Here is a cool story about Joe the Truck and Frank, his pet duck. Joe offers the very insightful tidbit, “As stupid as it sounds, maybe if everyone had a duck in their life, people wouldn’t be so mad at eachother.”
Raising chickens and ducks in one’s backyard is a practice that is undergoing explosive growth in the United States. Countless people find it to be an engaging hobby, an environmentally healthy pursuit, and a tremendous joy.
Ducks aren't just for the farm. They make great pets and wonderful friends.
This has been dubbed the Backyard Poultry Movement, and it is occasionally at odds with city ordinances and municipal codes. Officials cite health, odor, and noise concerns. However, while it may not be feasible to raise fowl on a large scale within city limits, it is certainly possible to keep a small flock for personal purposes, even when in close proximity to neighbors.
There is a trend of legalization of backyard poultry in cities where it was once banned. Examples of cities where the citizens have successfully overturned ordinances prohibiting backyard poultry include Fort Collins, CO, Madison, WI, and Ann Arbor, MI. However, this is usually only after a small skirmish between proponents and opponents of the Backyard Poultry Movement.
Such a skirmish is currently taking place in Long Island, NY, where Huntington Station resident Nina Tam and her daughter Ava Post are fighting to keep their ducks on their urban property. Nina Tam suffers from allergies to chicken eggs, and thus duck eggs serve as a wonderful, healthy alternative. The family is raising a small number of birds both as pets and for egg production, and they’ve found them to be a tremendous joy.
Here are Nina and Ava's backyard ducks. They appear to have a Pekin, two Black Runners, and a Fawn & White Runner.
Furthermore, the ducks are very quiet and do not disturbed the neighbors. They are totally fenced in, and do not create a public nuisance. They even serve as an exciting treat for area children who come observe these entertaining birds.
However, one neighbor has complained and thus the city has sprung into action to have the ducks removed from their property. There is currently a hearing scheduled for November 5th to move closer to resolving the issue. Nina Tam and Ava Post have garnered hundreds of signatures on petitions to encourage their city to follow the increasing trend of legalizing backyard poultry. Also, their story has evoked an outpouring of support from poultry enthusiasts and sympathizers in the form of Tweets and Facebook messages.
Check out the social media efforts related to this story -
We've all heard of rubber ducks before, but this one is a bit ridiculous.
Short answer - No, never.
A sign from Waneka Lake in Lafayette, CO
Long answer – You should never feed ducks bread, whether they are wild or domestic. It is very damaging to a flock, and potentially devastating to an overall ecosystem.
Here is the explanation of how feeding ducks bread is damaging, for both wild and domestic flocks
Wild – Wild ducks are not pet ducks. They do not need to have human interference with their food sources. Furthermore, they can easily become reliant on humans tossing them bread, and neglect their foraging skills to naturally acquire food. This has to potential to knock an entire ecosystem out of balance, as the food chain will become altered by the introduction of a new food source.
Domestic – Obviously, your pet mallards are already reliant on you for their food. While they may have foraging skills, they already depend on you for their sustenance. Is bread okay then? No, not at all. The reasoning here is that bread is not an adequate source of nutrition for ducks. It does not contain the protein levels and nutritional diversity that waterfowl need to thrive.
Furthermore, ducks have a trait which causes them to stop eating once they are full, they won’t overeat, regardless of how much actual nutrition they’ve acquired (perhaps it would be good if some humans developed this). Thus, they’ll fill themselves up on bread, and ignore the other food available to them once they’re full. This will yield an undernourished flock.
Now most of us grew up feeding ducks and other birds bread when we were kids. It was an engaging and simple way to interact with wildlife. However, as our conscious evolves to better understand our impact on the environment, it has become painfully apparant just how improper it is to feed wildlife. We must ignore some of the fond memories that we’ve had with this practice, and learn to love and enjoy waterfowl and other animals through observation, not interaction.
So you’ve decided to raise some young ducklings and you’re looking for some tips on keeping them as safe, healthy, and happy as possible? We’ve consulted a few experts and compiled 10 Tips on Raising Ducklings for people with limited knowledge of these wonderful animals.
Some sugar after a long trip can give a duckling extra energy!
Ducklings need a way to stay dry.