American Pekin facts for kids
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| Conservation status | FAO (2007): not at risk |
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| Other names |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Distribution | world-wide |
| Use |
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| Traits | |
| Weight |
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| Egg colour | white or tinted |
| Classification | |
| APA | heavy |
| EE | yes |
| PCGB | no |
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The Pekin or White Pekin is a popular type of domestic duck. It is mostly raised for its meat. This duck breed came to the United States from China in the 1800s. Now, you can find Pekin ducks all over the world.
Sometimes, it's called the American Pekin. This helps tell it apart from the German Pekin. Both types came from the same Chinese ducks, but they were bred differently. Many Pekin ducks were raised on Long Island, New York. This is why they are also known as Long Island Ducks.
Contents
History of the Pekin Duck
Ducks like the mallard were first tamed in China about 3000 years ago. Chinese farmers were very good at breeding ducks. They created many different kinds. One special duck was called shi-chin-ya-tze, which means "ten-pound duck." The American Pekin duck came from this type of duck.
How Pekin Ducks Came to America
In 1872, a man named James E. Palmer brought fifteen white ducks from China to the United States. These ducks were loaded onto a ship in Shanghai. They had hatched in a city then called Peking (now known as Beijing). The journey took 124 days. Only nine ducks survived the long trip. They arrived in New York City on March 13, 1873.
Six of the surviving ducks were hens (females) and three were drakes (males). Five of these ducks were sent to another businessman but were eaten before they arrived. James Palmer kept four ducks. These four ducks became the first Pekin ducks in America. By July 1873, Palmer's three hens had laid more than three hundred eggs!
Why Pekin Ducks Became Popular
The Pekin duck was quickly recognized as a great breed. It was included in the first Standard of Perfection book in 1874. This book was published by the new American Poultry Association. Soon, Pekin ducks were being raised everywhere for their meat.
Before the Pekin, the Cayuga duck was common for meat. But Cayuga ducks have dark feathers. This meant any small feathers left on the duck after cleaning were easy to see. Pekin ducks have white feathers, which made them much better for meat production. Their white feathers made the meat look cleaner and more appealing.
Pekin Ducks Around the World
Other ducks from the same Chinese type were brought to the United Kingdom in 1872. From there, they soon reached Germany. These ducks led to the German Pekin breed. German Pekin ducks were bred to stand more upright. The ducks brought to the United States were bred with British Aylesbury ducks. This made American Pekins have a more horizontal body shape.
What Pekin Ducks Look Like
The American Pekin is a large and strong duck. If you look at it from the side, its body looks like a rectangle. It usually holds its body at about a 40-degree angle. Its tail sticks up above its back. The chest is wide and smooth.
Pekin ducks have a large, round head and a thick neck. Their feathers are a creamy white color. Their legs and feet are a yellowish-orange. The beak is yellow, quite short, and almost straight.
How Pekin Ducks Are Used
American Pekin ducks are raised mostly for their meat. In the United States, more than half of all ducks raised for meat are Pekin ducks. There are tens of millions of them in the U.S. alone!
These ducks grow very fast. They can reach a weight of over 3.5 kilograms (about 7.7 pounds) in just seven weeks. They are also very hardy and calm. They are good at turning their food into meat efficiently. Their eggs hatch well, too. Because their feathers are white, it's easy to clean them after they are prepared for meat.
Farmers have developed different types of Pekin ducks. Some are bred just for laying eggs. For meat ducks, farmers used to focus on making them bigger and grow faster. More recently, they have tried to make the ducks less fatty. This might make them grow a little slower, but it results in leaner meat.
Pekin ducks can lay over 150 white eggs each year. However, they are not very good at sitting on their eggs to hatch them. So, their eggs often need to be hatched in a special machine called an incubator.
Sometimes, American Pekin ducks are kept for shows and as pets. Ducks raised for shows are often even bigger than those raised for meat.
