Which duck is best? Call, mallard, or pekin?

[Ally Rose]

Which one is the best pet? If you have any other suggestions tell me.

 

[FireTigeris]

Likely Muscovie, but it depends on where you live, if you are in FL and don't like governmental permits, Pekin.

Depends on where you get a mallard and if you force imprint it to humans and if you have to have it pinioned or not.

Calls are cute, never own one. (loud)

 

[mrpekinduck]

Buffs are the best pets cuz their quiet, they imprint super strongly, and they have excellent instincts, plus they're the cutest ducklings!

 

[zooweemama]

I really think it depends on what you are looking for and where you live.

Pekins are really fun. They are big, sassy and full of spunk and humor.


But if you want quiet and calm and pretty- and a smaller bird...then the Welsh Harlequins are nice actually.


If you want big but quiet- then I have read over and over again how nice the Muscovy is. But not everyone finds them 'pretty' to look at.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscovy_Duck I don't have these ducks myself.

I think you can get more opinions if you share with us what you want/need in a pet.

 

[zooweemama]

Buffs are the best pets cuz their quiet, they imprint super strongly, and they have excellent instincts, plus they're the cutest ducklings!

Gosh wish my Buffs were more quiet. My drake is quiet as a mouse but my ladies are as loud as my Pekins. hehe But then again I also managed to get the calmest Runners too (not in their 'breed' makeup generally speaking lol).

 

[FireTigeris]

Buffs can be mistaken for pekin... which is a plus in FL...

To imprint stagger the hatch of the eggs by 3 days, remove the duckling when it hatches and let it see you and get food from you.

We imprinted mallards (domestic) in Biology class- they imprint to 'humans' not just one human- but will often statistically slightly prefer the feet/face of 'their' human. (they were marked and we called or duck as another person walked by, they follow any feet, but I wore the same shoes all the time so mine had a little better tracking of me (still less than 50%)... these ducks were removed from us (except for three of us who had the permits ready via our parents) and returned to the duck 'farmer' in Ocala.

We had 'duck bags- (think like a sugar glider pouch) and they only saw us and food and the cage for the first three days.

Also ducks chain up (in a row) because duck one imprints to mom, duck two imprints to duck one... so they line up in order of hatch (age) oldest to youngest, which also puts the weakest at the back... so when you imprint two or more ducks to you they will not chain up they will cluster. (well the mallards did, one girl got 'stuck' with 7 the year the rule changed for mallards...2004, she had the permit too)

 

[mrpekinduck]

My buff was super loud when he was a babe but now hes silent except when I call his name from the porch, when we play hide and seek ( which he really does play) and when he pecks at my ipad

 

[FireTigeris]

If she is hatching she won't be able to pick the gender the ducks.

IF she is just getting pet ducks drakes of anything are quiet and better pets IMHO.

 

[mrpekinduck]

Well there's a lot of conspiracys about making ur hatch male or female that are worth a try. Like higher temperature lower humidity, etc.

 

[Kevin565]

Well there's a lot of conspiracys about making ur hatch male or female that are worth a try. Like higher temperature lower humidity, etc.

I think the higher temperature basis is that in higher temperatures one sex is more likely to survive than others. I think it's females are more likely to survive but it's been so long since I read that thread I can't honestly verify that