FowlBlog.com

Many avid gardeners consider their vegetable and flower patches as more than just hobby level agricultural endeavors.  Rather, one’s garden is a reflection of one’s natural self.  Thus, just as you don’t want to use harmful herbicides and pesticides on a large scale as it is unsustainably damaging to the environment, you likewise do not want to use the same practices in your own garden.

Pesticides are bad for a lot more than pests

How then can you control harmful weeds and pests from destroying your prized herbs, flowers, and vegetables without employing the very practices which you may be opposed to on a large scale?  One innovative solution is to keep ducks in your garden.  That’s right, ducks….quacking, waddling, goofy yet adorable waterfowl.  Ducks will literally take your garden pests and nuisances and convert them to natural fertilizer and eggs (which by the way are suitable for human consumption).

Gardener Amy Grisak of Grit.com wrote a piece on how she received such wonderful help and valuable work from her feathered friends.  She writes -

Ducks will eat just about any pest. Grasshoppers, which can decimate a garden in short order during heavy infestation years, are quickly gobbled up when in reach of a hungry duck and so are Japanese beetles, June bugs, grubs and even mice. Ducks will also chase and catch flies, and root their larvae out of fresh manure and decaying vegetables.

Using ducks as an environmental and low cost gardening and farming aide is nothing new.  Chinese farmers have herded Pekin ducks by the hundreds through their rice paddies for thousands of years.  These avid foragers would seek out and consume any pest or weed they could find, yet leave the more mature rice crop alone.  Furthermore, their droppings would serve as fertilizer for the plants and soil.  A recent episode of The Amazing Race featured a challenge where contestants were to herd large amounts of Pekin ducks, as an homage to this ancient practice.

Ducks are best used in your garden when there aren’t any sprouting seedlings, as they will likely tear up the ground enough and prevent the seedling from taking root.  Ducks should be allowed to forage when the plants are mature enough that they can survive some physical movement and won’t be hurt by some disruption in the soil.  Ducks essentially use their beaks as plows, and will actively seek out even buried pests and weeds.

Also, ducks can serve as a wonderful alternative to a bug zapper. Simply keep a light over their water supply and it will attract countless insects at night, which the ducks will gladly eat out of their water.  Thus, you will have a natural, environmentally sound, and fun alternative to an unsightly blue light and power consuming device.

Which breeds of ducks make the best for this innovative and green gardening solution?  eFowl.com recommends four key types -

• Runner Ducks – these wine bottle shaped ducks are far and away the most active foragers
  

  A type of avid foraging duck, the Black Indian Runner

• Khaki Campbell Ducks – not only are these birds great foragers, they’re also one of the most prolific egg layers of all ducks.
  

  Khaki Campbells are avid foragers and prolific egg-layers

• Cayuga Ducks – these ducks are a medium size, and very popular as pets for their unique iridescent green color, as well as their quiet demeanor.
  

  Cayuga Ducks are great for pets and great for your garden

• Swedish Ducks – who knew Daffy Duck was so helpful in the garden?
  

  Daffy Duck is modeled after a Black Swedish Duck

What are you waiting for?  Get some ducks and take green gardening to a whole new level!

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.

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.

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 frequently, and I’m interested to hear what others are doing in regards to this endeavor.  Thanks!