1. DUCKS AS PETS
KEEPING DUCKS DOMESTICALLY
By Steven Bolton
(Founder & owner of ducksaspets.org)
4th August 2012

2. Introduction
• If you’re looking for information on keeping ducks I’m glad you’ve found this
presentation. This presentation has been created to provide clear and concise
information for anyone who is either considering or has recently acquired a domestic
holding of ducks. Having researched this area I found a lack of clear information in
an accessible format for aspiring duck keepers.
• For many years I have had a passionate interest in the natural world, and in particular
have investigated the keeping of more unusual birds and animals in domestic
environments. In this presentation I discuss the things to be considered when
acquiring a small holding of ducks.

3. Keeping Ducks
Ducks are very social animals and accordingly at least two should always be kept together. Several female ducks should be kept for every male in
each holding, the ideal number of which will vary dependent on breed. The best breed to keep will vary dependent on whether your main reason for
keeping them is either meat or eggs, or whether you want them primarily as domestic pets.
• Duck Facts
• Male ducks are known as drakes and the females as ducks, and the infants as ducklings. There are more than 40 breeds of domestic duck, all of
which are descended from either the Mallard or Muscovy duck. Domestic ducks typically live for between 10-15 years, although the world record is
held by a Mallard Drake who lived to the ripe old age of 27 years!
• Duck Houses
• An appropriate duck house is important not only for the comfort and raising of your ducks, but also to protect from predators. One of the first things
to bear in mind is that your ducks need access to water, which can be either a natural source or for instance a pool you install. A good approach is to
provide a secure house with an enclosed run. If you allow them to forage outside of the enclosure during the day your ducks should be brought into
the enclosure each night. Unless trained to come back to the enclosure at night they will continue to forage into the night and will leave the
enclosure any time it is not locked down. This will put them at greater risk than during daylight.
• Duck Food
• In the wild ducks are opportunistic eaters and will eat grass, aquatic plants, insects, seeds, fruit, fish, crustaceans and other types of food. In practice
when keeping ducks domestically the staple food generally used is a duck feed, although this can be supplemented with other items. The duck feed
will vary dependent on breed and age, although feeds will normally consist of wheat and maize, with soya bean meal and soya oil added in order to
provide extra protein and energy. Minerals and vitamins are also added to protect against deficiencies.
• Duck Health
• Feather loss in ducks is often a sign of illness, although a duck that just loses feathers from the back of its head during the mating season is most likely
just getting too much attention from the Drakes. Dull feathers are a sign a duck may not have access to water deep enough to submerge in and
throw water over themselves. This will mean they are not able to spread the lubricating oil from their preening gland over their feathers. This
should be attended to as this can have a bad effect on their health. Any awkwardness in their walk should be checked and dirty eyes or nostrils can
be a sign they do not have access to deep enough water to dip their whole head and neck into. It is important ducks have this in order to be able to
wash their eyes as they do not have tear ducts.
• Duck Breeds
• There are numerous breeds to choose from and your choice will be influenced by how many you want to keep, your experience and your preferences
for meat or eggs. The Peking is a good choice for meat production, and has been used for developing other breeds intended for this use. The
Muscovy is also good for meat production, and lay’s about 100 eggs a year. They are also good insect harvesters for your garden. If your preference
is eggs over meat, breeds to be considered are the three varieties of the Orpington, or the Campbell, which also has three breeds. In the event you
are primarily interested in keeping ducks as pets, the smaller Call breeds which were bred to lure wild ducks into traps are probably most
suitable. Their small size and nature makes them appealing and they are easy for children to handle. They can, however, be relatively noisy.