Pet Ducks Blog

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.

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 )