German Pekin Duck

Facts about German Pekin Ducks. The German Pekin Duck is native to Germany, and soon they started spreading all over the world around the 1800s. German Pekin Ducks are one among the most powerful duck breeds in the commercial market for manufacturing meat for the table.

German Pekin Ducks are one among the most gregarious and affectionate of all domestic ducks. In the United States Duck breeders call this duck Donald Duck. This is because Walt Disney developed the characters of this cartoon character from the behavior of the German Pekin Duck.

The German Pekin Ducks are similar to small Runner Ducks with fairly an upright posture, but they boast a slender chubby look. However, this duck breed is not as vertical as the Pekin duck breed of Europe. They are the ideal cartoon of a duck with a vivid yellow color bill, orange color shanks and toes. Moreover, the ducklings of this duck breed appear with a brilliant yellow color. These duck breeds are fairly common and have turned out to be extremely popular to farmhouse as they develop quite rapidly.

German Pekin Ducks are strong, extremely fertile and one among the biggest size ducks. They are welcoming serene ducks that are fairly trouble-free to train, but they are one among the noisiest duck breeds to maintain. The German Pekin Duck breed come only in white color.

German Pekin Ducks have the vertical carriage, almost similar to an Indian Runner duck or a penguin, with a lemon yellow hint to their plumage. The German Pekin Ducks turn out to be active during late January and they usually start laying consistent shape and size eggs around March up to late July.

A German Pekin Duck is a Precocial (meaning) Born or hatched with the eyes open, a covering of hair or down, capable of a high degree of independent activity from birth and able to leave the nest just a few hours after hatching.

The German Pekin Duck is occasionally called as the Long Island Duck in the United States because the duck was the first import into the country from Long Island in the year 1873. Most of the meats consumed in the United States are the meat of the German Pekin Duck breed. The majority of the German Pekin Ducks found in the United Kingdom today is native to Germany, where they have been brought in by the duck breeders over the preceding 100 years.

In the wild the male German Pekin Duck will guard their nest by chasing away other ducks. Once the female German Pekin Duck lays 5 to 8 eggs, she will start to sit on her eggs to keep them warm so that they can hatch into baby ducklings. The eggs will hatch on average within 26 to 28 days. Baby ducklings are able to fly within 5 to 8 weeks.

Features about German Pekin Duck egg

A German Pekin Duck egg has twice the nutritional value than a chicken egg and will stay fresh longer because of their thicker shell.
German Pekin Duck eggs are richer with more Albumen "the white of an egg" making pastries and cakes richer and fluffier. A German Pekin Duck Egg has more Omega 3 fatty acids than a chicken egg. Omega 3 is thought to improve skin health, memory and Brain health. German Pekin Duck Eggs are an Alkaline producing food and a Chicken egg is an acid food and leaves your body more acid. German Pekin Duck eggs are high in Cholesterol. Duck eggs have 6 times the Vitamin D and 2 times the Vitamin A than a chicken egg. German Pekin Duck eggs have 2 times the cholesterol than a chicken egg.

German Pekin Ducks interesting facts

German Pekin Ducks are most celebrated for its commercial application, emerging on food menus of China all over the world. Actually, the majority of the duck meat produced in the United Kingdom is from a hybrid cross between the German Pekin Duck and the Aylesbury duck. These ducks are regularly used for the reason that they make a high-quality tender meat when they attain the age of eight weeks.

German Pekin Ducks are related to swans and geese and the duck is the smallest of these birds with shorter wings and neck and a stocky body. German Pekin Ducks on average, live 4 to 8 years and can live up to 12 years, depending on the breed. German Pekin Ducks are omnivores; meaning - an animal that eats food of both animal and plant and origin.

A male adult German Pekin Duck is called a (drake) and a adult female German Pekin Duck is called a (hen). A young baby German Pekin Duck is called a (duckling). A group of ducks is called a brace, raft, team, flock, or paddling. The male German Pekin Ducks (drakes) are the brighter colored ducks while the female (hen) are usually a plain colored for hiding purposes to be camouflaged from their enemies when they are sitting in their nests.

German Pekin Duck features

Usually, a well grown adult male German Pekin Duck is heavier than the female ducks, with a maximum body mass of (4.1 kg), whereas the female ones weigh (3.6 kg). The feathers of these ducks are fairly soft, and appear in cream color. The bill and legs of the German Pekin Duck breed appear in a bright orange color. Underneath the water-proof coat are downy soft fluffy feathers which keep the ducks body warm. German Pekin Ducks keep clean by being able to turn their heads completely backwards, and put their beaks into their feathers by preening themselves.

Features of the German Pekin Ducks Feet

German Pekin Ducks have webbed feet, that makes them act like paddles, designed for swimming. They push their webbed paddle feet back in a kicking motion, this allows them to move swift through the water and when the feet come back, they will close for less water resistance. The German Pekin Ducks paddle feet do not feel cold, even when it swims in cold icy water. The webbed feet makes a duck waddle instead of walk. The German Pekin Ducks feet have capillaries which help blood flow to their feet. The warm blood flow down the leg and creates a heat exchange system. When the blood flows down the leg, it meets the cold blood and is warmed up to keep the German Pekin Ducks feet warm. German Pekin Ducks feet are thin because they contain soft tissue and few muscles.

German Pekin Ducks see in color with very good vision and can see well underwater. German Pekin Ducks have three eyelids the third eyelid called nictitating membrane. They have a top and bottom as well as a third eyelid that is found on the side of the eye. The German Pekin Ducks eyelid blinking acts as a windshield wiper to clear the eye. This helps to see when diving under water can also help the eye from drying out while flying. This is an act of constantly cleaning and keeping the eye moist.

Ducks fly will fly in a “V” shape to makes flying easier.
In captivity ducks will lay more eggs, when there is more daylight, that's why farmers will keep the lights on in the ducks house for longer periods of time.

Scientific name for German Pekin Duck "Anas Platyrhynchos" meaning - Wild dabbling duck from which domestic ducks are descended; widely distributed. From New Latin "anas" meaning (Duck) and the word Platyrhynchos comes from "platyrrhine", Ancient Greek meaning (broad snouted, flat-bridged nose).
German Pekin Ducks are birds in the Class of "Aves". Ducks of all types are part of the bird family "Anatidae". German Pekin Ducks are also called "waterfowls" they are generally found in places were there is water, such as ponds, rivers, streams, lakes and occasionally your back yard pool. The definition of Anatidaephobia is irrational fear that you are being watched by a duck.

German Pekin Ducks Water-proof feathers

A special feature that the German Pekin Duck has is its water-proof feathers, even when the duck dives underwater, its downy under-layer of feathers will stay totally 100% dry. There is a special gland called the "Preen Gland" also called Oil Gland or Uropygial, that produces oil that is near the duck's tail which covers and spreads the outer coat of the German Pekin Ducks feathers, which makes the duck water-proof.

Features about the German Pekin Ducks Bill

A "bill" is what is call a German Pekin Ducks mouth. There are no teeth in the ducks bill, they have rows of thin bristles, which helps them to filter pieces of nutrition out of the water. German Pekin Ducks swallow there food whole and it goes to an organ called a gizzard, were the food is first ground up and than moves on to the stomach. The different bill shapes and sizes for finding food, has over time mutated to fit each environment. The German Pekin Ducks bill is flat and broad and has rows of fine incision along the outer edge called "lamellae". meaning a thin membrane, plate, scale or layer, as of cell wall or bone tissue. The larnellae helps the duck to clutch food for feeding.