Mulard Duck
Anas platyrhynchos domesticus × Cairina moschata
The mulard duck is a domestic hybrid produced by crossing Muscovy ducks with mallard-derived domestic ducks, most commonly a Muscovy drake over a Pekin-type duck hen. Mulards are usually sterile, heavy-bodied birds with growth, meat yield, and liver traits that led to their use in commercial duck production. They can show a mixture of Muscovy posture and domestic duck body mass, often with quieter behavior than many mallard-derived ducks. Because they are hybrids rather than a reproducing breed, each generation must be produced from parent stock.
Mulard production depends on hatchery planning, meat-flock management, and regional rules, since these birds are hybrids rather than a household breeding line. Producers pay close attention to parent fertility, incubation, brooding temperature, litter quality, water access, leg soundness, and processing age. Small farms may value mulards for meat and calm flock behavior, but saved offspring usually cannot maintain a line because the birds do not breed true. Records are useful for parent breeds, hatch dates, growth rate, and welfare audits in commercial systems.
