11 reasons why you should not get ducks

Last Updated on December 17, 2024 by Susan von Frank

Are you considering raising ducks? Make sure you read these 11 reasons why you should NOT raise ducks before you dive in!

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Why we’re trying to talk you out of raising ducks

We’re duck fanatics who’ve raised ducks for over a decade. We’ve also helped countless other families successfully raise ducks. So why are we trying to talk you out of raising ducks in this article?

Because we want you to be well-prepared, committed duck parents with a clear-headed notion of what’s involved with raising ducks BEFORE you get them. Here’s why:

• We’ve seen countless abandoned ducks dumped at nearby ponds and lakes once their human families decide ducks are too much responsibility. (Virtually all abandoned ducks will die a terrible death in the wild because they don’t know how to fend for themselves or find food — and they’re flightless.)
• Our area waterfowl rescue operations are full of domestic ducks who have been injured or made sick due to human neglect and/or abandonment. (See our interview with Carolina Waterfowl Rescue founder, Jennifer Gordon.)
• We see and hear about people who keep their ducks in horrid conditions, and their ducks end up needlessly suffering, sick, or dead as a result.
• We see and hear about people who didn’t properly prepare for having backyard ducks, so their ducks end up falling prey to predators (even in cities and highly urbanized areas).

Yes, ducklings and ducks are adorable and can be wonderful pets. Yes, they produce great eggs. From the outside, getting ducks might seem like a wonderful idea.

The problem is, many new duck parents haven’t properly considered the costs, knowledge, planning, and daily responsibility that goes along with being good duck parents. We don’t want you to make the same mistake! 

11 reasons you should not get ducks

Below is a rundown of what’s involved and what you can expect if you get ducks — and why you might NOT want to get them in the first place. If you still want to get ducks AFTER you know what’s involved with being responsible duck parents, then carry on!

1. Adult ducks require a lot of specialized care.

If you’re thinking you can just set your ducks free to take care of themselves, think again. Ducklings and ducks require a lot of care such as:

A. Ducks have to be put up in a secure location/coop at night and let out in the morning.

Ducks don’t roost like chickens, but they still need a safe, secure house/coop with bedding that gets topped up regularly to prevent foot injuries caused from standing in their own waste.

A well-designed coop and/or run is also essential for keeping your ducks safe from predators. Note: You can keep ducks permanently in a secured run for fail-safe security.

See our articles:

• How to build a long-lasting predator-proof coop and run,
• A tour and construction guide to Waddle Inn, our duck coop.

B. Ducks need quality duck/waterfowl-specific feed and fresh drinking water provided daily.

Ducks (and especially ducklings) have specialized nutritional needs. Ideally, you can also provide them with fresh produce daily or at least a few times per week such as chopped lettuce, kale, tomatoes, peas, etc.

More on this topic in #7 below!

C. Ducks need water to swim in for optimal health and happiness.

Ducks take water baths, chickens take dust baths. Your adult ducks will at least need access to a kiddie pool to swim in if you want them to be their happiest, healthiest selves. Or you might consider building a self-cleaning backyard duck pond using our design.

Do note that a pre-existing wild pond on your property also contains wild animals that can and will eat ducklings and adult ducks alike. Snapping turtles and birds of prey kill adult ducks on ponds. And countless animals — from largemouth bass to snakes to turtles — will also eat ducklings.

Having an existing pond on your property for your future ducks may not be an asset — or something that you’ll want to allow your ducks to have access to without putting protective systems in place first.

2. Baby ducklings require even more care than adult ducks.

Ducklings are like human babies in that they require far more care than adults. Without proper food, warmth, shelter, and living conditions, they’ll become sick, injured, or die.

If you want to get ducklings, plan for a huge daily time commitment and lots of mess during the ~8 weeks it takes them to reach adult size.   

(See: Step-by-step guide to raising ducklings.)

3. Most vets aren’t AVIAN vets.

Even under the best care, ducks will occasionally get sick or injured, sometimes requiring medical care. (The same is true for any other pet or animal.)

Over the years, we’ve learned how to identify and treat common duck medical problems. If you raise ducks, you’ll probably end up doing the same — see our duck healthcare guide.

However, if a duck is suffering from a medical problem that: a) you can’t identify, and/or b) is beyond what you can effectively or humanely treat at home, then they need to be brought to a vet immediately.

However, most vets are NOT avian vets, e.g. vets specifically trained to treat birds. They likely know a lot about common pets like cats and dogs, but they don’t have a high degree of medical knowledge/training about birds (including ducks).

Ideally, you can find an avian vet in your area before you get ducks using the AAV.org’s avian vet finder. If you happen to live anywhere near Greenville-Spartanburg in South Carolina, we highly recommend our duck vet, Dr. Hurlbert at Healthpointe Vet Clinic in Duncan, SC.

4. You can’t get just one duck.

Ducks are highly social creatures who need other ducks around to feel happy and safe. That’s why it’s a bad idea to get only one duck.

How many ducks should you get? It depends, but we recommend starting small, with only a few ducks. Once you gain experience, you can get more ducks. 

Other important considerations we answer elsewhere:

• Should you get male or female ducks or both?
• Should you get hatching eggs, ducklings, or mature ducks? 
• Should you get rescue ducks?

5. If you don’t properly prepare in advance, your ducks will be killed by predators.

Ducks are indeed “sitting ducks” to virtually all predators. Neighborhood dogs, large cats, raccoons, possums, hawks, owls, coyotes, bobcats, ferrets… There is a long list of animals who want to and will eat your ducks — if allowed the opportunity.

