Read about other duck owner's experiences and advice on duck care. Live Ducks does not endorse all of the care and feeding tips published here. See Care & Feeding for the proper care of domestic ducks. Submit your own Duck Story here.   Read Duck Stories from 2002 | 2003 | 2004 Name: BLJ Location: Canada Number: 2 Breeds: Pekin Names: Oliver Jr.(male); Oby(female) How You Acquired Your Duck(s): My ducks live on my farm. I keep them in a dog kennel. Experiences: My ducks just happen to love catfood.They follow me around when I feed my cat.I taught them tricks like to jump up and down and to climb on top of a bucket. Care: they swim in my big pond and in my kiddie pool.they have cracked corn as a daily snack and different vegetables and bread, also catfood. Advice: DON'T ABUSE THE DUCK! Give loving care and do not chase them! Ducks love to graze and eat bugs. Let them. If you are trying to catch them, get down to their level with some sort of treat and they will come. If you do not want to handle breeding, males and females together are not a good idea. Don't let males and females swim in the water together unless you want breeding. I lost a female duck that way. Keep your ducks safe from dogs and ALWAYS pen them up when you are not home and especially at night, very important. What my duck would say: I WANT CATFOOD Re: Live Ducks: you have a very nice website • 12-31-02 Name: Allison Location: Springfield, Mo, USA Number: 4 Breeds: White Pekin Names: Quackers, Henrietta, Fluff, Bob How You Acquired Your Duck(s): I keep my ducks in my yard in a coop I built for them. Experiences: One of my ducks, Quackers; won Best of Show in the fair and is very pretty. He also has babies now. Last summer I hatched 6 ducks from an incubator. It was the neatest experience ever! I had to get rid of 4 babies so now I only have the mom, dad and 2 babies. Care: My ducks livein the coop in my backyard and eat cracked corn and other goodies like tomatoes and lettuce. My ducks swim in a pool! Advice: If you get a duck make sure you get 2 of them at the same time. They do MUCH better! What my duck would say: "Living with you and swimming in a pool is better then living in a pond!!" Re: Live Ducks: Nice website!! • 12-29-02 Name: Michelle Location: West Lebanon, N.Y. Number: two boys, and two girls Breeds: pekin and mallard Names: tommy, reggie, evan, tonia How You Acquired Your Duck(s): I visit my ducks in a little blue house (right outside my house). Experiences: when I was small, I met really sweet mallards. They were wild. I named them weird names, Listener, Golden and Sweetheart. the next year after that, Golden got hit by a car. I was heartbroken. Later, Sweetheart had ducklings. She trusted me so much that she let me hold one! I named her Dot. Since then I fell in love with ducks. A few years after that, I bought six ducks and named them tammy, evan, tonia, otto, tommy and reggie. Tammy got eaten, and otto disappeared. Two wild ducks came along, and I named them abner and annie. Soon they left. In December 2002 the remaining ducks went to our neighbors pond and didn't come back for at least seven days! Then they came back and I put them in that little blue house. Care: They live outside, in my yard. For the winter they live in a nice, cozy little blue house. They swim in my neighbor's pond (they love my ducks). They eat bread, chicken food and goldfish. Advice: Ducks are very loveable. You should always be nice to a duck. Get to know your duck, be friends with your duck and it will follow you! What my duck would say: Why in the world do you humans wear clothes? What's the point????? (My ducks are very funny.) Re: Live Ducks: I think you have a wonderful site! Just one suggestion, can you have a kids section? [We currently have a "Fun and Games" section, and are working on expanding the educational portions of the site to include educational activities. - LD] • 12-14-02 Name: Sandy Munroe Location: Acworth, Ga USA Number: 1 but had 2 Breeds: Pekin Names: Quackers & Miss Duckie How You Acquired Your Duck(s): The week before Easter my daughter was at the pet store and saw these ducks. the lady at the store told her it would be best if she had 2 ducks, so she bought them.Well we all fell inlove with these 2 yellow ducklings (2 weeks old). At about 8 weeks the ducks were put outside in a pen and they got loose some how. Miss Duckie ate some dirt that had an outside fuel lamp filled there. Miss Duckie got real sick and weak and Quackers tried to protect her but was so upset she was nipping at us all. To make a long store short we took Miss Duckie to the Vet and they said she was dehydrated so she injected fuild in to her top skin. We did this twice and had xrays done, she had pneumonia and gave us some medicine in a dropper. They told us each time she would die real soon. Miss Duckie tried her hardest to please us and was aways held and dropper fed. She was happy to see you and made a small noise to say "I'm hear pick me up. She lived another 2 weeks, a total of 4 weeks after she got sick. In the mean time Quackers was trying to get some attention too. She started to quack all the time. She became my pet as everyone focued on Miss Duckie. Quackers chases the 2 dogs around the kitchen to breakfast room thru the living room and back to the kitchen. We laugh as this duck has taken over the house. She follows me everywhere that I let her. Oh, by the way she lives inside and goes outside everyday for 2-8 hours a day, depending on the weather. She has an outside pen but loves to chase the 2 doggs and also the new kitty. We have about an acre+ inthe back that is fenced in. We call her our duck alarm as when some one new comes into the yard or house everyone knows about it. She does love to sit on our lapsand snuggles with my husband in his jacket. She begs more than the dogs. We bring her inside plastic box into the living room/family rm and she begs for what ever you have. She has a different Quack for each of us. Experiences: Quackers loves to jump out of her pool and also her box in the living room. She has hurt her dew claw and ripped off the nail. The vet said put antibodic cream & a band aid on it. It stayed on about a day and brought me the bandaid to put back on. We put new one and she was happy. Quackers started laying eggs for us about 4 weeks ago, first 1 every 5 days, then 3 days and now every day. How long will she do this? Can we or her eat the eggs? [Yes, see our "Pet Duck Care" page. - LD] Care: Quackers lives in the house at night and is out,weather permitting in the day time. We had an old sears roof top carrier for the car, and decided it would make a good pool. She loves it. The kids have a pool in the back yard which sometimes she will go in. She loves to play in the mud and my husband cleaned the Ga mud off her with Orange spray, boy did she look great!! But when she went in the pool with the girls, she sunk to the bottom. He had taken her natural oil off the feathers. She was ok in a day. She really hams it up and gets you to pick her up. As to food she eats cracked corn, bread, pizza crust spagetti with or without sauce, bugs and loves getting tne mosquitoes and boy is she quick. Quackers also like toeat snakes. She ate a small garter snake that was near her pin(trying to get water). That kept her full all day. And her favorite food is crackers! Resources: This is the site I found first then this"Fowl Ideas From School Science" Advice: Ducks do need a lot of care and time but the love they give back is fantastic. She wants you to hold her and then she wants some one else to hold her and a snack. What my duck would say: Quackers would say"Hey where is my food? Don't forget the duck! Re: Live Ducks: I love this site, it gives us space to brag about our ducks and help others with there question. Keep up the good work. • 12-01-02 Name: Jenn Batz Location: Ontario, Cananda Number: 2 Breeds: pekin Names: Lucy, Jewel How You Acquired Your Duck(s): We came home from shopping and our friend brought them over to us.