House Duck??

[farm316]

Is it possible to have a house duck, Instead of 2 house ducks? Can I get 1 female or will it get lonely?

 

[Kevin565]

Ducks are very social creatures. A single duck would get lonely quite fast which could cause some behavioral issues down the line.

 

[jgfetter]

Is it possible to have a house duck, Instead of 2 house ducks? Can I get 1 female or will it get lonely?

I have one duck. She hangs out with my 3 Shih-Tzus

 

[Amykins]

I have a lone house duck, too. She does okay, she's with me 24/7. She also likes my cats, although my kitties seem to be terrified of her...all it took was one peck on the nose. :/

 

[krister]

I have a single house duck, and she does just fine. I'm home all the time, so she doesn't get lonely. If you can't be home constantly, I would highly suggest more than one. She freaks out when she can't see me, so I know she's miserable when I occasionally have to run to the store or something without her. She likes the dog and my husband, but the cats won't go near her because she's beaky with them. She's a cayuga (supposedly one of the quieter breeds), and is VERY loud when she's calling for me. If noise is going to be an issue where you live, i suggest a male as their voices are usually much softer.

 

[Homie Ducks]

Every Living thing needs a companion , can you live alone?
Imagine if you are alone, no one around you ! At least keep a pair.

 

[Amykins]

Every Living thing needs a companion , can you live alone?
Imagine if you are alone, no one around you ! At least keep a pair.

Every living thing? Tigers, pandas, polar bears flatworms, tardigrades and dozens of other animals seem to be quite happy alone.

Excuse my snark, it's just many of us in this thread have proven that lone house ducks do just fine given enough attention. I agree though that if you can't keep yours with you round the clock, it needs a buddy. I'm lucky in that I can have my baby with me at work.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Ducks are very social creatures. A single duck would get lonely quite fast which could cause some behavioral issues down the line.

Farm,

Kudos to Kevin. Ducks are very social. It doesn't mean they absolutely have to have another duck, just another companion. Ducks can get along with just about anything else that doesn't consider them food, but they shouldn't be alone. Some people would tell you that at least one other duck is best, and they're very likely right. If nothing else, they like to huddle together when they sleep.

That being said, I had a duck many years ago that was a single duck with two small dogs. That duck barked. Really, it barked, but that's because it was raised with dogs and didn't really know it was a duck It followed me like a puppy, and I came outside one day to find it sitting in the middle of my bowl of chili on the deck. What a mess that was.

If you decide to get a single one, just love it, snuggle it, pay great attention to it, and make sure it has some kind of companion if you can't be around. There's nothing wrong with having any single animal, just something wrong if you leave the animal, regardless what it is, to languish with no companionship. As Kevin said, they really will have behavior problems otherwise. Even humans will, and it just takes a little longer for some species than others.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Every living thing? Tigers, pandas, polar bears flatworms, tardigrades and dozens of other animals seem to be quite happy alone.

Excuse my snark, it's just many of us in this thread have proven that lone house ducks do just fine given enough attention. I agree though that if you can't keep yours with you round the clock, it needs a buddy. I'm lucky in that I can have my baby with me at work.

Amykins,

That wasn't the least bit snarky. I haven't read all your posts, but you've never been snarky in the ones I have read. It was simply the truth.

What I'd say to anyone who says that all animals want or need a companion is try putting three male bettas in a tank and see how many are still alive two hours later. It depends on the animal, and you can't generalize on this one