 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Domestic Muscovy duck" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 White-headed black magpie drake | |
 Lavender duck | |
| Conservation status | GEH (2023): Cat. IV: Watch[1] |
|---|---|
| Other names | Barbary |
| Use | meat,cross-breeding |
| Traits | |
| Weight |
|
| Classification | |
| EE | yes[2] |
| |
TheMuscovy orBarbary is thedomestic form of the wildMuscovy duck,Cairina moschata. There are a number of local or regionalbreeds, and drakes of these are commonlycross-bred withmallard-deriveddomestic ducks to produce thehybrids calledmulards.
The Muscovy had been domesticated by variousindigenous peoples of the Americas well before the arrival ofChristopher Columbus in 1492.[3]: 463
Domestic Muscovy drakes weigh some4.5–6.3 kg. The duck is much smaller, typically about half the size of the drake, with a weight of2.3–3.2 kg.[3]: 466
Recognised colour varieties include five solid colours – black, blue, chocolate, lavender and white[3]: 465 – and eight 'magpie' colours, in which the whole back from the tail to the shoulders and the underside from below the tail to the breast is coloured black, blue, chocolate or lavender, the remainder being white. In the standard magpie colourings the crown of the head is also coloured; in the white-headed magpie colours the head is white.[3]: 466
The Muscovy is commonly reared for meat.[4]: 78
In commercial production, it is often cross-bred – either naturally or byartificial insemination – with a mallard-derived domestic duck to produce thehybrid known as amulard.[5]: 97 . In France – where35 million mulards were reared in 2007 – the duck is usually aRouen orPekin; in Taiwan, local breeds such as theTsaiya orKaiya (Tsaiya x Pekin cross) are used.[6]: 33 [5]: 142 These hatch in about four weeks and grow rapidly like a mallard-type duck, but to about the size and weight of the Muscovy.[citation needed] The inverse cross – domestic drake with Muscovy duck – is also possible, but infrequent.[7] In France the mulard is reared both for its meat and for its liver; ducks are used principally to producemagret de canard, while drakes – which are better able to withstand thegavage or force-feeding employed – are reared forfoie gras de canard.[7] In countries such as China, Taiwan and Vietnam, mulards are reared mainly for their meat, which is less fatty than that of the Pekin.[5]: 143
| National | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
