I didn't know they were domesticated. When did that happen?

I think it was the Donald family! Bit of a daffy idea. Never mind! +5

People at Disney.

1) "The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) was exploited 2,000 years ago in China, and 17 varieties have been developed, according to whether meat or egg production is important. The muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) was domesticated in Colombia and Peru before the arrival of the conquistadores. The greylag goose (Anser anser) has been domesticated for at least 4,000 years; Egyptian frescoes of that age already show changes in shape from the natural form, and eight main varieties are now known. The swan goose (Anser cygnoides) of eastern Asia has also been domesticated, with three varieties. Other species, such as the Canada goose (Branta canadensis), the mute swan, and the Egyptian goose (Alopochen aegyptiacus), have been kept in semidomestication for ease of exploitation but without intensive breeding to change their forms. A remarkable form of exploitation has been that of the common eider (Somateria mollissima). Its breeding colonies in the Arctic and subarctic are protected and concentrated by the provision of nest sites and other techniques." Source and further information: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/26799/anseriform/48957/Importance-to-humans 2) ""Southeast Asia is claimed to have been a major center of duck domestication...especially in southern China, where the birds were kept during the Earlier Han Dynasty (206BC to AD 220). The first written records of domestic ducks date back to the Warring States period (475-221 BC)...But according to one authority, the Chinese have had domesticated ducks for at least 3,000 years...and it is the case that Chinese pottery models of ducks and geese, dating from about 2500BC, have been excavated..." ---Cambridge World History of Food, Kenneth F. Kiple and Kriemhild Conee Ornelas [Cambridge University Press:Cambridge] 2000, Volume 1 (p. 519) [NOTE: this book has much more information than can be paraphrased here. Ask your librarian to help you find pages 517-524 for a complete history and bibliography for further study.] "Duck. A bird which exists in many wild species right round the world, but of which the domesticated kinds are those commonly eaten. Domestication began over 2,000 years ago in China, and was being practised in classical Rome (witness Columella, 1st century AD) and has been pursued with enthusiasm in many parts of the world." ---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 258) "The duck may be called the veteran of the henhouse, which might more properly be called the duckhouse, since poultry yards were first organized around that fowl. The Chinese domesticated it 4000 years ago, by taming captured wild species or hatching eggs. Duck dishes are still the pride of Chinese cuisine, after centuries of almost ritual practices to perfect them." ---History of Food, Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat translated by Anthea Bell [Barnes and Noble Books:New York] 1992 (p. 337)" Source and further information: http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodmeats.html Further information: http://www.jstor.org/pss/3742162