# Talk:Domestic duck

The article lists duck domestication in 2,000 BC but links to this article as the source, which indicates domestication in 200 BC: https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/article/10/5/1469/6026241. Is this an error (i.e. we should correct the date) or good info but based on a different source (i.e. we should link a different source)? Naturalselections (talk) 20:03, 9 July 2025 (UTC)

Fixed the typo. Chiswick Chap (talk) 20:49, 9 July 2025 (UTC)

How long do they live? Al Begamut (talk) 13:20, 29 October 2025 (UTC)

Added. Chiswick Chap (talk) 19:33, 30 October 2025 (UTC)
Chiswick Chap, the figure you've added does not seem to be realistic or indeed anywhere near possible. Using rough figures scraped from the internet: about 5000 million domestic ducks are slaughtered per year, usually at some 7–10 weeks (again, rough figure scraped from the internet); if there are about 1100 million in the world, how old would the breeding/egg-laying stock have to be to give a median lifespan of 10 years? (answer: hundreds or thousands of years). At the very least, this material would need proper scientific sources, with statistics for meat ducks, egg-laying ducks and foie gras ducks. The internet (not a reliable source) gives approximate median ages at death for those three classes of 70 days, 18 months and 100 days respectively. Are ducks kept in any significant numbers for any other reason? (OK, PETA thinks about 40 million newly-hatched mulard ducklings are ground into paste each year in France – but PETA is not a reliable source either). Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 21:02, 30 October 2025 (UTC)
Thanks for your detailed view. However, the reliably-cited claim is for a domestic duck kept in captivity, by implication in the word "lifespan" ("how long a life can span") for as long as possible, i.e. its natural life without intentional slaughter. Obviously if slaughter intervenes a life can be as short as, well, anything. Chiswick Chap (talk) 21:13, 30 October 2025 (UTC)
I find it outrageous that you should revert after I both replied here, we were and are having a discussion, and the claim is reliably sourced, and I went to the trouble to clarify the text. I've restored the text to the status quo ante and added a further clarification, but frankly "potential lifespan" is clear to 99.9% of English speakers. Obviously slaughter shortens life, that isn't in dispute. This article is not specifically about poultry farming, nor about PETA and its concerns, which are different topics. Chiswick Chap (talk) 21:26, 30 October 2025 (UTC)