Would you sell your chickens/ducks to someone who...

[TattooQ27]

Keene's coop :

did you know how to take of yours at first?

I did know quite a bit actually. I didn't buy mine on a whim or for my kids. My DH agreed to let me get ducks only if I spent a good deal of time reading up on the care of them (thank God for Holderreads books). And still I have learned a lot more by actually owning them but it doesn't seem like this woman has the first clue. I don't think I would be so concerned if it was ducks I bought from a hatchery and was just looking to offload the extras but these are the first ducks Dh and I hatched so I have a personal attachment to them. Not enough to keep them but enough to want to make sure whoever buys them at least knows the basics of duck ownership.​

 

[TattooQ27]

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I feel exactly the same way. I would never buy any animal I hadn't spent time researching before I bought it. It isn't fair to the animal to just decide on a whim you want it. If I can't properly care for something I shouldn't have it no matter how much I might want it. I think if this woman told me she had always wanted ducks then I might feel better but she keeps saying she wants them for her kids and they are only not quite 1 and perhaps 3.

 

[TattooQ27]

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Yeah, I do really like the idea of a care sheet. I am going to type something up using Dave Holderreads book as an info source. If she at least knew the basics...what they eat, how to keep them safe, etc, I would feel a lot better.

 

[froggie71]

I just have to say my DS wanted ducks as pets. He was 11 at the time. Before we got them though, we did research. Ds is the one who cares for his ducks. As a result he is now in 4-H and has incubated eggs and sold ducklings of his own as well has sold eggs for eating. He has learned a lot (including treating ill ducks, death, rescues and teaching others about them) and even though they can be alot of work he still loves his ducks. Before selling them, I would just be sure people knew what they were in for. 1 lady told us she would never sell us just 1 duck (as they should have a buddy), that before she would sell to us, she had to be sure that we had a set up for them etc. You have to do what you feel is right.

 

[TattooQ27]

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I probably could get them back but I will be out of space at that point. We have an order of 33 ducklings coming in next week on top of the 10 we hatched out. We had to take the crib out of the new babys nursery to make room for more brooders and the new baby isn't even here yet, lol. But I will offer to take them back if she gets in over her head because I really want to make sure they get good homes. I just wish she was getting them because she loves ducks and not as pets for her 1 and 3 year olds.

 

[TattooQ27]

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Thats just it, she doesn't have everything (or from what it seems, anything) she needs in place. She was planning to free range them from the start. 2 month old ducklings have to be kept someplace safe. I will offer to take them back but it would be so much easier to sell them to someone familiar with ducks in the first place.

Thanks!

 

[FairfieldChicks]

well then, send em on over to my place

my chickens raised a pair of call ducks last summer and they adapted to the flock quiite well, the rooster protected them

and they were free range and had a big old pool to swim in, they did very well

I loved having them here, then a stupid driver had to run off the road and happened to hit both of them plus my jersey giant rooster all at once

NDNYT*#%$HBBFG*&%** I was sooooo mad, he didnt even stop or leave a note or anything... :Z

 

[TattooQ27]

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Good for you, speaking up probably saved those ducklings!

I really feel like if her kids were older (they are 1 and 3) that I wouldn't be so bothered by her wanting the ducks for her kids.....or if she wanted them for herself. The fact that she keeps saying she wants them as pets for her kids just bugs me because her kids are far too young for pets like ducks....they have sharp nails, don't like to be held, etc. and most 3 year olds aren't content to just sit and watch them the way I am at my age.

 

[TattooQ27]

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Good advice, thank you!

 

[TattooQ27]

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My 11yo loves our ducks too but this persons kids are 1 and 3. If she wanted them for herself and just happened to have kids it would be different but she wants them as pets for her kids. 11 is old enough to know you want something, research it and then care for it (perhaps with some help). My 11 year old wanted rats. She spent HOURS researching them, bought a book on their care and then I read the book too so I would know what they needed as well. I made her answer a bunch of questions to see if she actually read the book too. Two weeks ago she earned her rats, she bought them a huge cage and a bunch of toys and is very good at caring for them. Would I have bought her rats at 3? No way!