(Toonie and Loonie) Experiences: Well we used to have 2 ducks toonie and loonie. They were raised in the house during the winter,we took them out side to early and toonie got sick. We seen a vet at the duck farm and she got better....but 2 months later a dog from the area got her. then we got lucy, she and loonie were pals. then 2 months later a raccoon got her (yes raccoons eat ducks!!!! they need the fat in the fall months) so we had a very lonely lucy for 4 days and then our friend called us and told us she had a duck for us...Jewel. Jewel was going to be killed because she is pidgeon toed and knock kneed..but she is 3 months now and doesn't limp anymore. Lucy and Jewel have never been raised in the house but they love coming in to visit every day for an hour!!!! i think Lucy just want to visit our cockatiel Val(its a male)and shes ready to mate. Care: well we live on 10.5 acre lot they roam around everywhere but it took Lucy a while to roam again after loosing Loonie(we think she seen her get killed)after loosing loonie we built a 4x8ft inclosed pen made of plywood, we drilled holes for ventilation, made a door that opens with a lock on it so nothing gets in but a human. we bought them a plastic pond insert that is changed weekly...but its empty now due to the cold weather so they use there water dish right now till spring again. our ducks eat scratch, lettuce,cracker,bread,bugs,and noodle salad(it contains:noodles mayo,green peppers,chives,and tuna)thats there favorite!!! Advice: make sure u have an inclosed pen for protection.....the worst thing is loosing a duck that you raised at 3 days old and to loose them after only 7 months of having them. What my duck would say: our ducks say: yup yup;nope nope; thank you;good night;and when there in trouble they mumble and sometimes it sounds like Lucy is swearing at us. Re: Live Ducks: i like it its very informative • 11-15-02 Name: Panos Karastamatis Location: Egaleo/Athens/Greece Number: 2 Breeds: I have I don't know do you want photos? [Yes! - LD] Names: No name How You Acquired Your Duck(s): I bought my ducks from an errant gipsy.He told me that these ducks were a couple.Their age was about 4 weeks. Experiences: My black duck(male) was just gimp the first date i bought it although when i bought him was ok. I figured out that it might be some type of injury but from the other hand i knew that if a bird gimps then it will not be living for along time. So i went to pet shop bought vitamins and antibiosis and poured inside the water and finally the male duck was ok the next day and i was jumping from joy. Care: My ducks leave in my country house which is 100 Km from the place i live and work. I visit them every week which is enough to feed them and fill the small pool with fresh water.My ducks are eating everything from tomatoes,corn,mellons,fried fishes,everything that is green.The most exciting thing is when i see my ducks to chasing flies in the air. Resources: No i haven't make any research on that. Advice: First of all i would say to them that ducks are very clever animals. To take care of them. And i am against killing them for dinner. If i ever see a man killing any ducks or hurt any ducks i don't know how i will react. What my duck would say: That life is so beautiful and i would like to be your friend. Re: Live Ducks: Your website is the best i have seen for duck lovers but i would like to include in your site how you can identify poultry drakes from females. • 11-15-02 Name: gini sikes Location: new york city, USA Number: one fantastically plump female Breeds: pekin (may be mixed with something else Names: LuLu How You Acquired Your Duck(s): I had a pet duck as a child named Elouise who was exceptionally tamed. She followed me around the block, went sledding with me and took showers with me. Years later, arguing with my husband about getting a dog, I told him if I couldn't have a dog I wanted to get a duck. He said fine, believing we'd never have the opportunity. We live in Brooklyn, but recently purchased a small get-away place up state, where riding down a road one day, I spotted a sign for "Meat Rabbits, Geese, Turkeys, Ducks" I screamed, made my husband do a U turn and we pulled into the farm. A little old Russian man took me to his back yard where there was a maze of hen pens and coops. In a mud puddle were an assortment of ducklings. I asked for the smallest. Lulu was already 5 weeks so she was past imprinting. She hated me on sight and when I got her home, let my three cats know she hated them too. I spent time with her everyday and now -- 14 months later -- she sits on my lap and shoulder and follows me (when she's in the mood, which is most of the time). She lives in our fenced back yard in Brooklyn and each weekend she and the cats drive up to the country where she roams free during the day and spends the night in an enclosed garage. Experiences: My main concern is that she's warm enough. My husband made her an insulated "dog house" (it's ply wood, with foam insulation) which we fill with straw. Around this she has a fenced-in space, but during the day she has free reign of our yard. Upstate she sleeps in a concrete garage on newspapers with a space heater nearby. She has had ecoli and I worry about it recurring, but she seems happy. She has a tendency, when she sees me, to stretch her neck out and flatten herself -- my vet told me this means that she probably "loves" me (read: wants me to mount her). I worry that she's lonely...but again she seems happy. Care: she swims in a small tub in brooklyn -- which seems to suit her just fine. She mainly likes to clean herself. The times we've taken her to a pond, she only goes in for about two minutes and then spends the rest of the time preening on shore. Upstate she has a kiddie pool, which again, seems to her liking. She spends the majority of her time looking up to see what might eat her and looking down to see what she might eat. Advice: They are loud, need a lot of attention, are messy and -- sometimes -- smelly. They are about as high maintenace I would imagine