<p>This study investigated the composition, thermal transitions, rheological behavior, texture and microstructure of meat emulsions prepared from the breast and leg meat of spent laying ducks, broiler ducks, and broiler chickens. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) revealed that broiler chicken meat exhibited greater thermal denaturation of myosin, while spent laying duck breast meat showed a higher enthalpy change for actin (ΔH₃) and total collagen content. Notably, the second thermal peak associated with sarcoplasmic and stromal proteins was absent in both duck breeds, suggesting age-related limitations in protein unfolding. These thermal characteristics corresponded with functional differences in the emulsions. Broiler chicken meat emulsions demonstrated superior gelation, reflected in higher storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″), as well as enhanced textural attributes. In contrast, emulsions made from spent laying duck, particularly leg meat, showed significantly higher total fluid loss, fat loss, and cooking loss, alongside lower emulsion stability, water-holding capacity, and textural quality. Microstructural analysis revealed looser, more porous gel networks in duck meat emulsions, contributing to reduced hardness and chewiness. Additionally, spent laying duck meat showed higher pH values and darker color in both raw and cooked emulsions. Overall, the results highlight the superior functional performance of broiler chicken meat for emulsion-type products, while identifying quality limitations in duck meat, particularly from spent laying ducks. These findings provide a basis for improving the utilization of spent laying duck meat, which exhibits distinct functional characteristics compared with other poultry meats, through formulation strategies targeting enhanced water retention and gel strength.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>