface, such as grubs and other bugs to eat.
More Myths Busted
Want to learn more about common duck myths? One of these facts about ducks was even tested on the popular TV show Mythbusters.
#18 Even though duck bills are thought to be gentle and not inflict damage, the truth is they can cause serious damage to each other and bite hard enough to leave a small bruise on your wrist or arm. Surprisingly, while they may be thought of as gentle, fighting drakes can even punch in the opposing drake’s eye.
#19 Domestic ducks can’t fly or migrate like their wild cousins.
#20 Female ducks quack so loudly that they actually echo. While it may be hard to hear, if you listen closely on a clear day, a female duck cutting loose will echo back.
Facts about ducks are both a fun and informative way to learn more about these delightful waterfowl. From behaviors to breed characteristics and delicious eggs, ducks continue to capture our hearts as we learn more about them.
This article about 20 facts about ducks was written for Chickens and Hobby Farms magazines. Click here to subscribe.
