investigative project

Hello

I am doing an investigative project as part of my extended diploma in animal management and would like base it on ducks...I wanted to know whether anyone has any ideas on what I can research/experiment, or if anyone has anything they would like me to research or experiment on a topic theyre interested in (to do with ducks e.g. factors affecting behaviour). I shall publish the results from my project on here for anyone whos interested to read

Thank you!

Here is my suggestion:
The recent trend here in Central Florida has been to allow homeowners in urban areas to keep a limited number of poultry birds within their backyards. Basically, an increasing number of municipalities are allowing people to keep poultry as pets as they would a cat or dog. My mother-in-law has enough space in her little backyard for a couple ducks or chickens. Anyway, if you could research the pros and cons of a small, urban hobby duck (or chicken) farm in a way that could be presented to a local government, I'm sure it would be well received by other members of this forum in similar situations.

Some complaints/comparisons you can research:
Noise complaints? How loud are poultry compared to dogs barking or cats fighting? Some breeds are louder than others, a call duck might not be a good urban choice (Sorry Amykins!), but my Welsh and Cayuga are much quieter than most dogs.
Cost effectiveness? Duck Food vs. Dog Food vs. Cat Food
Sanitation & Hygene Concerns? What is downwind? Cleanup of the coop/kennel/crate etc? Fleas, ticks, salmonella?
High or Low maintenance? How much of your time is needed to keep your pet healthy?
Property value concerns? Concerns for the community? Will the neighborhood embrace sustainability/permaculture or will we look like a bunch of hillbillies!

Basically, just think about all the misconceptions city folk may have about ducks (poultry) as pets and educate them with facts.

I would be very interested to see the results as there are a few small cities around the Orlando, FL area considering allowing poultry for pets, but just need the educated push from a few advocates to sway them in our direction.

Thanks,
Rich

I take it this is fairly short-term project? I know there are a number of topics I would look into if I had more time.

One simple one is my Runners' tendency to call into hollow areas like waste baskets, logs, buckets, cave-like openings in shrubs. What's that about? They have a special call when they are doing this. Gaps between bales of shavings, too.

Hello sorry I've taken a while to reply, rich I really like that idea! It's actually something I'm interested in too so would be worth researching...the only issue is that I'm unsure whether my project has to be valid to the UK however I could do a general project on it unrelated to a specific place! and Amiga that sounds very unusual! Would also be worth researching along with different duck calls etc yes short term ish...will take me till next year. Thank you both for your suggestions it's much appreciated x