as a dog. The hardest part is finding someone to care for them when you go away. What my duck would say: "I'm the boss! What's going on! Hey, I'm coming with you! What are you eating? Give me that!" Re: Live Ducks: I love this sight! Maybe one possibility would to be enlist an exotic animal vet to check in from time to time and answer questions. Or perhaps email alerts when you add a new feature. [We've offered to build a free webpage, or a small website in exchange for a vet's occasional help in answering our medical questions...no takers. We list new site changes on the "news" page. - LD] • 11-07-02 Name: Candace Location: Everett, Washington, USA Number: 1 Breeds: Pekin Names: Daisy How You Acquired Your Duck(s): From the time I was a young child... Every Easter I would get a baby duck in my Easter Basket... When they grew up...We would take them out to my grandparents ranch... and that is where they would spend the rest of their days... Even when I was in college... I would still get a baby duck... but this time they went to the college during the winter time... and live out their lives there... I grew up... got married... adopted kids... got divorced... and 20+ years passed... Last Spring... being stressed out... raising 3 special needs kids... Being a teacher myself... and a single parent... I decided to get a baby duck...(I had wanted to the last 20+ years!) And so one day I brought it home... To the delight of my kids... Daisy... has changed my life... I forgot how wonderful Ducks can be... She grew up in the classroom and at our home...She is an important part of our family... And we and the rest of the family pets are very attached to her...! Experiences: We don't have time for me to tell you every wonderful thing about Daisy... She is laying... and we gather eggs everyday... I have not eaten any... but I take them to school and share them with the other teachers... There have been no health problems... But I am going to take your "tip" about finding a vet now... before I need one! We live in the country... and she is so use to people and gods and cats... I am afraid that she will run into someone that isn't friendly! She is locked up at night... but during the day she roams our yard and the neighbors... ;< I am going to look for some type of fencing... as she is really wondering further and futher! Care: At night she sleep in the dog's run... She even sleeps in his house on occation...;-) I have a plastic kiddie pool for her to swim in... which is cleaned every couple of days... We have a creek in our far back yard... but she has never showed any interest in it... The dog has taken her down to the waters edge... but she won't go in! I'm afraid she would end up to towns down!!! I give her duck mash... she hunts for snails and slugs in all the neighbors yards... I have not given her much bread or crackers... I read about the carrots... and will try that! Advice: Have a place for them to swim... an inclosed yard... And lots and lots of love... Daisy is the first one to greet me when I get home... We sit and talk to gether... When she was a baby... she came in every night for a bath in the tub... and sat with us for periods of time... she even got to the point where she didn't have accidents on us while sitting with us! (maybe just luck) What my duck would say: Everyday we have our time together... She sits and tells me about her day... she complains to me when I'm late or didn't get her out of the run early enough in the morning! Re: Live Ducks: Very Fun... I have it going at work... I have let everyone know that Daisy has a long life a head of her... (which I didn't know)! • 11-07-02 Name: Nancy & Tim LaPella Location: PA Number: 1 Breeds: Pekin Names: Aflac How You Acquired Your Duck(s): From a friend who bought 6 for food - ended up pets. Ours is the only survivor since coyotes got the other 5 from our friend's pond. We keep Aflac in a rabbit hutch - waiting for pen to be built Experiences: We love our duck but worry about the black speckles on her bill and beginning to form on her legs - would this be nutritional or just the breed? She's almost 1-1/2 yrs. old and was a juvenile when we got her. She started laying eggs in Feb '02 and lays one a day. It's almost the end of Oct and she still lays eggs? Don't they stop in the cold weather? Also, she seems to be limping and we don't know if it's a injury or weakness from being in the pen. We let her out from 2-5 hours every day to walk but she has not been walking much and throw the right leg out. I am taking her to the vet this week to check her leg. She is very talkative and smart. Swims in the inside tub in winter and in the kiddie pool or house fountain in summer - also likes the garden hose! She loves smelts and romaine lettuce for treats and eats duck pellets, oyster shell and corn mixed together in her bowl daily. She also like to ride in the golf cart with hubby and watches him play! Very sociable - loves people and recognizes those she likes by greeting them with a special quack. We've learned to identify her quacks to know when she's hungry, bored, happy, scared, content, etc. What a lovely pet! Challenges are that we now very rarely go anywhere because we don't like to leave her with anyone and only certain people can care for ducks. We've taken her visiting to friends' yards where she sits and eats grass and happily blends with humans! She likes when I "fly" her. She really can't fly but when I "put her to bed" I pick her up so she automatically "flies" to her cage! She also alerts us with a certain loud quack when hawks are above; she hides under the bushes or her cage and "yells" till we come out to see what the commotion is - then she tilts her head skyward toward where the hawk is circling. Very smart duck! Our two cats try to make friends with her but she tries to bite them and chases them! They are still trying to be friends though. The neighbor's poodle is afraid of her! Care: see above for food, swim and living quarters. Resources: this is the best website. There really isn't much out there for domestic Pekin owners. Advice: Very high maintenance pet! More work than a dog plus you can't put them in a kennel when you leave and not all pet sitters are familiar with duck care. Cannot be potty trained but you can time them for indoor visits if you observe their habits! They are delicate and need plenty of protection from predators - fresh water several times a day and lots of clean bedding. They are fun and their personalities are precious - kids needs to be very gentle with them - they are a lifelong commitment. You have to really love ducks and animals to own a domestic duck - we really enjoy our duck! What my duck would say: Our duck 'answers' everything we say to her. I think she says Aflac and thanks! She loves conversation and being part of it. Re: Live Ducks: Great website! More pictures would be good, more input from other Pekin lovers. And, as much medical and nutritional advice as possible. • 10-28-02 Name: Alan Parker Location: England Number: 1 Breeds: