Pepe's Ducks has almost doubled its production from 36,000 birds weekly five years ago to 70,000 now by catering to the Western taste for meat content and the Asian preference for skin.

The meaty French breed the Grimaud, which was added to its repertoire three years ago, has helped it expand, requiring 35 extra workers at its Windsor factory and hatchery.

But the Cherry Valley duck, with its skin capable of cooking to crunchiness, is the breed Pepe's general manager, John Houston, hopes will let him add 50 more workers to his 120-strong staff when a new factory is built to export ducks to Asia.

The key to the $100 million annual turnover, Mr Houston said, lies in giving ducks and consumers what they want.

"A happy duck is one that has nice clean shavings on the floor, plenty of clean water and lots of healthy food," he said.

"A happy duck means he will rest and grow up to become a plump duck.

"Racing around the shed, burning up calories, is not good.

"A duck likes a lot more space than a chicken. Where you could house 5000 ducks, you could probably house 18,000 chickens."

Ducks are very social with a lot of character, he said.

"If someone comes to the door to buy a duck, they always tell a story about how their grandfather or grandmother owned a duck, or something like that. I am sure those who buy a chicken just buy it and walk out the door."

The happy ducks do not last long. Eggs collected from farms are placed in a coolroom until needed.

After hatching, they are sent off to farms at one day old and 42 to 44 days later, weighing 2.8 kilograms, are trucked to the abattoir.

Mr Houston believes locals who are well travelled or of Asian origin are the big customers now.

About 75pc of the bird's global consumption is within reach, in Asia.

The selling point for Hong Kong and Singapore buyers is that they can trust the ducks are free of bird flu and Newcastle disease, he said.

The sheds are bird and rodent proofed, cars sprayed, footpaths cleaned and visitors monitored.

As the duck empire has expanded, taking in 21 farms from the Hawkesbury to Cobbitty to Badgerys Creek, some of Pepe's contractors have switched from chickens.

However, consumers had not deserted one bird for the other, said Joanna Blunden, a NSW Department of Primary Industry poultry livestock officer.

Each Australian eats about 38 kilograms of chicken annually, predicted to rise to 40 kilograms by 2013.

It is not a case of daily duck, but the bird has moved beyond the Chinese restaurant, she said.