New duck - should I get a male or female?

[BigBlock]

For a long time I've wanted a pet duck, and I think it's finally time to bring one home. Problem is they aren't technically legal in my city.

I'm considering the possibility of an indoor duck, though I do have a small pond in my yard. I think I want to get a Rouen duck.

What I'm wondering is, does it matter whether I get a male or female duck? Is the temperment any different? I need a very well behaved duck to pull this off.

Also, can I get just one duck or should it have a friend?

 

[Quackers08]

First of all, having just one duck wont be any fun for it. It needs a companion. secondly, if its illegal you probably shouldnt get one but i love mine so much and id probably do it even if it was. Where do you live? What sort of house/appartment etc do you live in? If its a small place then it would be easier to get a smaller duck. I dont think it matters about a girl or boy as 2 boys would get on fine as they dont need to compete during breeding season.

 

[BigBlock]

Would having a girl and a boy cause any sort of problems together?

I live in the suburbs, we have a relatively large yard for the area and a small pond/waterfall. I think it's plenty of room for a duck, I just don't want to make a lot of noise. There are wild ducks living in a pond about 500 feet away, I figure me having a duck isn't any different.

If anybody's going to get the neighbors complaining it would be my loud mouth dachshund.

 

[Amiga]

I agree that ducks are wonderful, and that a minimum of two ducks is best. Indoor ducks are a possibility if you have the personality and space indoors for them, too. With eleven ducks, the indoor option is not a good one for us

but I thought about it!

If I were to have just two, it would be two females or two males. Here is my reasoning: many times a male/female pair works out, but many times the male is too, well, oversexed, and ends up hurting, injuring or even killing the female. Ack! Two males generally do quite well as there is no competition, as Quakers08 wrote. I have an all girl team, and they are fine without a drake.

You might look into some old posts by Nettie, since, for a while, she had six indoor runners, and quite the setup!

 

[Quackers08]

Just rememebr that ducks are messy, very messy! They're so lovable but make such a mess with water. My calls, although small, know how to mess up their run in less than a day, so you may want to take that into account if it would be a problem or anything?

 

[Going Quackers]

Why are they not 'legal' i'd be very cautious about adding ducks, i would hate to see you get attached and then get busted and have to get rid of them.

 

[MamaDuck1]

FEMALE. My male has turned into a butthead. Lol

 

[Amiga]

Why are they not 'legal' i'd be very cautious about adding ducks, i would hate to see you get attached and then get busted and have to get rid of them.

I agree it is a heartbreak to lose a duck, regardless of the reason. And perhaps you could tell us more about the restrictions on ducks. Some areas have contracts that say "no more than N number of animals," some say "no livestock," and so forth.

BTW, I found a nice house for sale many years ago, but the deal breaker was "no more than 2 pets." It was at the edge of a small Ohio town, right next to a farm!

 

[BigBlock]

Thanks for the replies. The city recently banned "non-domesticated" animals, I think it is mostly aimed at chickens but includes ducks. I could see how having a flock of chickens might be a problem, but two ducks aren't going to be a disturbance, right? I would think a dog or a cat would have a much bigger impact on the neighbors. (and there are dogs barking all the time around here)

 

[Amiga]

Check the definition of non-domesticated, because, well, it's just the way I think, but for example, my runners are considered domestic ducks, as opposed to wild ducks (like mergansers or wood ducks).

In Connecticut there was much discussion about people keeping non-domesticated animals after a pet chimpanzee nearly killed the owner's friend. So that gave rise to talk about outlawing the keeping of apes, large cats, wolves, etc.