Hi all, I am new to this website and am about to begin bringing a duckling into my life, I need help with a few questions. I have wanted to get a pekin duck for a long time now, but was unable to do so because of home issues.
1. I am keeping it inside my house with me so it would be treated like a pet dog, but would he follow me around or would be act independently?
2. I am willing to purchase the high end and most nutritious food (main course food, daily given) for him, what would you recommend?
3. What are some things I could do to boost my love for him and get him to bond with me more?
4. Any tips for new owners?
Thank you guys!
I'll be honest here, can ducks thrive indoors? Absolutely, but it is extremely hard to give them a good quality of life compared to the natural enrichment outside. There is A LOT to say here so excuse the essay.
Ducklings are hard to raise alone, they will scream and cry constantly when you aren't there, that includes when you go to sleep. It's stressful for them as they are flock animals and are built to live with company.
Some tips with ducklings:
They need duckling appropriate food with lots of niacin.
They need company of their own kind.
They need to be supervised whenever in water, and they need the water to be warm but not too hot. They cant waterproof themselves so need drying off after a few minutes of swim time.
They need absorbing and easy to grip flooring in the brooder, and a brooder plate or lamp for warmth. A heat plate (electric hen) works better so that they don't overheat. If they have a lamp, they need it on one half the brooder, and the other half should be cooler.
So firstly,
1. Ducks are flock animals and being alone (even if there is a person around 24/7), isn't good for them. And you would very unlikely be there 24/7, so the duck would occasionally be completely isolated.
The only way to fix this situation and ensure the duck's happiness, is to have at least 1 friend for him. 3 is a better miminum, but 2 is the bare minimum. You'd likely need to either have two males, or two females.
2. The ducklings may imprint and follow you around, but the ducks will also poop every 10-15 minutes. Wet, stinky poop. So the floor would be a mess very very fast unless you train them to tolerate a duck diaper (which you can buy online, but this shouldn't be on 24/7).
Duck diapers on a female duck could interfere with laying, and if they aren't kept clean as possible, could make a dirty nasty mess.
A more realistic solution would be housing them in a really large pen (a puppy pen, with tarpaulin underneath and up the sides to prevent ruining the floors and walls).
They will need plenty of space, they need to be able to run a little and have enough space to flap their wings. And even then, they'll need to come out for regular swims in the bath (no soap), and for exercise to run around.
They'll need a water bucket deep enough to dunk their heads, as well as enrichment. Ducks can benefit from having toys. My girls always loved hanging rattly baby toys, kept them entertained. But ensure the toys have no loose parts or stringy bits as that could be a safety hazard.
The pen will need a good amount of pine shavings, to absorb all the wet mess. And if you have hens they'll probably want a nice little nest area with some hay.
If this is not cleaned out 2 times a day, it will make your house stink, and the ducks will be at risk of respiratory issues, and potentially ammonia burns.
My girls lived inside for a long time before their pen was finished. I cleaned their pen in the morning, and cleaned buckets and feed bowls, all while they spent time in a temporary predator proof run outside. In the evening they came inside and went in for bed. If they were inside all day, like your ducklings will be, they'll need cleaning out 2 or even 3 times daily, and a good amount of supervised bath time.
Even with all this cleaning, my room smelt bad 70% of the time and having them move outside full time was a huge relief, even though miss them being so close.
Having indoor ducks sounds so fun until you live the reality and see how exhausting it is.
I would get 3 or so sexed ducklings (3 males or 3 females), start the ducklings indoors, and once they are fully feathered, move them to a secure coop outside.
