Shaoxing Ma Duck

Shaoxing Ma Duck

Shaoxing Ma Duck is a geographical indication certification trademark.

　　 Product Name: Shaoxing Ma Duck

　　 Product Origin: Shaoxing, Zhejiang

　　 Product Category: Poultry

　　 Product Season: Richest in autumn

　　 Product Composition: Duck meat has high nutritional value, containing protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin E, riboflavin, thiamine, potassium, sodium, chlorine, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and other components. The edible portion of duck meat contains approximately 16%-25% protein, significantly higher than that of livestock meat. The fat content in duck meat is moderate, about 7.5%, higher than chicken but lower than pork. The fatty acids also include unsaturated fatty acids, which have a relatively high digestibility and absorption rate.

　　 Product Characteristics: Shao ducks have a slender body, a snake-like head with bulging eyes, a flat beak and slender neck, a flat back with a large belly, and a plump buttock, resembling the shape of a “lute.” They are agile, good at diving for food, grow quickly, mature early, have strong flocking behavior, strong disease resistance, and a high egg-laying rate.

　　 Product Benefits: Traditional Chinese medicine refers to duck as a “medicine” and a premium tonic. Duck meat tastes sweet and has a cold nature. It nourishes yin, benefits the stomach, nourishes kidney, strengthens weakness, reduces swelling, relieves cough and phlegm, and can assist in treating conditions such as yin-deficiency edema, fatigue and weakness, clearing summer heat and nourishing yin, constipation, anemia, and chronic nephritis. For those who are physically weak, recovering from illness, or prone to internal heat—especially those with low fever, poor appetite, dry mouth, hard stools, or edema—eating duck meat is highly beneficial. The elderly and children often suffer from yin-deficiency, so they should also eat duck meat regularly.

　　 Product Introduction: Shaoxing Ma Duck is named for its hemp-brown feathers with black spots, and because it is mainly produced in Shaoxing, it is also called “Shao Duck.” It can be both free-ranged and penned. Male ducks are not very large, but their meat is tender and delicious, typically ready for market after sixty to seventy days of feeding. Female ducks lay an average of 250 to 290 eggs per year, and high-yield flocks can produce over 300 eggs per duck, making them one of the best egg-laying duck breeds in China, known as the “jewel of poultry.” Older female ducks, commonly referred to as “old ducks,” are regarded as tonics. “Ham braised old duck” has long been a famous dish in Shaoxing. In 1984, the research project “Achievements in the Purebred Cultivation Stage of Shaoxing Ma Duck” won third prize from the Ministry of Commerce. In 1987, the Ministry of Agriculture established the Shaoxing Ma Duck Original Breed Farm in Shangyu. In the same year, the Ministry of Commerce set up a Ma Duck Breeding Research Farm in Shaoxing, and subsequently promoted the breed to over 20 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions across the country. Purebred Shaoxing ducklings have been exported as far as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

　　 Product History: Duck farming in Shaoxing has been common since the Song Dynasty. Lu You’s poem “Jishan Xing” includes the line “releasing ten thousand ducks in the pond.” There has long been a local saying: “Grow rice, brew liquor, feed ducks with the lees, and fertilize fields with duck droppings.”