how do i convince my parents to let me get a duckling?

[ducklover4ever]

ok so, I am trying to convince my parents to let me get a duck. They're very stubborn and are saying no but I really really want a duck. I am a teenager and they do not think I am responsible enough for a duck, though if I got one I would be so happy and very responsible, but they just don't believe me.
how should I convince them? I need something really good because there very stubborn!
please help me fulfill my dream life with a duck!!!

 

[NatJ]

They're very stubborn and are saying no but I really really want a duck. I am a teenager and they do not think I am responsible enough for a duck, though if I got one I would be so happy and very responsible, but they just don't believe me.
how should I convince them?

First, make sure ducks are allowed where you live.
Many places allow dogs and cats but forbid ducks and chickens along with large farm animals.

If a duck would be illegal where you live, then I'm sure your parents will not give in.

But if ducks are allowed, you should think about why your parents are saying "no."

If they think you are not responsible, think about whether they might be right. Especially think about what things they tell you to do each day, and what things they need to remind you over and over to do, then start remembering to do those things yourself. If you show responsibility in other areas of your life, they will more easily believe that you can be responsible about caring for a duck.

For an example, if I had a teenager that needed reminding about homework, and reminding to feed the cat, and reminding to go to bed at night, and I had to wake them up in the morning, and then they dawdled and missed the school bus so I had to drive them to school, and they complained about mowing the lawn: I would certainly not let them get any other pets! But if I had a teenager who was managing those kinds of things well, I would be more willing to consider new pets. (I don't know what you do, so I deliberately made this example a bit overdone.)

You can learn about what ducks need (read books, or learn on the internet.) It is important to know what an animal needs before you get the animal. Even if they do not let you get a duck, if you learn what ducks need, you will be ready to get ducks when you are grown up and making your own decisions. Learn what kind of housing ducks need (how big, how much shelter from the weather, how to keep out predators, how to keep it dry, how much ventilation they need). Learn about what to feed them, how much to feed them, and where to get the food. Learn about what bedding works well, and what bedding is available. Learn about how much water they need and what kind of containers it should be in (ducks need to drink and wash their faces frequently, but swimming needs a much bigger water container.) If you live in an area with cold winters, learn about how to keep their water thawed, or how often you will have to carry fresh water to them.

Think about who will take care of the ducks: probably you most of the time, but consider family vacations, trips to camp, when you get sick, and things like that.

Also think about how long ducks are likely to live.
If you go away to college, or move to a place where you cannot keep ducks, your parents may not want to take care of the ducks. So they might give the ducks away, or butcher the ducks and eat them-- plan ahead, so there are no unpleasant surprises!

I don't know your parents, so I'm making guesses based on the parents and teenagers I have known (including my own parents.)

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC. You will need to convince them to get two ducklings since ducklings should not be raised alone.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

From a parents perspective my biggest concerns would be:

-Who's going to pay for it? (my ducks overall have cost me more than my dogs and I have three AKC registered dogs with two of the three being from show lines).

-At the end of the day when all is said and done who's REALLY going to take care of it? My boys are pretty great with chores even thought they're young, but my mom calls me all of the time to complain about my brother bringing home pets and then she has to take care of it.

-How is the the animal going to impact our space? Is it going to take up all of the lawn? Is there even enough room for us to still have our space outside separate? Ducks require 4sq ft. of coop minimum per bird and 11 sq ft. of run minimum per bird. I love my ducks and we have always had enough room to keep them separate. However, if I wanted to go outside to play soccer with my kids and everyone was slip sliding in duck poop because there was no other place to play I would not have ducks...

Now as a parent my solution would be for my kids:


-Take care of ALL pets without me asking for an extended period of time. A week of miraculous behavior would not be enough to convince me I'm talking months of consistency.

-A planned out budget on how they planned to exactly take care of the ducks expenses. Feed, building a coop, building a run, feeders, waterers, a savings account for vet care, putting together a first aid kit etc.

-Several drawn up possible locations for the coop and run along with proper dimensions to work out the best possible location.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I think you are in love with the **idea** of ducks. Fueled by no small amount of nostalgia.

