The Muscovy or Barbary is the

domestic Domestic may refer to: In the home * Anything relating to the human home or family ** A domestic animal, one that has undergone domestication ** A domestic appliance, or home appliance ** A domestic partnership ** Domestic science, sometimes cal ...

form of the wild

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''. There are a number of local or regional

breeds A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

, and drakes of these are commonly cross-bred with

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 ...

-derived

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 ...

s to produce the hybrids called

mulard The mulard (or moulard) is a Hybrid (biology), hybrid between two different genera of domestic duck: the Domestic Muscovy duck (derived from the Muscovy duck ''Cairina moschata'') and the domestic duck (derived from the mallard ''Anas platyrhyn ...

History

The Muscovy had been domesticated by various

indigenous peoples of the Americas In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

well before the arrival of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

in 1492.

Characteristics

Domestic Muscovy drakes weigh some . The duck is much smaller, typically about half the size of the drake, with a weight of . Recognised colour varieties include five solid colours – black, blue, chocolate, lavender and white – 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.

Use

The Muscovy is commonly reared for meat. In commercial production, it is often cross-bred – either naturally or by

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 ...

– with a mallard-derived domestic duck to produce the hybrid known as a

.. In France – where mulards were reared in 2007 – the duck is usually a

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

or Pekin; in Taiwan, local breeds such as the Tsaiya or Kaiya (Tsaiya x Pekin cross) are used. These hatch in about four weeks and grow rapidly like a mallard-type duck, but to about the size and weight of the Muscovy. The inverse cross – domestic drake with Muscovy duck – is also possible, but infrequent. In France the mulard is reared both for its meat and for its liver; ducks are used principally to produce , while drakes – which are better able to withstand the or force-feeding employed – are reared for . In countries such as China, Taiwan and Vietnam, mulards are reared mainly for their meat, which is less fatty than that of the Pekin. File:Cairina moschata -Graniteville SC USA=Cinderfella.jpg, Lavender drake File:Cairina moschata reproduction.jpg, Mating File:Cairina moschata 001.jpg, White duck File:Muscovy duck Little Rock 2.jpg

References

Cairina Duck breeds Ducks Domesticated birds Animal breeds on the GEH Red List {{bots, deny=Citation bot