Do Ducks Make Good Pets?

When people think of pets, “ducks” are not typically one of the first things they think of but many people enjoy keeping ducks as pets.



Ducks are considered to be waterfowl and are less aggressive than geese. There are whistling ducks and “other ducks” with the “other ducks” being divided into three groups; diving, dabbling (surface birds), and perching ducks. Most pet ducks (other than the Muscovy which originated from perching ducks) derived from the Mallard duck, which comes from the diving group.



Ducks are noted to being beneficial to their owners not just for providing eggs, but more so for controlling insect pests, such as flies, slugs, ticks, and so forth. Muscovy ducks are probably one of the best to use around the garden for pest control. Other ducks are often kept as ornamental birds, or show birds.



One interesting thing about ducks is that it is the female who is the noisy one; males make a quieter raspy sound, while females quack loudly. Some duck breeds, such as the Call duck, tend to be noisier than others, with Muscovy ducks noted for being the quietest.



As with all types of pets, certain duck breeds are friendlier than others, with Rouen ducks being noted for being calm and Pekin known for being more nervous. Ducks that were hatched in incubators and held at an early age may be imprinted on humans, and thus be a better “pet” than naturally hatched ducklings, but ducks soon learn that you bring them food and can become quite friendly. Hand raised ones can even come to enjoy sitting on a lap or being carried around. Certain breeds are more likely to fly away so most owners do clip their wings or keep them in covered aviaries.

Four Call Duck, Duckings

The main thing with ducks is that they long for water to swim in (Muscovy ducks a bit less) and actually require access to clean drinking water at all times, in fact they can get very sick if they are without water for even a few hours. They tend to be messy with their drinking water, often spilling it.
There are commercial duck food rations available for them but if given enough space they will eat vegetation and insects and wont require other food except perhaps through the winter, but feeding them a ration once a day does help keep them tame and friendly.

Obviously ducks are not legal as pets everywhere, in fact most cities won't allow them as pets (even if they do allow chickens). Always check your area's by-laws before getting any unusual animal as a pet. Speak to your veterinarian about health concerns for ducks in your area.



I have only kept Call ducks as pets and we quite enjoyed them. We let them lay eggs and hatch ducklings. We did learn (the hard way) that until they are 3-4 days old, ducklings can get water-logged and can drown. Other than that we had good experiences with the ducks, but they were more work, and messier, than chickens.

About Keeping Chickens and Ducks Together

I have kept chickens, and have kept call ducks, but we did not keep them together, each was in its own pen.  The chickens were also free range - loose, but the ducks had duckings and we knew the cats would find that too tempting, so the ducks were kept in a large pen where the cats could not get in.

I often am asked if you can keep ducks and chickens together.  Many people want to do this year round, but more often it is a consideration for the winter as it is easier to have all outdoor animals together rather than going from pen to pen through deep snow.

One of the main considerations in regards to keeping ducks and chickens together is food. Ducks cannot have medicated chick starter.  The medication is toxic to ducks, so if you are feeding medicated chick starter or any medicated chicken feed, you cannot have ducks in the same enclosure.

Another concern is that ducks need water in order to eat their food.  They will often take a mouthful of food and dunk it in the water to soak it.  They do this because they do not have saliva.  This can make the water very messy for chickens to drink from.

Of course the other concern is that while ducks love to swim chickens cannot swim at all and will drown.  Even in a shallow pool chicken feathers can become waterlogged and will pull the chicken down if it cannot get out.  Ducks do not really "need" water for swimming, and in the winter when it is freezing cold they should not have water for swimming anyhow.

Aggressive roosters can be a concern too, sometimes aggressive drakes can be mean.  Always watch animals when putting them together.  Make sure you provide enough space so animals can get away from each other if they are being picked on.

Personally I would not recommend keeping ducks and chickens together in the same pen, as they are better off separate.

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