ABSTRACT
The wild ancestors of the domestic pekin and muscovy ducks are anatomically, physiologically and behaviourally well adapted to living on and at the water. The domestic ducks kept for fattening purposes still show clear preferences for open water and make use of water for foraging and feeding, drinking, for general exploration, locomotion and preening, even without prior experience. For hygienic, labour, technical and economical reasons ducks are nowadays mostly kept in closed buildings without access to open water. This significantly restricts their freedom to show their natural behaviour. An obvious consequence of this restriction is a deteriorated plumage condition, especially with regard to cleanliness. According to the Council of Europe recommendations, water shall be provided in a way that allows the ducks to cover their head with water and shake it about their body without difficulty. To date, however, there is a lack of solutions satisfying behavioural, hygienic, health, labour and economical requirements to about equally tolerable degrees. The presently available types of different water provisions are presented and discussed on the basis of existing literature as well as experiences and first results from an ongoing research project. The provision of shallow bathing water with daily water exchange promises to be a practicable solution. However, longer term research on possible negative effects of the decreased hygienic quality of the water on duck health is necessary before final conclusions can be drawn.
