Jinding Duck

Jinding Duck

Jinding Duck is a protected geographical indication product.

Jinding Duck is a registered geographical indication trademark.

　　Jinding Duck: Originally from Jinding Village, it is a traditional local breed primarily used for egg production. The meat is delicious and has cooling and nourishing properties, making it a nutritious summer delicacy.

　　Ziniu enjoys a subtropical maritime monsoon climate with ample sunlight and heat, suitable temperatures, no frost throughout the year, and multiple harvests per annum. It is a typical estuarine alluvial plain with flat and low-lying terrain, fertile soil, deep topsoil layers, abundant water resources, and a mix of fresh and brackish water. These excellent agricultural conditions, along with outstanding advantages in aquaculture, make Ziniu home to one of China’s three famous duck breeds—the Jinding Duck—as well as the Southeast Asia-renowned Xigan Red Crab. Major agricultural products include grain, aquatic products, waterfowl, mushrooms, and vegetables. Shipbuilding and food processing form the area’s distinctive industrial economy. The uniqueness of its natural, geographical, ecological, and resource endowments, coupled with the hard work and wisdom of the people of Ziniu over centuries, has created a thriving agricultural civilization. This has earned Ziniu a widespread reputation as a land of fish and rice, and the “Shining Pearl at the Mouth of the Jiulong River.”

　　The first-generation “Tubei” duck, a natural cross between Pekin Ducks and Jinding Ducks, exhibits superior meat performance compared to Pekin Ducks and rivals the Jinding Duck in egg-laying capacity, producing an annual egg weight that surpasses both parent breeds. It is an effective combination leveraging hybrid vigor. In recent years, a white-feathered Tubei duck has been bred as the maternal line for three-way crosses to meet market demand.

　　Ziniu Jinding also produces unique double-yolk duck eggs, which are currently preserved through salt curing and serve as a tasty breakfast dish.

　　Also known as the Jinding Speckled Duck, it is a renowned high-quality duck breed with over 200 years of breeding history. Its adult ducks, duck eggs, and ducklings are popular across various regions. The Jinding Duck is known for being active, good at swimming, diligent in foraging, early-maturing, highly productive, and having a high laying rate. Adult drakes weigh an average of 1.26 kg, while adult ducks weigh 1.44 kg. Drakes can be used for breeding after 90–100 days, and ducks begin laying eggs after 100–120 days. The fertilization rate is 93%, and the hatching rate is 90%. Ducks lay eggs for over two years, producing eggs for about 10 months each year, averaging 260–280 eggs annually, with a maximum of 340 eggs. The average egg weight is 74.5 grams, reaching up to 138.2 grams. Based on feather color, Jinding Ducks come in nine types: Chestnut Speckled, Chestnut Eyebrow, White Fog Eyebrow, Silver Red, Silver Gray, Black Plum, Black Duck, White Duck, and Mixed Color. In 1985, the Department of Biology at Xiamen University collaborated with Jinding Village to conduct research on purifying the Jinding Duck breed. Through years of selective breeding involving parent selection, egg selection, and chick selection, the Chestnut Speckled Duck—primarily of speckled feather type—was developed, increasing the proportion of speckled feather types in the Jinding Duck from 81% to 96% and significantly improving the overall quality of the breed. Male and female Jinding Ducks have distinct traits. Drake heads exhibit a deep green metallic sheen, resembling the wild mallard, and they appear majestic, alert, intelligent, energetic, and possess strong mating capabilities. Ducks are lively, agile, fast runners, have a strong appetite, are diligent foragers, tolerant of coarse feed, have well-developed uropygial glands, and are highly moisture-resistant. They have wide waists, short breastbones, deep and round abdomens, and full, slightly drooping rear bodies. First-time layers weigh 3–4 jin (1.5–2 kg), with weight gradually increasing as they age.

　　In 1958, the Department of Biology at Xiamen University established an experimental base for the Jinding Duck in Jinding Village to conduct selective breeding. Promotion began in the 1970s, and in 1978, it was awarded a prize at the Provincial Science Conference. In 1985, it received a second-class National Technological Progress Award. In September 1996, it was honored as an Outstanding Project at the “Stars Plan Implementation 10th Anniversary and the ‘Eighth Five-Year’ Agricultural Science and Technology Breakthrough Achievements Expo.”