domestic Names: Montgomery Teagarden [Very cool name ;> - LD] How You Acquired Your Duck(s): Present from friend • 10-25-02 Name: Becky Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA Number: Currently two...previously three Breeds: Pekin Names: *Quacker*, Waddles, and Webster How You Acquired Your Duck(s): Our first duckling was Quacker. We found her in a bush outside of Mcdonalds in the spring of 2000. In the summer of 2000 we purchased Waddles..and in the spring of 2001 we purchased Webster. Experiences: Quacker was killed by a wild animal in the summer of 2001...other than that my ducks have been very healthy. Minus dried skin on their feet. Care: My ducks roam our two lotted back yard. They have their own pool and at night share an extra-large dog cage in our laundry room. Resources: geocities.com/pdcmember/pdchomepage.html [We checked the URL, and it comes up "page not found - please resubmit when you get a chance. -LD] Advice: love your duck...take care of it and give it what it wants. Make sure that it is put in a safe place during the night; and never let them stay outside too long in the cold! What my duck would say: they would both say "we love Maxwell." Maxwell is my 4 year old german shephard. Re: Live Ducks: your site is very cute..i loved the duck jokes! • 10-24-02 Name: Kim Location: Queensland, Australia Number: 3 Breeds: All Pekins Names: Howard (see page 2 of photos!) and 2 no namers How You Acquired Your Duck(s): This is so stupid, but I was watching Babe (the movie) and decided that I wanted a duck like the one in Babe. It was a runner duck, from memory. We went to the pet store and they had two unidentified ducks. We bought them, one turned out to be a pekin (Howard) and one was a runner duck(more on that later). We just recently (a few weeks ago) bought 2 more pekins. Experiences: The major problem that we've had was an unfortunate death in the (duck)family early this year. I am led to believe it was from the stagnant water in our pond. =( She was the runner duck and was paralysed. We took her inside and kept her warm, gave her food and water, but sadly, she went into a coma that night, and died in the morning. So the major challenge for us now is keeping the pond as clear as possible. We have three geese as well, so it's a hassle. Care: Our ducks live in the backyard part of our yard (whole thing is around 2 acres) and they have a large pond to swim in. They sleep wherever they please, which is usually around the pond. The ducklings love me too much (I am their food bringer!) so they sleep right near the fence near the house, in the shade. The ducklings are almost fully grown now. My boyfriend thought I would never put them out of their cage, but I managed. =) They eat layer pellets mainly, plus food scraps (veggies, fruit, they love lettuce and tomatoes!) and a bit of stale bread. Resources: I don't have the urls saved, but I have looked at lots of websites. Try a search engine like google.com. Advice: It's a big commitment to have a duckling, it's not so bad to have a duck. Ducklings poop a lot and have to be kept warm, fed a lot.... much like human babies! They are very cute though. I would say ducks are less work than a cat or dog, and definitely less than fish! They are great, keep the water they swim in and drink clean, and give them quality food, and they'll be quacking for years. What my duck would say: Howard, "Hurry up ducklings and grow up already!!" The ducklings, "Food, food, food food food food.....!" (They still peep a bit!) Re: Live Ducks: I think your site is great. It's also pretty quick to load, which is nice. • 10-20-02 Name: Richard Mckee Location: New Zealand Number: 8 Breeds: All Pekin Names: Donald, Daisy, Daffy, Jess, Lilly, Lavender, Lewy and Lancelot How You Acquired Your Duck(s): I got my first 3 ducks, Donald, Daisy and Daffy from a farmer. A month later Jess hatched out of one of Daffy's eggs in the incubator. A year later, Lilly, Lavener (girls) and Lewy and Lancelot (boys) also were born. The last four are the children of Donald and Jess or Daisy. Experiences: When I got Donald, Daisy and Daffy. I was really pleased that my dream of having ducks had finally come true. I then became put off when they were extremely unfriendly and timid. I spent all my time with them though trying to get their trust. Then Jess was born, the only egg out of 41 to hatch out of my incubator. She imprinted on me and followed my all over my garden, which was exactly what I had wanted when having ducks. The other three ducks noticed Jess and were intrigued at why she would follow me around. Donald quickly lost interest, but Daisy and Daffy began to follow Jess around and spend a bit of time with me. Jess grew up and became one of Donald's mates, not realising they were father and daughter. When the mating season came again, Daisy got quite angry when Donald took preference to Jess and not here. Daffy was already getting old and had a huge swollen foot making her limp and she seemed to no longer be matable as far as Donald was concerned. Still, Jess and Daisy laid lots of eggs and I sent them to a friend who incubated them for me. The plan was that she would keep one of the girls and that the rest would go to me. We only expected one of two to hatch. We were amazed when 6 hatched. 6 out of 10 is quite good I hear. However, we didn't know which of them were girls so I only took 2 ducklings. Leaving the other woman with four. The two new ducklings both turned out to be girls. Lilly and Lavender. Lavender I now know to be Jess's daughter, and Lilly is Daisy's daughter. They grew up apart from the other ducks because Donald seemed intent upon killing them. When they finally joined the flock, Daisy was currently sitting on a clutch of eggs. Lavender, the obvious leader of the two ducklings. kept on jumping on the little Daisy whenever she came off her nest for water. Lilly, not as bright as Lavender, decided to attack the roosters instead.... My friend turned out to have 3 boys and 1 female. But she decided to keep 1 male and 1 female. So she sent 2 boys over to me. I named them, Lewy and Lancelot. Donald was not used to other males being around and took them both on. Lancelot and Lewy both came out on top however. A big blow to Donald's ego. Daisy, Daffy and Jess remained loyal to Donald though, not switching over to the dominant males. However, Lilly and Lavender were very eager to become the two new drakes mates. This caused dispute between the two brothers. Both of them wanting both females. Lancelot ended up winning, and took both females as his mates. The mateless Lewy was then rechallenged by Donald and Donald beat him. I then sent Lancelot, and Jess, the best two looking ducks off to some shows where they won the best Pekin Duck, and the best Pekin Drake in the South Island of New Zealand. It is now Lancelot, lilly's and Lavender's first mating season. But things have changed dramtically. Donald and Lewy have been taken away from the flock due to so much fighting. And Lancleot was left with all 5 