View source for Domestic Muscovy duck

{{short description|Subspecies of bird}}
{{More citations needed|date=November 2016}}
{{subspeciesbox
| name          = Domestic Muscovy duck
| image         = MuscovyDuck.jpg 
| image_caption = A Piebald Muscovy drake 
| status        = DOM
| genus         = Cairina
| species       = moschata
| species_link  = Muscovy duck
| subspecies    = domestica
| authority     = ([[Robert Arthur Donkin|Donkin]], 1989)
| synonyms      = ''Cairina moschata momelanotus''
}}

The '''domestic Muscovy duck''' (''Cairina moschata domestica'') is a [[Domestic duck|domesticated]] form of the wild [[Muscovy duck]] that originated in [[South America]]. It is bred for [[meat]], [[feathers]] and [[Poultry egg|eggs]], as [[pets]] and sometimes as [[Guard dog|guard animal]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ultimate homestead bird |url=http://www.offthegridnews.com/how-to-2/the-ultimate-homestead-bird/ |website=Off the Grid}}</ref>

==Domestication==
[[File:Cairina moschata -Graniteville SC USA.JPG|A Piebald Muscovy drake|thumb|left]]
Muscovy ducks had been domesticated by various [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] cultures in the [[Americas]] when [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]] arrived in the Bahamas. The first few were brought onto the Columbus ship Santa Maria, then they sailed back to Europe by the 16th century.

The Muscovy duck has been domesticated for centuries, and is widely traded as the "Barbary duck". Muscovy breeds are popular because they have stronger-tasting meat—sometimes compared to roasted [[beef]]—than the usual [[domestic duck]]s which are descendants of the [[mallard]] (''Anas platyrhynchos''). The meat is lean when compared to the fatty meat of mallard-derived ducks, its leanness and tenderness being often compared to [[veal]]. Muscovy ducks are also less noisy, and sometimes marketed as a "[[Quack (sound)|quackless]]" duck; even though they are not completely silent, they do not actually quack (except in cases of extreme stress). The carcass of a Muscovy duck is also much heavier than most other domestic ducks, which makes it ideal for the dinner table.

==Description==
{{main|Muscovy duck}}
[[File:Cairina moschata -Graniteville SC USA=Cinderfella.jpg|thumb|A Lavender Muscovy drake]]
Domestic Muscovy ducks are typically somewhat larger than [[Muscovy duck|wild-type Muscovy ducks]]. The domestic drake (male), length is about {{convert|86|cm|in|abbr=on}} and weight is {{convert|4.6|-|6.8|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, while the domestic hen (female) is much smaller, at {{convert|64|cm|in|abbr=on}} in length and {{convert|2.7|-|3.6|kg|lb|abbr=on}} in weight. Large domesticated males often weigh up to {{convert|8|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, and large domesticated females up to {{convert|5|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.

Domesticated Muscovy ducks, like those pictured in this article, often have plumage different from wild birds. White and light-colored breeds are preferred for meat production, as darker ones can have much [[melanin]] in the skin, which some people find unappealing.

===Domestic varieties===
[[File:Female Muscovy Duck wen.jpg|A Lavender Muscovy hen|thumb|right]]
The original wild species is approximately black, with small white marks on the wings. Domestic birds come in a variety of colors and patterns.
* Black
* Blue
* Chocolate 
* Piebald (white with any color mixed in)
* White
* Lavender
* Bronze
* Ripple
* many Pastel colors, but these are very rare

==Hybrids==
The Muscovy duck can be crossed with mallards in captivity to produce [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]]s, known as '''[[mulard]]s''' ("mule ducks") because they are [[Sterility (physiology)|sterile]]. Muscovy drakes are commercially crossed with mallard-derived hens either naturally or by [[artificial insemination]]. The 40–60% of eggs that are fertile result in birds raised only for their meat or for production of [[foie gras]]: they grow fast like mallard-derived breeds, but to a large size like Muscovy ducks. Conversely, though crossing mallard drakes with Muscovy hens is possible, the offspring are neither desirable for meat nor for egg production.<ref>{{harvnb|Holderread|2001|p=97}}</ref><ref name=Zivotofsky>{{cite journal |last1=Zivotofsky |first1=Rabbi Ari Z. |last2=Amar |first2=Zohar |year=2003 |title=The Halachic Tale of Three American Birds: Turkey, Prairie Chicken, and Muscovy Duck |journal=Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society |volume=6 |pages=81–104 |url=http://www.kashrut.com/articles/ThreeBirds/}}</ref>

In addition, Muscovy ducks are reportedly crossbred in [[Israel]] with mallards to produce kosher duck products. The [[kashrut]] status of the Muscovy duck has been a matter of [[rabbinic]] discussion for over 150 years.<ref name=Zivotofsky/>

==Uses==
[[Oscillococcinum]] is a [[Homeopathy|homeopathic]] preparation made from Muscovy duck [[liver]]s and [[heart]]s manufactured by the French company [[Boiron]]; similar products are also available from other manufacturers. Typically diluted with [[lactose]] and [[sucrose]] to 1:10<sup>400</sup> (far less than one in one [[googol]]), they are advertised to relieve [[influenza]]-like symptoms, but no evidence has been found of its efficacy.<ref name=Wouden>{{cite journal |last1=van der Wouden |first1=J.C. |last2=Bueving |first2=H.J. |last3=Poole |first3=P. |year=2005 |title=Preventing influenza: an overview of systematic reviews |journal=Respiratory Medicine |volume=99 |issue=11 |pages=1341–1349 |pmid=16112852 |doi=10.1016/j.rmed.2005.07.001}}</ref>
<ref name=Vickers2015>{{cite journal|last1=Mathie|first1=RT|last2=Frye|first2=J|last3=Fisher|first3=P|title=Homeopathic Oscillococcinum® for preventing and treating influenza and influenza-like illness.|journal=The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews|date=28 January 2015|volume=1|pages=CD001957|doi=10.1002/14651858.CD001957.pub6|pmid=25629583|pmc=6726585}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q8254915}}

[[Category:Cairina]]
[[Category:Duck breeds]]
[[Category:Ducks]]
[[Category:Domesticated birds]]