I have ducks. and chickens. and goats. soon, rabbits.

Ducks are:
Loud, obnoxious, DIRTY MESSY DISGUSTING eaters, sometimes aggressive (even to humans), unreliable layers, and expensive to maintain.

Why do I have them??? Fast growing dark meat for the table. Also, they make a good beef substitute in sausages or ground as burgers.

Your parents have said no, no small number of times, and offered reason. Perhaps tongue in cheek, when another parent offered some examples of less than reliable teenager behaviors, you suggested they resembled yourself. Your existing animals, unlike ducks, are all very low maintenance, with limited space requirements. Moreover, as a teen, in just a few years, you are looking (most likely) towards college or trade school - some place where you can't bring your ducks. So your current want commits your parents to years of maintaining "your" duck, after you are (likely) gone from the household.

Welcome to BYC. Put your ducky desires on hold, enjoy ducks vicariously through our flocks, continue to educate yourself about them, and have you considered an avian veterinary career??? Plenty of cat and dog vets, very few we find with decent knowledge of poultry and waterfowl.

This bowl of water had been changed maybe 10 min before this picture was taken. (some of my Pekin hens)

/edit Oh, and of all my animals and planned animals, "duck droppings" are the most likely to appear nearly everywhere (chickens can go some places ducks can't), and hands down the most disgusting to clean up. Goats and rabbits both drop pellets - easy to rake away, not to harsh on green growing things. Chicken droppings are high nitrogen, hard on grasses (can burn new growth), roughly one in ten stinks, but they are mostly dry when dropped, finish desicatting quickly, and go to dust. Duck droppings? Much wetter, typically, and a disease vector for at least as many discomforting "things" (e coli, salmonella, crypto,etc) as chicken droppings, but larger and harder to clean up. Really all you can do is hose them into the ground or wait on Mother Nature to do her thing.

 

[Aunt Angus]

um, guys i just want a duck...
All you guys are doing is repeating what you have said in other parts of the conversation...
i just want somone to say straight out "ok heres what you need in order to take care of ducks" I have money and stuff ready. recently ive been doing my chores without them asking me to do it so stop harassing me about that. if your going to tell me something pleaseeee just tell me what i need.
thats all i want at the moment.

Well...

Ducks need a big brooder. I started with 4 ducks. Within 4 weeks, they went from teeny fuzzballs to almost full sized. I changed brooders 3 times because they kept outgrowing them. My final brooder was 16 sq ft.

Their brooder needed changing 2x a day. I took out all of the bedding, scrubbed everything down, and replaced it all twice a day. As they got older, it was 3x a day. That means before I went to work, as soon as I got home, and once more before I went to bed.

They will need duck/chick starter (unmedicated) and added nutritional yeast at first.

Ducks need water 24/7. They don't just drink it. They have to bathe in it. For the first 5 weeks, I took my duckies swimming in the bathtub every day. At first, the water needs to be, like an inch deep, and it needs to be warm because ducklings aren't waterproof and can get chilled easily. That's why the brooder needed constant changing.

Once my ducks were fully feathered and ready, they moved outside into a duck house that is adjacent to my coop. That needs changing daily. They also need their waterers changed daily, sometimes twice.

They also get illnesses/injuries. I spent an hour every night for 2 months straight soaking and treating bumblefoot. I have a duck vet. It costs money to care for them.

My ducks have a kiddie pool that I empty and scrub every 2-3 days. I also skim it 2x a day.

I also want to point out that I haven't been on vacation in ages because my ducks need care. My chickens I could leave for a few days if a neighbor would check on them. My ducks I can't. They are too messy, eat too much food, and need fresh water every day. Every. Day. Rain, shine, snow, hail. I was out there in a blizzard a couple of weeks ago, filling buckets and mucking out duck mess.

I am all for folks getting ducks. I love ducks. But I wouldn't recommend them for beginners who don't have experience with chickens or quail or some other birds. And ducks live several years. You will go off to college at some point. My Pekin, Julep, ended up here when her owner left for college and her parents didn't want to take care of her anymore.

