Breeding

Last updated 17 September 2020


A duck on a breeding farm.

Flocks of ducks used for breeding are kept in barren sheds for their entire lives, exposed to artificial lighting, and made to breed almost all year long. Ducks begin breeding when they are 6 months old. They are forced to lay for approximately 40 weeks until their production begins to slow, at which point they are no longer considered ‘economically viable’ and are killed.

Eggs are collected from breeder sheds and taken to hatcheries where the eggs are incubated until they hatch.


Hatchery

When ducklings hatch, they are sorted by workers to remove any sick, deformed, or ‘abnormal’ ducklings, who are then immediately killed. It is standard industry practice to kill ducklings by the use of a macerator. A macerator is an industrial machine that grinds ducklings alive. Another legally acceptable method of killing ducklings is by ‘modified atmosphere,’ which is an industry term used to describe the use of CO2 gas to suffocate animals.