FowlBlog.com

There are several ways to help me find a good home! Don't just leave me!

We occasionally read or hear about tragic stories of people dumping ducks, chickens, and other birds in dumpsters or outside.  There is absolutely no reason to ever dump birds in an environment where they cannot survive.  All birds, especially domesticated ducks and chickens, have value and can be given a good and purposeful home.

Many people do not realize that most ducks and chickens one comes into contact with are domesticated breeds.  Thus, they had their wild instincts bred out over time in order to achieve the most desirable farming traits.  They will not adapt to a wild environment in most situations, and certainly should not be killed or dumped simply because they are unwanted.

If you have ducks or chickens which you cannot care for or do not want, please do not destroy them.  These are several key options which you can pursue to find them an adequate home, all of which require little effort.

How to find a good home for unwanted ducks or chickens -

• Post an ad for free ducklings or chicks on Craigslist.org .  People all over the country raise ducks and chickens for a variety of beneficial purposes including egg production, pets, and as meat.  If you simply advertise on Craigslist that you have some free birds available to be picked up, you will receive plenty of interest.  Often time times, a good home can be found within a few hours.
• Look for people seeking ducks and birds in your area on farming message boards, such as BestFarmBuys.com or AgriSeek.com . If you find the right person, you may even be able to sell you birds and make some money.
• Contact a local farm or hatchery and ask them to take the birds.  There are countless places which raise birds for a variety of purposes all around the country.
• Contact a local wildlife rehabilitater or waterfowl rescuer.  While this a great option and a valuable resource, these valuable people are very busy.  Thus, it may be better if you attempt one of the options above prior to contacting a rescuer.
• Contact your local Fish and Game department.  Again, this option should be used only when you’ve attempted the first three options.

Ducks are only good house pets as long as you can keep them comfortable in a large box or cage. As the ducklings mature to about 6-8 weeks of age, their care demands will change such that they need access to water, will become a bit messier, and will require more space.

Ducks are not meant to live in houses, despite some owner's best efforts.

Generally, we consider the 6-8 week old mark to be “pond ready”, when ducks can be released as primarily yard or pond ducks.  Granted, they’ll still need some type of duck housing, but their domain should move to a more natural environment at this age.

Now there are certainly exceptions to these guidelines as there are for nearly any bit of pet waterfowl care knowledge.  We receive many testimonials of pet duck owners who keep their friends primarily indoors, but most breeders and experts will agree that they need to be more of a yard pet.

Most domesticated duck breeds cannot fly.  As breeders have created ducks with certain characteristics, they’ve bred out the ability to fly in many types of farm fowl.

Domesticated Mallards can still fly...most of the time

For example, breeders want to produce a better meat duck, and thus they selectively breed the birds to be larger, which in turn makes them too large to fly.  This is the case for ducks like domesticated Pekins, pet Rouens, and even medium sized ducks like Cayugas.  Other breeds of ducks, such as Runner ducks, are able to fly for short distances, but cannot achieve sustained flight.  Thus for all these types of domesticated ducks, it isn’t necessary to clip their wings in order to keep them from flying away.

However, some of the smaller breeds of ducks can still fly, and wing clipping may be necessary if they are not explicitly trained to stay around their home.  This is particularly true for domesticated Mallards and Call ducks.

The ability to fly is an important consideration when selecting a pet duck.  Most people prefer flightless ducks, as clipping wings can be a difficult process.  If you do select a duck breed that is capable of flight, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will fly away, it will just have the ability to.  Often times when someone has a pet Mallard for example, the bird will bond with it’s owner and never leave, despite being able to.  Clipping wings is usually a precaution people will take when dealing with larger flocks of birds, rather than just a few waterfowl as pet ducks.

Do duck get along with other pets?  To put it briefly…not really.

While there are countless people who do in fact keep a myriad of pets together, including ducks, the potential for catastrophe always remains and should be respected at all times.

Scenes such as this are uncommon, but possible. Photo by Dok1

Most dogs and cats, and many other wild animals, instinctively view ducks as a food source.  In most cases, we do not recommend that you have both dogs/cats and pet ducks unless you are prepared to take the utmost care to ensure their harmony.

Many breeds of domestic duck lack the ability to fly.  Thus, they do not have their primary defense mechanism available to them when they feel threatened.  Furthermore, most pet ducks you will raise have been bred to be farm fowl (meat ducks, egg layers, etc.).

Also, ducklings must be protected from other ducks in many instances, specifically from males.  If you’re breeding ducks, do not isolate ducklings from their mothers, but be vigilant around the older male ducks, including their father.

Here are a few pointers if you are ready to travel down the road of duck and dog/cat coexistance -

• Always be vigilant around the animals.  A careful and active owner is the key to success in all aspects of pet duck ownership.
• Never simply allow your dogs and ducks to roam freely together, as animal instincts can surface at anytime resulting in serious injury or death.
• If you feel confident that you can directly introduce you duck to a cat or dog, hold the duck in your hands and be prepared to defend your animals and yourself at all times.
• Keep ducklings in a cage or fully enclosed box which will prevent access to any would be predators.
• Never assume your dog/cat and ducks are trained and conditioned to live in harmony, predatorial instincts may surface at any moment.

If anyone else has any tips to share on this topic, please do.  I am asked about ducks and other pets quite freqently, and I’m interested to hear what others are doing in regards to this endeavor.  Thanks!

UPDATE: 07/01/2009 – It has come to my attention that it is against NYC regulations to have a pet duck in the city.  I am not advocating the practice, I’m simply pointing out a humorous pop culture anecdote.  Both Joey Tribbiani and myself are sorry if anyone interpreted that as endorsing a pet duck in NYC.

More and more people are raising ducks as pets in urban areas and even city apartments. This practice gained lots of popularity from the 90s TV show “Friends”.