females for himself. Daisy was very quick to forget Donald and become Lancelots mate, which surprised me. Jess, seemed less eager, but I think she will eventually. Daffy is a different matter. She is far too old to be young Lancelots mate. Being four years older. She preferes to spend her time sitting quietly beside me as I watch the other ducks explore the yard. Care: My ducks eat layers Pellets, Wheat and bread. They go mad at food time. Daisy and Daffy now sit in my lap when they eat. which shows just how tame they have become. They live in a part of my garden around the back of the house, with a water tub to bathe in. What my duck would say: If Jess could talk, she probably wouldn't speak anyway. She's the silent one. Daffy, the Grandma would say. "Quiet! I'm trying to sleep!" Lilly, the adventurer would say: "Lets go explore the bush again!" Lavender, the spiteful would say: "You wanna fight?" Lancelot the Protector would say: "..........huh?........" And Daisy the small would say to the other females, "Hey! Lancelots Mine!" • 10-17-02 Name: Toni Griswold Location: Signal Hill, CA, USA Number: 2 Breeds: Pekin Names: Henri and Daisy How You Acquired Your Duck(s): kindergarten at local school needed home for babies Experiences: One has a limp because she tried to fly Care: they have a night time "duck hut", have their own pond (we built a large one in our backyard) with waterfall, they eat chicken scratch, corn, peas, greens, steal the dog food, goldfish, and sometimes zucchini, tomatoes, eggshells, bugs, Advice: they are like children and require commitment What my duck would say: The dog just ate my food and I'm hungry for something besides scratch Re: Live Ducks: Neat site and very informative • 10-13-02 Name: Christina Location: Portland, OR, USA Number: 2 Breeds: 1 rouen, 1 blue magpie Names: Lucy, maggie How You Acquired Your Duck(s): I got Lucy and her sister Molly from a feed store in July. Molly disapeared one day, and Lucy got lonely so I acquired Maggie from a breeder's farm. Experiences: I've had Lucy since she was about three weeks old. Her and her sister were almost to the stage that they would let me pet them and hold them with out struggling to get free. Then when Molly disapeared and I bought Maggie full grown, Lucy got really distant and she won't come as close anymore. Maggie refuses to let me very close to her and she panics at sudden movements. Also, Lucy, as she grew up turned out very female looking. Rouens look very similar to mallards and she was brown with blue side markings. One day I went out to visit her and she was losing feathers. When they grew back she looked like a he. Now she has a green head and grey body feathers with a redish brown chest. I don't know if this is common, but she has the same personality and quirks as before. Care: They live in a two hundred square foot enclosure. They have an old rabbit hutch with the legs sawed off as a home and a large yard fenced in with chicken wire. They have a small kiddie pond in one corner that they love to splash and bathe in. They have become excellent hunters of feeder goldfish and they also enjoy battling for worms and slugs. I feed them normal poultry feed and their pen contains a lawn of assorted greens they enjoy. Advice: Get them when they are babies and handle them as much as you can. These are the first ducks I've raised that don't like human companionship, because I didn't get them as babies. What my duck would say: "feed me!" • 10-13-02 Name: Victor Stinespring Location: West Union, Vest Virginia, USA Number: 2 Breeds: mallard Names: half quack and aflack How You Acquired Your Duck(s): my neighbor has ducks. they gave me 2 to put in my pond. Experiences: love the ducks, best pets I ever had besides my bassit hound. I haven't had any health problems with them yet. Care: I keep them in fenced area when my wife and I are not home. We have two one acre ponds but they like to stay close to the house with my wife myself and the dog. Resources: none except yours. Advice: do some research. ducks are a lot of responsibility. just like dogs, cats, or any other animal they need special care. What my duck would say: I try to pick them up once a day and hold them they're pretty neat. they will rub there head on me and chatter back and forth ~!@#$%^&*. very good relaxation and calm. Re: Live Ducks: You're doing great. Its been the most informative site i have found. keep up the good work. and thanks!! • 09-21-02 Name: Di McIlrath Location: Appollo, Pennsylvania, USA Number: Had 4 - Now 3 Breeds: Pekin How You Acquired Your Duck(s): After being with out a pet for 8 years I got the mailing from the local feed store and told davey "I am going to get White Ducks" hubbys response of course was "no I was wasn't" well surprise I got 3 of them! I had two Girls "Cheech & Chong" and 1 Boy "Ralph". They were approximately 8 days old when I finally got them on May 26, 2001. Experiences: I just love my baby ducks. They all have their own personality's. In September of 2001 my Girls started acting differently than they had been, here they were starting to lay eggs! I looked outside the door coz I was hearing this like clucking noise and Cheechers was spinning in a circle here she was making a nest. When she left there I found an egg laying in there. I just couldn't believe it. Both my girls starting laying eggs so I had the neighbor incabate them since they wouldn't sit on them....We have hatched several, I kept the first one we hatched, YES I was the first person "Nosiey" saw and YES he follows me and davey around constantly "he does live in the house" He was just as cute as my other ones were.... and to just believe that this little guy came out of an egg...I was totally amazed. Unfortunately on April 10, 2002 I had my lil Cheechers taken away from me, she past away while recovering from surgery...I had put Ralph, Cheech and Chong outside to do their thing Sunday morning and that afternoon Cheechers couldn't walk on her leg, I cried and didn't know what to do, I put her in the house and made her comfortable on the living room sofa with food and water and sat with her, she made it fine through the night. Monday I called around for Vet to find out what happen and to fix the problem, I couldn't get an appointment until Tuesday afternoon, The Vet I chose was a total mistake... I felt very uncomfortable in the exam room with him "I didn't know why" but against my better judgement I agreed to have surgery on Cheechers, I wanted her well and not in pain. I left Cheechers in his hands and care. Those hours waiting for the phone call felt like months finally at 8pm I got a call from the Vet, he told me Cheechers was doing good, she was drinking and alert and he was please with the out come. I had very high hopes..I called first thing in the am Wednesday morning to learn that Cheechers didn't make the night....She was gone before they got in the next morning.. This was tough on me and still is especially knowing she went through the cold winter days we had. I then still had this bad