Can You Keep Ducks As Pets? Everything You Need To Know

Ducks are most commonly kept as egg and meat birds on homesteads or even in large backyards, but they can also be raised as entertaining and pleasant pets, as well.

These adorable poultry birds can make excellent pets, as long as keepers do not expect them to behave like a pet store bird or a cuddly kitten.

Ducklings are often chosen as pets for children around Easter. Parents sometimes have difficulty resisting the fuzzy little cuties when their beloved child is begging for one.

But, before opening your wallet to spend a few bucks on ducklings, consider the long-term time and money investment keeping the duck well-cared for will require.

Keeping ducks as pets requires the proper setup, the right kind of breed, time, space, commitment – and never raising just one alone. Ducks are flock birds.

They need the companionship of their type and not just humans to remain happy and healthy.

Agricultural supply stores like Tractor Supply and Rural King and professional breeders are prohibited by law in most states from selling a single duck to a customer.

In many states, buyers are required to purchase a minimum of three or four ducks at a time.

Keeping Ducks As Pets Things To Consider First

Pet Duck Behavior 

• Do not expect a duck to curl up on your lap and cuddle, but most breeds will be pleasant and enjoy spending time with their keepers. Some duck breeds enjoy having their bellies gently rubbed. 

 

• The intelligence level of ducks far surpasses that of chickens. The ducks will like to follow you around and encircle you to have treats tossed to them. 

 

• Watching the ducks swim and waddle about is great free outdoor entertainment. If you use a baby pool in the coop run with a slide, some of the ducklings or ducks will spend hours hopping onto it and splashing down into the water – which is also very fun to watch. 

 

• Ducks are not mean like a goose or rooster can be and do not bite out of anger. However, they may get your finger with their relatively rounded solid bill when petting them or feeding them treats. This act may startle a young child but will not break the skin. 

 

• Ducks enjoy shiny and moving objects – similar to chickens and pet shop birds, ducks often enjoy shiny things like mirrors, playing with strings attached to bells, and similar shimmering objects as a form of entertainment.

 

• Another good reason not to keep ducks inside is all of the toxic smells they can come into contact with. The fragrances used in hairspray, aftershave, and perfume can be incredibly harmful to birds because their olfactory glands work. 

 

• You will be able to tell if your duck likes you if they make a happy-sounding quack that sounds similar to a chirp when they hear your voice or see you coming. If the ducks come to stand right next to you or encircle you shows they think of you as a safe space to be and hold you in a position of trust.

 

• Some, but not all, ducks enjoy listening to music. Playing music for your ducks to enjoy AFTER they have become accustomed to both you and their new environment.

Ducks As Pets and Indoor Living

Potty Training 

Keeping a duck as an inside pet and putting a diaper on the bird is sadly becoming popular and the focus of widely viewed YouTube videos.

If you are going to keep a duck as a pet, you must respect the animal and understand that as a poultry bird, it is still livestock even if you name the bird and love it dearly.

It will be impossible to house train a duck. It just is not going to happen no matter how hard you try.

Ducks do not possess sphincter muscles; therefore, it is impossible to control their urination and defecation. Shortly after foraged food or poultry bird feed enters the duck, it starts to come out on the other end.

Water Access 

Putting a duckling in a bathtub or even a plastic baby pool in the garage once in a while will not create the proper husbandry scenario it needs to remain either healthy or happy.

A duck must have access to clean water to swim in and dip its head into at all times.

Once a duckling surpasses at least two weeks old and the body oils that help it dry quickly, it should never go without water for more than eight hours – at the very most. 

Growth 

A duckling will mature into a far more giant poultry bird in relatively no time at all. In just a few months, that cute fuzzy little duckling can be a nearly mature bird that weighs between 6 to 10 pounds.

Egg Laying 

Some breeds of duck hens start laying eggs when they are just a few months old. Even if you could purchase only female ducklings (which is unlikely because these birds are rarely sexed like chickens when sold), she will still lay eggs.

While the eggs will be unfertilized if the hen does not have access to a drake, she will still drop them all around the house, porch, or backyard serving as a living or free-ranging area. Duck lay their eggs between dusk and dawn.

Anyone walking in the duck living space will likely step on an egg or two if they are not placed inside a duck house or a coop with an attached run at night. Mature hens typically lay between 3 to 4 eggs per week.

Noise 

Some duck keepers warn folks that these poultry birds can become very noisy and loud. My experience has been the opposite, but my flocks have the run of a lot of acres and a large pond to hold their attention.

If the ducks are kept in a too confined space and become bored or agitated, they will become much more vocal.

Mess 

Duck droppings are large, frequent, and messy. This is yet another reason why keeping a pet duck inside is a truly terrible idea.

Even when keeping ducks as pets in a coop and run environment, you still need to deal with the mess from droppings and all the water they will splash out of the kiddy pool or small garden pond.

The bedding in the house or coop will need to be removed and replaced with new clean bedding once a week to prevent bacteria, mold, or mildew that can make the ducks severely ill. 

Will Pet Ducks Get Attached To Their Keepers?

Ducks will quickly learn who their keepers are and respond to the sight of them and the sound of their voices.

The more you interact with the ducks when they are ducklings, the better the chances of them accepting being petted – or having their bellies rubbed. 

A duckling may imprint upon you if you actually hatch them in an incubator, and again, handle them and talk to them frequently.

For example, you can order fertilized poultry bird eggs from large breeding operations, like Meyer Hatchery and Murray McMurray Hatchery.