The mulard (or moulard) is a hybrid between two different genera of domestic duck: the

Domestic Muscovy duck The Muscovy or Barbary is the domestic form of the wild Muscovy duck, ''Cairina moschata''. There are a number of local or regional breeds, and drakes of these are commonly cross-bred with mallard-derived domestic ducks to produce the hybrids ...

(derived from the

Muscovy duck The Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') is a duck native to the Americas, from the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas and Mexico south to Argentina and Uruguay. The species has been Domestic Muscovy duck, domesticated, and feral Muscovy ducks can b ...

''Cairina moschata'') and the

domestic duck Domestic ducks (mainly mallards, ''Anas platyrhynchos domesticus'', with some Muscovy ducks, ''Cairina moschata domestica'') are ducks that have been domesticated and raised for meat and egg (food), eggs. A few are kept for show, or for thei ...

(derived from the

mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa. It has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...

''Anas platyrhynchos'').

American Pekin The Pekin or White Pekin is an American list of duck breeds, breed of domestic duck, raised primarily for duck meat, meat. It derives from birds brought to the United States from China in the nineteenth century, and is now bred in many parts of ...

s and other domestic ducks are most commonly used to breed mulards due to the breed's high meat production. Like many interspecific

F1 hybrid F1 hybrid (also known as filial 1 hybrid) is the first filial generation of offspring of distinctly different parental types. F1 hybrids are used in genetics, and in selective breeding, where the term F1 crossbreed may be used. The term is somet ...

s, mulards are sterile, giving them the nickname ''mule ducks''. While it is possible to produce mulards naturally,

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...

is used more often with greater success. The term ''mulard'' or ''moulard'' is generally reserved for offspring where the parental drake is a Muscovy and the duck is a Pekin. When the drake is a Pekin, the offspring tend to be smaller and are called ''

hinnies A hinny is a domestication, domestic equine Hybrid (biology), hybrid, the offspring of a male horse (a stallion) and a female donkey (a Female donkey, jenny). It is the reciprocal cross to the more common mule, which is the product of a male don ...

''.

Husbandry and production

The mulard is commercially produced on farms for meat and

foie gras ; (, ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a Domestic duck, duck or Domestic goose, goose. According to French law, ''foie gras'' is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by ''gavage'' (force feeding). ''Foie gras'' i ...

. The White Muscovy and the Pekin are the two most common purebred, commercially farmed ducks. Hybrids of the two are hardier and calmer, in addition to exhibiting natural

hybrid vigor Heterosis, hybrid vigor, or outbreeding enhancement is the improved or increased function of any biological quality in a Hybrid (biology), hybrid offspring. An offspring is heterotic if its trait (biology), traits are enhanced as a result of m ...

. The incubation period of the hybrid eggs is between the mallard and Muscovy, with an average of 32 days. About half of the eggs hatch into mulard ducks. Mulards tend to combine certain traits of the parent breeds. Due to their Muscovy heritage, they produce leaner meat than Pekins; females tend to be raised for meat, while males are used for foie gras. Like Muscovy ducks, mulards have claws on their feet, but do not fly and perch; instead, they prefer to stay near water, as Pekins do. Traditionally, foie gras was primarily produced with

geese A goose (: geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera '' Anser'' (grey geese and white geese) and ''Branta'' (black geese). Some members of the Tadorninae subfamily (e.g., Egyp ...

, but by the 1960s the majority of farmers began to use mulards. Geese are more expensive to maintain than ducks (they are larger and more aggressive), and the more temperamental Muscovies did not accept the process of

gavage Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a human or animal against their will. The term ''gavage'' (, , ) refers to supplying a substance by means of a small plastic feeding tube passed through the nose (nasogastric tube, nasogastric) or mouth (o ...

(force feeding) as readily as Pekins, causing the quality of the foie gras to suffer. This problem was avoided by the introduction of mulards. These hybrids have also become extremely common in countries where foie gras is not produced. Today in France, the leading foie gras producer and consumer, the use of hybrid ducks outnumbers the use of geese. In 2007, there were 35 million mulard ducks raised in the country, compared with only 800,000 geese. In addition to Europe and the United States, mulards are widely raised throughout Southeast Asia.

Gallery

Image:Flying duck.JPG, Muscovy duck Image:Anas platyrhynchos qtl1.jpg, Pekin drake Image:Moulard Duck Foie Gras with Pickled Pear.jpg, Moulard Duck Foie Gras with Pickled Pear

References

Duck breeds Bird hybrids Intergeneric hybrids {{duck-stub pt:Pato#Mulard

Husbandry and production

Gallery

See also

References