feeling about this vet..I Contacted the Board of Veterinary Medicine because of the Vet not wanting to explain to me what went wrong, well the Board informed me that this particular Veterinary was practing under a suspended license, I can't tell you how worse I felt about finding this out! I put my Baby Duck in the hands of someone who was not even suppose to be "performing veterinary duties" his licensed was suspended due to MALPRACTICE! this really made me feel worse. I have never really resolved this issue. Please guys make sure you check your vet out before you go to him....I learned a hard, hard lesson with this. The information is available on the internet. Care: Nosiey lives in the house with us. He has the corner of my dining room good size "play area" now since we moved him to the bedroom at night :0) His bed is a plastic kids pool lined with newspaper, food, water, pillow for laying on and his Teddy Bear. When he was little I put this in his box so he wouldn't be lonely. YES he plays with it :0) Ralph and Chong have a new Summer house which is a Rubber Maid shed with windows in it during the evening, when I am not home they are kept in a 10'X12' dog kennel lined with chicken wire. They have food, water and a small pool in there. For the winter months we enclose our front porch :0) so they don't get too cold. The house door stays open for heat to go out and for them to mingle with us..yeah I cover the floor and let them in in the evenings just to vist so they aren't just alone. Their swimming pool is a little Step 2 childrens pool, they love it especially when the water is changed. I do this once a week "clean water" I feed my baby ducks Grower Food, Fine Cracked Corn (no not mixed) all three of my ducks get a dish of Leaf Lettuce and Spinich everyday for their greens. Nosiey just loves Hamburger Helper and Green Beans. Ralph and Chong enjoy Sugar Wafers. I am constantly trying to see what kinds of people food they like. Advice: People say they poop alot ! but you know what so do dogs! don't let that discourage you about having ducks. My ducks are so comical I am constantly taking pictures of them and using the video. They are no more work than any other pet you may choose! What my duck would say: I would hope they would say I take good care of them! And that I did the best I could with Cheechers! and of course "that they love me!" Re: Live Ducks: This web-site is the greatest! you guys deserve the best! I just love watching your pond during the day, it makes my day go alot smoother.... I just love it when the ducks are looking right straight into the camera! [Di is one of our most faithful contributors. You can see photos of her ducks here. Thanks so much, Di! -LD :>] • 09-19-02 Name: Sarah Neese Location: Ohio, USA Number: 2 Breeds: snowy call ducks How You Acquired Your Duck(s): I acquired them at a local farm and feed store downt the street. Experiences: Ducks LOVE the attention. My ducks were like my babies. Care: My ducks love a baby pool. They love popcorn and crackers. They fly around the house but don't fly far. Advice: GIVE TONS OF LOVE!! Don't put them outside without a shelter. Make sure it has a door on it from predators. What my duck would say: I love my life!!! • 09-17-02 Name: Joy Caldwell Location: New York, USA Number: 8 Breeds: 2 Mallard, 5 Pekin How You Acquired Your Duck(s): we bought them as babies to help keep the slugs out of our garden Experiences: we have a female Pekin whose beak has developed brown spots this summer. She was born last August and hatch 3 babies this spring. We've searched our duck book and don't find any kind of beak fungus listed. We're hoping this isn't something bad. She's eating like always and is not laying around. [We've researched without luck. Even our vet isn't clear on what it means... Anyone got answers? Let us know! -LD :>] Care: We have a 1/4 acre pond for them and we feed them game bird food and lettuce, oyster shell pieces, and lettuce, plus what they grub for in the yard (bugs) What my duck would say: I don't know, but we sure do have fun with them. They talk to us and seem to enjoy our company as we do theirs. • 09-08-02 Name: Matt Location: Pennsylvania, USA Number: 1 Breeds: Black Swedish How You Acquired Your Duck(s): I ordered eggs from Metzer Farms, and incubated them myself. Only one developed and hatched. Experiences: My duck is an only duck and is terribly attached to me. During the breeding season he becomes terribly aggressive and protective of me and bites and pinches my hands and arms a lot. I've tried introducing him to a female, but he has no interest what so ever, because he doesn't really realize he's a duck, or if he does, he doesn't have any interest in anything but humans. So I just try to spend as much time with him as possible, because the more time I'm with him the more he seems to realize he's not getting anywhere and maintain dominance. Care: He lives in his own house that we built for him. It is very roomy with a screened window and door to allow ventilation and I fill it up with straw. He swims in a large kiddie pool, and eats duck food, enriched with dandelions,clover, spinich, alfalfa, and other greens. Resources: I strongly recommend reading Storey's Guide To Raising Ducks, By Dave Holderread. Advice: Angel wing is something to take into consideration when raising ducklings. Be sure to have the proper protein ratio in food and that they have plenty of room to exercise and run around. Another thing is, if you are going to raise a single duckling, you have to devote ALOT of time to them--they're a big responsibility. If you have a single duck and it is a male, beware that he can become extremely aggressive during the breeding season, and will try to mate with you if no other ducks are around(leaving you with blisters all over exposed skin.)Also, take into consideration your neighbors, if they're nearby, females are almost always out of the question, their voices are alot louder than the males, but there's always exceptions to this. Just be sure to research a lot before getting a duck. What my duck would say: "I'm God's gift to the world!" • 08-24-02 Name: Jill Location: Missouri, USA Number: 4 Breeds: 3 pekin and 1 khaki campbell How You Acquired Your Duck(s): One of our ducks (bernie, a pekin.) we got from a friend. Another (Mr. pib the campbell.) we also got from a friend, and the other two pekins (Alex and Robin.) we got at a tractor supply store. (Alex is the only female duck that we have. I'm hoping that she learns to lay on her eggs so that we can get more. Experiences: Bernie was attacked a long time ago along with his friend Clyde (he was killed and I'm still sad about it.) He was immediatly sent to the vet and a few days later he came home. Robin had to have a foot amputation not too long ago. he had a really bad cut on his foot and it got infected. Now he is perfectly normal and is happier and healthier than ever! Care: Our ducks are kept in a shed which has soft hay which is cleaned out often. at least one of the boys is kept in