Ducks are fun to be with because they are talkative and cute. But not all ducks are born equal. Some are unfit as pets as they are less manageable. The Bantam breeds are suitable as pets, but not the other types.
If you get tired of fur babies as pets and you plan to bring a duck inside your home, you have to know some local regulations. Ducks are farm animals that should stay on your farmstead or game farm.
If you insist on raising them as pets, you must consider some factors before bringing them inside your home. Ensure that you have abundant water sources for swimming and drinking and your yard is spacious.
Please read our blog post to discover a lot of things when raising ducks as pets.
Disadvantages of Ducks as Pets
Ducklings are adorable creatures. Your kids might find them cute, but are they ideal as pets? Although ducklings make you smile because of their cuteness, they grow fast. As soon as they grow bigger within two weeks, they eat a lot and poop everywhere. They become messy, and they always defecate large and frequent droppings.
Let’s discuss the disadvantages of ducks as pets.
Messy
Keeping ducks as pets may not be a good idea if you lack time to clean up their mess or have no assistance. With proper care, ducks can live for 8 to 10 years, which means you have many years to take care of them.
Do you have enough patience to give your total commitment after they are fully grown into adult ducks?
If you keep them in a coop, you need to remove the bedding at least once a week. Some duck owners clean them daily to minimize cleaning time when the droppings accumulate for days.
Besides, mildew, worms, and microorganisms grow in the coop, which could be unhealthy for ducks. You must also clean the garden pond or kiddy pool as they poop while wading into the water.
Ducks create mud when splashing and whishing, so think otherwise if you hate dirty surroundings.
Noisy
Ducks are born talkative regardless of their species. Their irritating sound can cause trouble with your neighbors if they live nearby. The sound of one duck is equivalent to a dozen chickens.
Ducks create loud sounds; they quack and quack when they splash in the water, eat, or roam around. Sometimes ducks quack loudly when they mate and lay eggs. Ducks are incessant talkers, so beware if you plan to raise them as pets.
Drakes are less talkative than female ducks, and their sound is less noisy than a rooster. Caged ducks are louder than free range when they become agitated or bored.
What Do Ducks Need?
Food & Water
Unlike geese, ducks are omnivores, which means they can eat different kinds of food. Feed your domesticated ducks with commercial feeds like pelleted duck food, which should be their primary food.
Cracked corn, frozen peas, sliced grapes, chopped lettuce, birdseed, rice, oats, and leafy greens provide ducks with essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
Ducks forage on this food like they are in free range. Keep pellets and fresh water readily available in a shallow dish or feeder. You can also give your pet ducks treats like mealworms, earthworms, and insects.
You should clean the duck waterer after each use and replace it with water regularly, as ducks drink one liter of water daily. Avoid leaving uneaten food in their waterer as it gets rotten; algae sprouts can harm your farm animals.
Duck House
Domesticated ducks need a good place in your yard to sleep and rest. As ducklings grow, they live outside to swim, eat, and mingle with their relatives.
When building a duck house, it should have ventilation to dry out the dampness they create from splashing and wading. Their home should have a sizeable walk-up ramp as they cannot jump. There is no need to add perches because they are not like chickens that roost when they settle to rest after twilight.
Duck house should have an elevation from the ground with hardware mesh on the bottom to secure them and allows drainage and ventilation. The space for each duck should be around 3 to five square feet.
Protect your duck from the possible entry of predators by securing it with a lockable door. The roof and structure of their house are strong enough against strong winds.
Should I Potty Train My Pet Ducks?
Ducks are hard to potty train because they are unlike your fur babies. They are livestock, and you must respect their behavior. If you find it amusing to see those wearing diapers as what you see on YouTube, you must not emulate what those vloggers do. Ducks cannot control defecation and urination as they do not have sphincter muscles.
What is the Best Duck Breed as Pets?
The best duck breeds as pets are Call ducks, Cayuga ducks, and White Pekin ducks. These ducks are calm, friendly, and less heavy. Cayuga and Pekin ducks can reach up to 7 to 8 pounds, but Call ducks are small, with an average weight of 15 to 20 ounces. Male Call ducks weigh in from 19 to 25 ounces.
Choose ducks that are less talkative if you live in an urban area or closer to neighbors. Smaller ducks are ideal if you do not have a large backyard. When raising smaller ducks like Call ducks, please do not mix them with larger ducks as they get trampled. They get killed when large drakes try to mate with female Call hens.
How Many Eggs Does a Duck Lay?
An average duck hen lays 200 to 250 eggs a year. Ducks are not like chicken hens when it comes to their productive years. Ducks stay productive even if they read 6 to 9 years. They lay more eggs on short winter days while chickens take a rest in winter.
Are Ducks Destructive to Your Garden or Backyard?
No. Ducks are not as destructive compared to chickens. Ducks do not scratch your plants until they die. Although ducks eat plants, they do not ruin your garden. Don’t get scared if they visit your vegetable garden because they help get rid of pests and bugs.
Do Ducks Feel Lonely?
Ducks feel lonely if they do not have a companion. If you plan to raise a duck, you have to find them a companion so that they feel happy and healthy. Getting a single duck is not ideal if you go to work every day.
Ducklings imprint on someone they frequently see during their first hours after hatching. If you hatch duck eggs in an incubator, they do not have an imprint of their siblings and mother. Ducks swim, eat, and fly in groups, so think twice before bringing a duck home.
