My partner wants to get 2/3... I'm not so sure. I'm concerned about:
i) the mess they might make, poo/stink-wise and trashing the garden- he was put off getting chickens for this reason but are ducks really better?;
ii) noise levels as we are in a suburb;
iii) being able to look after them properly as we have only ever kept goldfish;
iv) and having the time to really tame and befriend them when OH works away all week.

Can anyone honestly advise on how much mess/noise/work these things make and any recommendations on suitable breeds as pets for beginners with young children? Or signpost to somewhere unbiased to get this info from? Thanks.

ducks are very messy the will turn your lawn into mud

Hi

MESS- most ducks will make a mess of your garden the smaller breeds will make less mess.... I would say from my experience that chickens are worse at wrecking the garden as they scratch the grass up to get to the mud. ducks just flatten the grass.

POO/ STINK- they will poo anywhere and no you cant toilet train then ... The only thing that will smell is there bedding once it starts to get wet so change every week.

NOISE- all depends what breed you get... i would recommend mosovys they dont make any noise at all, aylesburys, runners, karki campball are not really noisey.... dont get call ducks very noisey and loud.

LOOKING AFTER THEM- not much to it really feed them everyday ,clean water everyday, clean there house ( bedding etc) once aweek if its not bad leave it for another week but i would recommend once cleaned put redmite powder around joints before putting bedding down as you dont want red mite.
water - ducks dont need water to swim around in but they do need enough water to dunk there heads to clean their beaks, its up to you if you want water for them to swim around in, I use kids plastic shell pools...... so looking after very easy they will look after them selfs.

TAME WISE- It depends what you mean by tame if you want them to follow you everywhere you just want one duck( not recommend tho as they need a friend) from day old so they know you as mother.
Ducks will come tame over time from seeing you every day and come to you if you have food in your hand.

Ducks to recommend are indian runners you will like them they walk around like penguins and follow each other in a line, aylesburys, karki campballs, silver appleyards, moscovys funny looking things, pekins, cayugas all good around kids.

If you need anymore info just pm me and ill help you out as much as possible.

cheers mitch

Hiya,

firstly they do make adorable pets, although it's unlikely you would be able to actually handle them as they find being handled very stressful, even if you handle them from a young age.

They are noisy unless you get Muscovy as the previous person said or you get just males (I'm guessing you want eggs). I live in a town but have a large garden and I am very lucky that my neighbours don't mind the noise.

The most important thing I guess is keeping them safe from foxes. If you don't keep them fenced in a fox proof pen they WILL get taken by the fox. They need to be put into a secure house at dusk also and let out at dawn. So someone needs to be home at those times every day.

Yes they will destroy your lawn in the winter and eat all your plants in the summer. Personally my chickens are less destructive than my ducks, but some people may have different experiences.

It's true they don't NEED water to swim in to survive but their feather quality really suffers if they cannot perform their full bathing repertoire. I would recommend AT LEAST a tub they can get in and paddle about. This would need fresh water in at least once a day.

They make a huge mess in their overnight quarters and need topping up every day with fresh bedding and cleaning out once a week. Have you thought where you will dump the straw/shaving? It really mounts up!

If you have any more questions feel free to ask or PM everyone here seems very knowledgeable and will give you good advice!

I have 8 ducks and they are SO much work and kind of take over my life but I wouldn't ever be without them, they are so rewarding!

Zo
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