a cage in the shed to keep fights away. we have a pond that they sometimes swim in. We also have a big yard that we keep them in, it has plenty of shade and two kiddie pools that are cleaned out often. The ducks eat cracked corn, scratch, and sometimes get bread, dried apples, and other fruits. Resources: kiddie pools (the plastic ones not the ones you blow up, because they do have nails) can be found at any toy stores or tractor supply stores they work wonders when you don't have a pond. make sure you have some small rocks that the ducks can swallow. (it helps them digest things better!) Advice: have plenty of shade where you keep them, let them roam around. Never keep them cooped up they need plenty of exercise. Have a caged area for them to be in there is a possibility that things will attack them. give them Lots of water to drink, they need a whole lot more than any dog or cat. give them regular trips to the vet, you more than likely will miss them if they get sick and die, I know how it feel to lose a loved duck, it's terrible! • 08-14-02 Name: Jason Location: Indiana, USA Number: 10 Breeds: Pekin, Crested Blue Swedish How You Acquired Your Duck(s): I picked up some ducks at the local feed store... others I bought from breeders and some I have hatched myself. Care: They live in a 6x12 dog kennel and roam my backyard...they swim in a kiddie pool and they eat layer and breeder rations. Advice: Make sure you know what you are getting into What my duck would say: FEED ME! Re: Live Ducks: pictures are somewhat blurred. [We're working on getting a better quality camera and a UV filter, some times of day are better than others for picture quality -LD :>] • 08-11-02 Name: Brook Location: New Zealand Number: 30+ Breeds: Mostly mallard How You Acquired Your Duck(s): I shifted to their home! They have adopted me. Experiences: Daily life Care: Wild (urban opportunists), have stony stream to swim in, can fly away at anytime. What my duck would say: Where is my breakfast? • 08-10-02 Name: duckblind Location: Connecticut, USA Number: 12 have owned me Breeds: mallards How You Acquired Your Duck(s): I have an incubator, and a wildlife rehabilitator taught me how to hatch and raise ducks as her assistant. So..., whenever anyone finds a duck nest that has been ravaged by dogs, or one where the hen duck has been killed by predators, they call her and I come rescue the eggs. I have so far hatched and raised a total of 12 ducks and set them free at 8 weeks of age when they can fly. I even have a photo album of all the fun. The kiddie pool parties and the getting sprayed with the hose fun. I love your duck cam, because by the end of July all the ducklings have been released and I miss them so much that watching the duck cam when I wake up in the morning makes me feel better! I would like to say Hello to my latest released ducks, Mayday and April, Happy Life! Experiences: Angel wing, a disorder where the wings stick up or droop down can easily be prevented by being careful not to feed ducks commercial duck food that contains over 16% protein after the first two weeks of life. Commercial duck food is meant to grow ducks really fast, and they don't care if they develop wing or foot disorders, or have a short life because they are going to be eaten soon. If you have a pet or ornamental duck you want to grow up healthy and have a long life, you should feed it moistened unmedicated game crumbles for the first two weeks and then after that put it straight away on a maintenance diet feed that contains no more than 16% protein. They also love to eat green lettuce (not iceberg). Care: Suburban CT, kiddie pool and river, 16% maintenance duck food and green lettuce. Resources: Metzer's duck farm website and Storey's Guide to Raising Ducks by Holderread. Advice: Don't abandon domestic ducks in public parks or natural rivers and ponds. They live a long time and you should be prepared to care for it for the remainder of its life. What my duck would say: "I can fly, I can fly, look at me!" Re: Live Ducks: Its great. What do you do with your ducks when you go away on vacation? That's the one worry I have about being a permanent domestic duck owner. I'd like some indian runners, and mandarins myself but am afraid foxes will eat them while I am gone. [ We are fortunate to have a trusted friend who duck, turtle, and house sits when we're away. For weekend trips, a feeder and good shelter works - and we check up on them on the Duck Cam. -LD :> ] • 08-08-02 Name: CHARLIE REEDER Location: INDIANA, USA Number: THE COMMUNITY OWNS NINE. Breeds: PEKIN AND INDIAN RUNNER How You Acquired Your Duck(s): A RESIDENT BOUGHT 20 FROM A BREEDER IN IOWA. SOME WERE GIVEN AWAY, SOME DIED AND NINE, (7 PEKIN AND 2 INDIAN RUNNERS) WERE TURNED LOOSE IN APRIL. IT TOOK THEM SEVERAL WEEKS TO ADJUST TO THE WATER AND START SWIMMING. Experiences: THESE WERE TURNED LOOSE IN APRIL AND SO FAR NO HEALTH PROBLEMS THAT I CAN DETECT. Care: IN A CONDO COMMUNITY WITH A 5 ACRE LAKE. EAT BREAD, RITZ CRACKERS, COMMERCIAL DUCK FOOD, AND CRACKED CORN. ALSO FORAGE IN AND AROUND THE LAKE AND ROOT IN THE MULCH AROUND THE BUILDINGS. Advice: THEY CAN BE DEMANDING AT FEEDING TIME BUT ARE A JOY TO WATCH AND LIVE WITH. What my duck would say: STOP PLAYING AROUND AND GIVE THAT DA-N CRACKED CORN. • 08-06-02 Name: Joan P Location: Canada Number: two Breeds: pekin How You Acquired Your Duck(s): my young friend Wesley presented me w/Dexter Duck one day. it seems D. Duck was a bully and was not getting on well w/his fellows. he needed some solitude. after several weeks of aloneness D. Duck was ready most ready to meet his new lovely wife - Dixie Duck. D. Duck is a rather youthful fellow while Dixie is a more experienced an slightly intolerant 'lady' duck. in short order Dixie Duck educated Dexter Duck to his rightful place in the pekin order. currently Dexter is once again pretty much alone as Dixie his lovely wife is sitting on her next (her nest - not their next!). How long do ducks sit on eggs anyway????? [about a month -LD :>] Experiences: all is well so far - but we are neophyte duck persons Dexter Duck was sneezing very much the other day - but seems o.k. today! Resources: wish I did Care: D&D Duck eat corn and 'scratch' grain. they have their own private pool - its blue w/yellow octupus Advice: get a pool - they LOVE the water!! What my duck would say: Dixie would probably say - hit the road Dex and don't come back til fall, til fall, til fall, til fall! Dexter would probably say - what'd I say to make you mad this time!!!! • 07-29-02 Name: Steven Bennett Location: Ohio, USA Number: Four, but I want more Breeds: Three pekins, one mallard How You Acquired Your Duck(s): I first got my pekins at a local feed store around Easter. The mallard we got from some friends of ours. I named them after countries (RUSSIA -mallard, INDIA, OTTOMAN, CHINA, the Pekins) Experiences: I thought that they had ? bubblefoot ? but whatever it was went away. Also they had a black blob on their beaks, it too went away. PLUS Those pekins POOP like