Mulard

The mulard, often spelled moulard, is a hybrid duck produced by crossing a Muscovy drake with a mallard-derived domestic duck hen, commonly a Pekin. It is a mule duck rather than a true breeding breed, and most mulards are sterile. The cross is valued for fast growth, a heavy body, and leaner meat than many standard domestic ducks. Plumage varies with the parent stock, from mostly white to pied, gray, black, or buff-marked birds. The reverse cross, using a domestic duck drake and Muscovy female, is usually called a hinny duck and is less common in production.

Mulards are raised commercially for meat and, in some regions, foie gras, though welfare rules and public acceptance differ by place. Small farms and homesteads may keep them as terminal meat birds or long-lived nonbreeding flock members. Their size calls for dry bedding, firm footing, shade in hot weather, and feed management that supports growth without encouraging leg strain. Since they do not reproduce true, new stock must come from planned parent flocks or hatcheries.