Most Maple Leaf Farms ducks are raised on small family farms, many of which are Amish or Mennonite, by growers who have been trained and certified concerning duck care and behavior. In addition to equipping them with comprehensive training, we also provide our growers with specific duck care guidelines and personal assistance from our animal husbandry staff and veterinarians so that they ensure the well-being of our ducks.
Maple Leaf Farms and our growers go to great lengths to maintain a healthy environment for our ducks. They are raised in spacious barns that protect them from extreme weather conditions, predators and disease. The ducks have room to roam about and access to fresh water and feed.
Our ducks are not fed antibiotics, steroids, hormones or other growth promotants. In fact, we have a poultry nutritionist that formulates a natural, grain-based diet for our ducks and oversees the production of that feed at our company feed mills to ensure consistent quality.
Maple Leaf Farms cares about our ducks not just because they're our livelihood, but also because it's the right thing to do. That's why we became the first duck company in North America to implement a comprehensive set of duck care guidelines and a certification program for our staff and growers. These programs are submitted to and approved by animal welfare specialists at top universities to ensure they're the highest standards in the industry. To guarantee that we are meeting these standards, our operations are periodically audited by an independent team of animal care experts.
Antibiotic Free, Third Party Certified
In an effort to meet the growing concerns of some of our customers, Maple Leaf Farms has developed a specially labeled line of antibiotic free, third party certified products. Only ducks grown at facilities that pass the independent audit may bear the "Third Party Certified - Animal Well-Being Assured" seal. Ducks grown at the certified farms that are prescribed antibiotics by licensed veterinarians will be ineligible for this label.
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