crazy. Care: When we first got the pekins, we had them in a cage in our laundry room. Three days later, we moved them to a refrigerator box in the garage with a heat lamp. Now, they're outside in a kennel with two kiddie pools. There's a tarp on top of the kennel to protect them from hawks. They eat poultry pellets from the feed store. They also love worms. Resources: farmsanctuary.org Advice: They're very fun to watch, but the pekins poop a lot. Outside, it's fine, because you can hose down their area. They're beautiful to see swimming in the pool. The mallard could fly away if he wanted to, but doesn't poop nearly as much as the pekins. What my duck would say: "I want a pond!" • 07-24-02 Name: Erik Brown Location: Kentucky, USA Number of Ducks: 11 Breeds: Pekin, Rouen, Mallards, & Muscovies How you Acquired Your Duck(s): I got my first Pekins and Rouens at the local pet shop. Later I found the mallards off a radio program called "the Trader" on the local radio station. And just last week I found my Muscovy ducklings off the same program. Experiences: My first rouen Pooky has a deformed bill. It is like bent over to one side and is crooked. It can't even close completely. Even his tongue looks crooked. I don't know how it became this way and I've never taken him to the vet. But he seems pretty healthy. Care: My ducks have a chicken wire pen in the woods below my father's house. It is nice and shady from the hot sun. The pen door is always open but they never stray far. They have their own little kiddy pool inside the pen for them to splash around in. I was walking them up to the neighbor's pond, but since the hot weather, they wanted shade rather than water, so they've been staying around the pen. I feed them a mix of cracked corn and egg rations, which is just ground corn. But for the babies just the egg rations. Resources: If you don't have a pond, a kiddy pool is a good substitute. Advice: Know what you're up against. Ducks are very messy, but also make great loving pets. • 07-22-02 Name: Shari Carlson Location: Washington, USA Number of Ducks: One Breeds: American White Pekin How you Acquired Your Duck(s): I had a dream that I was holding a baby duck and was astounded at being able to do so. A week later, a close friend presented me with my little duck. The friend had had no prior knowledge of the astounding dream that I had had. Experiences: He collapsed in the yard as a baby (he is now 3 years old, thank God). It took two harrowing trips to the vet and finally an X Ray to confirm he'd ingested small change. He had to have an endoscopy, which thankfully was successful, to remove this spare change. A frightening time. Now all visitors are requested to remove all spare change from their person before arrival. He had been operated on at the All Bird Clinic, Tacoma, Wa, by Dr. Anita Shafer. All else grand experiences. He is partly a "House Duck" and partly an outside duck. He stays with a close friend outdoors in a padlocked chicken wire and wood huge room, but visits me at home on some weekends. I try to keep my home immaculate and use a Dustbuster to reallly keep crevasses cleaned out (such as floor edges under countertops, etc.) I put plastic office runners down in restricted areas of the house, and he is free to go from kitchen to hallway to bedroom (to the window). He enjoys firm rubber toys very much. He has numerous towels to sit on my lap and on which to lie. I do a lot of laundry! He loves to jump up on my towel covered couch and snuggle and watch TV with me. He really astounded me one night by peeking at me--twice yet--from around a corner from the hallway to the living room where I was sitting. He receives gifts for his birthday and at Christmas--new feed bowls, toys, gourmet bird seeds (oats and groats, fruit & veggi, grains and greens, e.g.) He takes extremely splashy baths in the tub when he visits me. Care: My duck,as stated above, stays in a big chickenwire and wood with lock outside a close friend's home during the day. He sleeps inside in his kitchen at night. When he visits me on some weekends, refer to the description above ref "House Prep". He also has a pool in the outdoor room at my friend's. With me, he enjoys his "tubs". He has a basic duck food from feed stores, but also enjoys Garlic Caesar Salad, Linguine with Clam Sauce, Hearty Nut Bread and Sourdough Bread, and always has some gourmet parakeet seed as a treat (as outlined above). Plenty of sparkling fresh water at all times. I use colored mid-size dog non-skid dishes for him. His favorite food, beyond all doubt, are green peas. He is absolutely nuts about them. I keep bags of frozen green peas to thaw in a collander for him at all times. He eats them from my hands voraciously. Resources: Loook for vets who treat Exotic Pets. Be prepared in advance with any emergency vets who treat same. Know how to get there in advance, their hours, etc. Advice: I personally never would have gotten a duck being an apartment/condo dweller. At this point in time I am unable to have my little pekin with me at all times because of that, since they need a safe yard (fenced, etc.) and constant supervision when in it. I am able, with a lot of ingenuity, to have him stay with me for visits. Those office plastic runners and lots of towels and impeccable cleanliness are essential. If I ever do have a house I would put up a high solid fence and have thought about stretching netting over it for his protection. Owner would still have to be in the yard whenever he was playing. Re: Live Ducks: I was absolutely delighted to find this website. You made my whole day! I have no idea why I love little ducks with the passion that I do but identify with them very strongly. They are tremendously special and it is a priviledge to have had the experience of being able to share a relationship with one of these special creatures. • 07-20-02 Name: Leslie Location: South Carolina, USA Number of ducks: 8 Breeds: mallards Past Ducks: I have two I rescued How you Acquired Your Duck(s): I have two that I bought from a man that raised ducks for restaurants, and the others are a mommy and her five babies that landed in my yard. she laid 9 eggs that 5 hatched. she was hurt when she came to me, and I have been caring for her till she gets well enough to tend her family on her own. then I'll release them in my pond. Experiences: my mommy duck had a broken leg, and wing, it has taken a bit of time, but she is on the road to recovery, and we are happy to say they'll be in our pond by the end of the week. Care: they live on our patio for now, but will be transfered to our pond soon, they eat fresh veggies, grain, and bird seed mixed together, they also eat anything else left in their reach, including my potted flowers, which I have come to find out too late. Advice: make sure this is the pet for you. they take a lot of time, and can make a major mess, it takes a lot of work to keep their area clean, and healthy for them. • 07-19-02   Read Duck Stories from 2002 | 2003 | 2004 Copyright © Live Ducks All rights reserved