Ducks As Pets
Those of you who have never had an indoor duck, especially if you have never owned a duck at all, must be wondering this question. The usual house pets are cats and dogs. The slightly more "exotic" (in the unusual sense) pets are birds, fish, and rodents. The social duck has been kept by humans for centuries on farms - it is not suprising that the duck would finally find its way into the household.
No matter what you do before you get a duck DO YOUR RESEARCH!! The PDA can help you start. (We hope to have a care guide and breed guide up soon) And be sure to join our Yahoo Group where you can talk to current owners about keeping a house duck. Our links section can further guide you to more information.
One or More Than One Duck?
A single pet duck can make a great pet as you can see from reading the PDA's web site. But you should ONLY keep a single pet duck if you have enough time to devote to your duck. First of all you have to get your duck very young or incubate the egg yourself and be the first thing your duck sees when it hatches. Then you have to spend a lot of time bonding with your duck. This way you and your family become the duck's flock. But that means you must spend lots of time DAILY playing and spending time with your pet - not including maintnance time (cleaning, feeding, etc...) If you don't have this time commitment for the full 12+ years a duck can live get TWO or more ducks. Ducks are social animals and will suffer if they don't have companionship. Two or more ducks can still be tame - although won't be as tame as having one. It is illigal in Virgina to purchase a single duckling.
Easter Ducklings: A Duck's Worst Nightmare?
Around Eastertime many families buy a duckling or two for their children. Most do not do research and don't think about the duck's welfare. The animals are usualyy not taken care of the right way - get fed the wrong things, etc... The ducklings sometimes get hurt by children who don't know any better. A child's well meaning small hug can kill a duckling. A week or a few weeks after Easter the children get bored of their "new toy" and the ducklings are ignored and gotten rid of. Animal shelters not designed for ducks are overpoppulated with abandoned ducklings. Local parks get a lot of dumped Easter ducklings.
If you are thinking of getting a duckling for Easter do your research and think of the long term commitment
Consider Adopting a Duck
Think of all those unwanted ducks left at Easter time. A lot of them will be tame or partially tame. Especially after Easter there will be alot of abandoned ducklings. If you are thinking of getting a duckling consider adopting. Contact your local animal shelter or zoo.
Back Home
Remember to ask all duck questions in our Yahoo Group!