Pet Ducks Blog

Ducks can make the most fun and entertaining pets possible! They are a delight to watch and they look incredibly cute. If you have a pet duck, or are thinking about getting one, it is very important to do some research on pet ducks. That way, you’ll be able to enjoy them even more!

One of the best things about ducks is that they’re very social animals. If you have just one duck and you’ve raised it yourself, it’ll probably think it’s just as human as you are. It will have a very strong bond with you and it will try and follow you wherever you go. In the garden, it’ll help you get rid of all kinds of insects and slugs. Also, ducks just look great. When they’re young, they are very cute, when they’re older, they look just … cool.

Some important articles on this site:

Two things you need for pet ducks
This article is about deciding if pet ducks are the right pets for you.

Feeding your pet ducks
So, what do ducks eat? Read this article and find out!

Pet duck Housing
Once you have ducks, you’ll need a place for them to live. This article gives you some hints and tips about housing your pet ducks

On my blog I will collect more tips on caring for pet ducks and cool videos and sites I find elsewhere on the web about our favorite birds. If you have any tips, don’t hesitate to comment!

New to pet ducks? I highly recommend you to check out The Duck Handbook, which is the best source of relevant information on pet ducks, bar none!

And another cute duckling. This one’s actually a wild duck that was abandoned (and later taken to an animal shelter):

Just as your pet ducks’ nutritional needs change with their age, their housing also needs to change.

Ducklings need to be kept inside for the first few weeks. You should have a large indoor cage. Ideally, you can make a large wooden cage yourself. You can also use a large cardboard box, as long as you’re able to keep it clean. Make sure your ducks always have access to plenty of fresh water.

In the wild, ducklings huddle together underneath their mothers’ wings for warmth. Since you won’t be able to keep your pet ducks in your hands all day long (and since you don’t have wings), you need an alternative heat source. An infrared heat lamp will do fine for that purpose. Just put it in the corner of your duck cage, so that your young pet ducks can go there when they need warmth.

Once your pet ducks grow older, they will also need more space. First of all, they’ll move outside. I know some people keep ducks as indoor pets, but I don’t recommend you do that. Outside of your house (probably in your garden), your ducks will be exposed to the elements and to predators. Your pet duck housing should protect them against these. I recommend that you assign a part of your garden to your ducks and put a fence around that part (of about three feet in height).

Your ducks need a dry, wind-free shelter, kind of like a dog house. Your pet duck house should be easy to clean. Having a concrete floor is easiest, but you can use other materials as well. Just make sure the floor is covered with grass, straw, or sawdust. Clean your duck house regularly: this not only prevents a bad scent, it also helps to keep your ducks healthy.

Imagine being greeted by your pet ducks when you come home. Well, just watch this video.

So what do pet ducks eat? Well, your pet duck(s) will eat… a lot. Now that answer is a bit too simple, so let’s have a closer look at a good and healthy diet for your pet ducks.

The main source of food for your ducks should be specialized food from your local pet store. Your ducks’ nutritional needs change with their age.

Young ducklings grow very (very!) fast. They need (pelleted) bird starter food from the pet store. What you need to look for is the protein level of the food. Ducklings need a lot of protein and calories, especially during the first three weeks. During that time they need a diet containing about 20% protein.

When your ducks are beyond the three-week period, they actually need less protein. Between the fourth and the fourteenth week, they need food with about 15% protein. This percentage also applies to adult pet ducks that aren’t laying. Laying ducks need a special breeder (or layer) diet, which usually has about 16-17% protein (and added nutrients like calcium).

It’s really simple: just go to your pet store, ask for duck food, and check the protein levels of the food. In addition to the pelleted food form the pet store, your ducks can also eat food like carrots, tomatoes and corn. Keep in mind however that these will be “treats”, and they should never replace the duck food from the pet store.

Maybe you sometimes went to a park to feed the wild ducks with bread. You should actually NEVER give bread to your pet ducks, because bread just doesn’t have the right nutritional value. Your pet ducks will eat it, but it isn’t healthy for them. In fact, the seeds in some bread products are actually damaging to their digestive system.

One last tip: enjoy your little ducklings while they’re small. They grow FAST (but remain cute however )

This guy takes his baby ducks for a walk:

Pet ducks are of course adorable and great fun. But before you go out and buy a pet duck, you should realize that you need these two things in abundance: space and time.

1) Space Pet ducks need a lot of space. Your garden should provide that space to them. Also, they love to swim, so you’ll need to have or make a place for them to swim too. I recommend that you make a protected shelter in your garden where your ducks are safe from predators like foxes, birds of prey and even dogs. If you let your ducks roam freely through your garden, they’ll mess up every flowerbed you have.

I know some people argue that ducks can be kept as indoor pets too. Of course they poop everywhere, but there are specialized duck diapers. I don’t recommend you to keep your pet ducks inside. I think ducks need space, and more importantly, you need fresh air in your house. Ducks can smell….

2) Time One of the reason why ducks are great pets is because they’re very social animals. On the other hand, this also means that you need to dedicate a lot of time to them, otherwise they’ll feel lonely. You’ll probably be busy with your ducks at least 1 hour each day. If you have just one duck, you’ll need to dedicate even more time to it. To prevent your duck from feeling lonely, you can get more ducks. This doesn’t mean that all ducks can go along well with each other however. Sometimes, 2 males will fight each other, so be warned.

All this talk about spacetime is not because ducks are bad pets, it’s because they’re high maintenance pets. If you’re looking for an easy pet for your kid, don’t go for pet ducks. If however, you’re willing to sacrifice some of your space and time to one or more pet ducks, you’re going to love these cute little animals!

How cute is this?