Take a good hard look in the mirror and make sure you are the kind of person who can commit to that level of care. You may well be, but your parents seem doubtful. I wouldn't let my kids get ducks if they asked. They're very responsible, but they are too busy, and I know I'd end up doing the work.

 

[ducklover4ever]

First, make sure ducks are allowed where you live.
Many places allow dogs and cats but forbid ducks and chickens along with large farm animals.

If a duck would be illegal where you live, then I'm sure your parents will not give in.

But if ducks are allowed, you should think about why your parents are saying "no."

If they think you are not responsible, think about whether they might be right. Especially think about what things they tell you to do each day, and what things they need to remind you over and over to do, then start remembering to do those things yourself. If you show responsibility in other areas of your life, they will more easily believe that you can be responsible about caring for a duck.

For an example, if I had a teenager that needed reminding about homework, and reminding to feed the cat, and reminding to go to bed at night, and I had to wake them up in the morning, and then they dawdled and missed the school bus so I had to drive them to school, and they complained about mowing the lawn: I would certainly not let them get any other pets! But if I had a teenager who was managing those kinds of things well, I would be more willing to consider new pets. (I don't know what you do, so I deliberately made this example a bit overdone.)

You can learn about what ducks need (read books, or learn on the internet.) It is important to know what an animal needs before you get the animal. Even if they do not let you get a duck, if you learn what ducks need, you will be ready to get ducks when you are grown up and making your own decisions. Learn what kind of housing ducks need (how big, how much shelter from the weather, how to keep out predators, how to keep it dry, how much ventilation they need). Learn about what to feed them, how much to feed them, and where to get the food. Learn about what bedding works well, and what bedding is available. Learn about how much water they need and what kind of containers it should be in (ducks need to drink and wash their faces frequently, but swimming needs a much bigger water container.) If you live in an area with cold winters, learn about how to keep their water thawed, or how often you will have to carry fresh water to them.

Think about who will take care of the ducks: probably you most of the time, but consider family vacations, trips to camp, when you get sick, and things like that.

Also think about how long ducks are likely to live.
If you go away to college, or move to a place where you cannot keep ducks, your parents may not want to take care of the ducks. So they might give the ducks away, or butcher the ducks and eat them-- plan ahead, so there are no unpleasant surprises!

I don't know your parents, so I'm making guesses based on the parents and teenagers I have known (including my own parents.)

are you my mom- because you just said some very detailed things abt what i forget to do-

 

[NatJ]

are you my mom- because you just said some very detailed things abt what i forget to do-

I'm not your mom, but I was guessing about the things that teenagers sometimes do forget.

In that case, you could try to be more responsible about the things you already need to do, and over time that might help change your parents' minds.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

They prolly said no because teens want things one day not realizing ducks live 10-15 years and when you move out/etc who will be stuck with it...them, I would get a duck when you have your own place

 

[U_Stormcrow]

i feel like you just degraded me a lil but but ok :, )
um yeah im aware they said no. I still have time untill i go to college, BUT my neighbor loves barn animals and has everything except ducks. goats, horses, chickens, pigs, sheep, you name it. And she said if i got ducks, when I leave for college she can take them untill i come back and see them whenever I vist.
i know i odnt know a lot but I feel like i am going to learn a lot more on this website

I merely offered a perspective - and am not famed for my empathy, though I make honest effort to help those who honestly seek to learn and benefit from their time here, on those few areas where my knowledge and experience might be useful. Best you think of me as the occasionally useful curmudgeon. Sometimes informative and/or entertaining in small quantity.

The word, btw, is Denigrated. Synonymous with Disparage. Alternatively, Demean.

But I understood what you were trying to communicate. For what its worth, you read into my tone a message not present in my writing to you. I merely communicated information - if you feel a "no" and associated reasons are, somehow, an "attack upon your person" (notwithstanding your revelation that your parents suggested you were unreliable) you might be thinking more emotionally than intellectually. In my experience, that is not a reliable basis for wise decision making. For what its worth.

My advice is worth no more, and perhaps less, than you paid for it.