It is very easy to spot a Mallard duck with its green head and yellow bill. The drake is more distinctively colored of the mallards with its classical green head atop a white neckband that sets off a chestnut-colored chest and gray body. Females are dull brown in color with purplish blue wing feathers that are seen as a patch on their sides. Mallard ducks grow up to 26 inches in length and can weigh up to 3 lbs.

Providing fresh feed at all times is among the most essential aspects of breeding healthy poultry. The PECk-O-MATIC Automatic Duck Feeder works on a ‘feed on demand’ basis, which releases small quantities of grain/pellets at a time. For corn, the suitable size of the regulator disc would be ¾-inch. The 3/8-inch regulator disc from PECk-O-MATIC Automatic Duck Feeder can be used when crumble or milo constitutes the feed.

Mallard ducks feed on invertebrates, fish, amphibians, grains and a variety of plants. They lay only 60 to 120 eggs per year which are of a beautiful greenish hue. Mallards prefer calm, shallow reserves though they are also found in saltwater, brackish water and in wetlands. They shed their feathers at the end of the breeding season and remain flightless for a few weeks. During this phase, their feathers molt into an obscure plumage.

The Mallard is considered to be the ancestor of nearly all domestic duck breeds except the Muscovy duck. This breed can live 20 or more years depending on the care provided to them. The world’s record for the longest lifespan is held by a Mallard drake that lived to be 27 years old.