Ducks; Pets Or Food Or Hobby

[jynxster]

Sorry But I Thought This Forum Was About Persons Who Love Their Pets; Thinking Now I Have A New Perspective Here. What Are Other Peoples Thougts On Thoughts? I Really Love Animals, Am A Vegitarian, And My Ducks Like My Dogs Are Lifelong Pets. I Get Great Pleasure Out Of Lovng And Caring For Gods Creatures.

 

[duckyfromoz]

I raise ducks for the joy they bring me, as pets, for a hobby and to show as well as preservation of the breed.
There are members on here that raise poultry for food- that is one reason I stay away from the meat bird area of the forum some posts do end up in other areas- but I just dont bother reading them.
I have cared for waterfowl for over 30 years now- I have had many disabled ducks and geese over the years and taken in many sick and abandoned animals. I currently have about 40 something ducks- ranging from just hatched yesterday to 4 and a half years old. Each one is so very special in its own way.

I have Ollie my disabled house duck, Stevie- Ray my blind girl, Flippy the duckling that hatched thiamine deficient, 6 new babies still just discovering there legs, " Baby Bloss" who will soon go back to live with her owners 2 hours away. I have been raising her as she hatched alone after her mother was sadly killed by a predator. I have a number of babies of various ages in the spare room including another thiamine deficient duckling I have been looking after for a friend. She has two of mine at the moment and when the little fellow is better we will swap them back over. I have a little girl here right now that I picked up recently from a friend. I had borrowed her for a while for breeding- taken her home- but then when my friend contacted me and said she was selling off most of her ducks- I arranged to go and buy her. She is such a sweet duck- sadly on the way to my friends house I was in a car accident- and the damage to my car is not repairable. I had fixed up that vehicle for transportation for my ducks and it will be sadly missed. She has no feathers down her neck- and back- her wings are shredded and she is the sorriest looking duck you can imagine seeing- but she is here at home with me now- my daughter even surprised me yesterday by bringing her inside he house for a visit. I have cried for the loss of my reliable trustworthy car and laughed that the sweet little girl has been the most expensive duck I have ever had.

I have spent $1000 on vet bills for a sick duckling a saw at a market. I bought him and took him straight to the vet, and nursed him for the 5 months it took to cure him. I have slept outside on the ground with a sick goose in the middle of winter with just a hessian sack to keep us warm. I have stayed up all night when I have ducklings hatching that need help and cried a million tears when they have left me. I have felt incredible pride when awarded trophies for Champion waterfowl at poultry shows.

I have never eaten any kind of waterfowl- nor could I ever. I have never even eaten one of my own duck eggs although I have eaten them from other ducks. I am not a vegetarian -but I have the greatest respect for animals and believe they all deserve the right to be treated decently.

Everyone has - and is entitled to their own opinion. Had I not so deeply loved and felt connected to ducks- I would have stopped keeping them many years ago. They are alot of work- smelly and poop so much, cost a small fortune to feed and take up so much of my time when I am not at work. But If I ever had to give up keeping ducks- my life will no longer be worth living. They are what gets me out of bed in the morning- and why at night when I go to sleep I look forward to the next day. They fill my day with joy and laughter- just watching their funny antics, and being with them relaxes me.


Well...there are some of my thoughts put into words. I guess you can tell that I am very passionate about ducks.

 

[Ducks and Banny hens]

I raise ducks for hobby/food. They have incredible utility, but I find great pleasure in keeping them.

 

[chicken_boy_Kurt]

Mostly, mine are for hobby purposes. For the past few years, I haven't been able to think of my poultry the same way as I did when I was little and I would name all of them. I now consider them mostly livestock. None of my birds have names. I do consider them pets, though. I don't raise mine specifically for meat, but I will butcher one on occasion.

 

[mrpekinduck]

I'm a vegetarian and my ducks are my life! They're what makes me the way that I am and I would die to save their lives, you can call me crazy but I don't care, my ducks are like my children and I would do absolutely anything for them! They're my babies and they mean the world to me! I also feel so proud of my babies when I take them to shows and win champion waterfowl or whatever, I love them and just the thought of eating them makes me cry.

 

[JulieNKC]

Mine are pets mostly, eggs second. Although I won't tolerate meanness, bullying, feather picking, etc. I won't rehome a mean bird and pass my problem off to someone else either, so meanies are culled.

 

[Tivona]

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Pretty much the same for me. I got them for the eggs but I love them as pets. I did have a mean drake that ended up dinner with no tears from me. Another I rehomed that wasn't mean but still caused little problems with my other drake. I wouldn't feel good about sending a mean animal to someone else. I don't personally find it worth it to raise for meat as the job is unpleasant but I respect those who do.

 

[sourland]

Pets, food, hobby - all three work for me. Whatever a person chooses to do with their ducks (as long as it's not abusive) is their personal choice and right.

 

[Kevin565]

Pets. I've been a vegetarian my entire life and don't plan on changing that.

 

[Miss Lydia]

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