Think living in a suburban or urban environment will keep your ducks safe? Nope. These environments are even more densely populated by predators like raccoons than rural environments, sometimes by a factor of 5-to-1. We’ve had plenty of friends find this out the hard way.

In fact, one of our friends who lives a mile from downtown Greenville, SC, got three large geese to help protect her flock of ducks from raccoons. We’ll leave out the grisly details, but after a few raccoon attacks (including daytime attacks), she ended up with only one goose and a few less ducks.

Our home is surrounded by predators, but we’ve never lost a duck to predation (knock on wood) in the many years we’ve been duck parents — and we don’t want you to either.

See: 17 tips to keep your ducks safe from predators.

6. Ducks can live for a long time.

Want to get a pet that only lives for a couple years while your kids are young? Don’t get ducks! Get hamsters.

Domesticated ducks can live for a long time. While the lifespan of a lucky wild Mallard is about 5 years, a domestic Mallard-derived duck can live for 10-20 years. General rules:

• smaller breeds live longer than larger breeds;
• females of breeds that lay fewer eggs live longer than females of high-producing breeds;
• males live longer than females within the same breed since their bodies are not taxed by reproduction.

What’s the upper limit? We’ve seen credible reports of domestic ducks living up to 20 years old. We have ducks in our flock who are over a decade old and still going strong.

On the flip side of this equation, be prepared for you and your family to fall in love with your ducks and be completely heartbroken when you lose a duck you love. Also consider having a succession plan if something happens to you, and your ducks need a new home. 

7. Ducklings and ducks have specialized dietary needs.

Feed a duckling chicken/chick food and it will likely end up crippled due to lack of niacin. Adult ducks also have different macronutrient requirements than adult chickens.

Further reading on this topic:

• Complete guide to raising ducklings (which includes detailed instructions on what to feed ducklings from hatch day to maturity),
• What to feed adult ducks to optimize their health and longevity, and
• Top-10 garden plants for ducks and chickens (if you want to grow some duck favorites in your own garden or buy them from the store).

8. You will NOT save money by getting ducks or producing your own duck eggs.

Yes, duck eggs are amazingly delicious and more nutritious than chicken eggs. Yes, duck eggs are also expensive at the store (assuming you can find them).

However, if your main reason for getting backyard ducks is to save money on duck eggs, please do NOT get ducks. Why? Because you won’t save money.

We think you should come to this realization before you get ducks rather than after so that you’re less likely to abandon the project — and your ducks.

Typical commercial egg production operations are designed for maximum efficiency: warehouse living environment, bulk duck feed prices, rapid culling of sick or older birds, etc. They don’t give their ducks names, give them optimal veterinary care, and consider them pets/family members. That’s not what they’re designed for.

Instead of trying to produce the cheapest possible duck eggs from your flock, aim to provide your ducks with the highest quality of life and enjoy the highest quality eggs as a happy byproduct. (We like to say our pets make our breakfast.)

However, after building your duck coop or a single trip to your avian vet, you’ll quickly realize duck ownership is not going to produce a good return on investment (ROI) relative to the financial value of the eggs your ducks produce. (More on duck egg economics, er, egg-onomics?)

9. Not all duck breeds are created equal.

Each duck breed has different attributes. Some produce more eggs. Some are better foragers. Some have a calmer temperament and make better pets…

Depending on which duck attributes are most important to you and your family, you should pay careful attention to the breed(s) of duck you get to make sure you get the best match. We started with Welsh Harlequin ducks because they were a great fit for us, but there are lots of other great breeds out there to choose from for your first ducks. (Today, we have six breeds.)

Check out our duck breed comparison article to help you calculate a numerical score to impartially determine the breed(s) that best fit your needs and wants.

10. Ducks are a gateway drug to more ducks.

Ducks are hilarious, adorable, quirky clowns that you’re very likely to fall head-over-flippers in love with. The mental health professionals in our family may not concur, but we suspect ducks may well become an undiagnosed addiction.

Your first thoughts in the morning will be about ducks. You’ll think about ducks throughout the day, and again before you go to sleep.

Depending on the severity of your addiction, you may find yourself abandoning all reason and having diapered ducks rampaging through your house, tormenting your other pets, sleeping in your bed at night, and destroying any chance you once had of a normal social life. (“Sorry I can’t go this weekend because our duck sitter isn’t available.”)

There is no hope and no treatment should this become your fate. All you can do is connect with other duck addicts on social media, at which point you’ll be jealous of people who have even more ducks than you do. So before you decide to experiment with your first ducks, you should be warned that ducks are a gateway drug to more ducks for many people who try them, even if you don’t inhale.

Related:

• 9 tips and tricks for keeping indoor pet ducks,
• How to diaper a duck – with instructional video, and
• 5 tips for going on vacation without your ducks (yes, it is possible!). 

11. You may not be able to legally own ducks where you live.

Obviously, all the other points mentioned above are rendered moot if you can not legally own ducks in the first place. For instance, your Homeowner Association (HOA) may have restrictions against having backyard poultry. Or your municipal/city regulations may have poultry restrictions.

For instance, people living within the city limits of Greenville, SC, where we live, can not have more than seven poultry in their yard. (Thankfully, we live outside of the city limits!)

This is something you need to check into BEFORE you get ducks. Otherwise, you might be legally forced to re-home them, which will be a painful and challenging process.

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You won’t save money on eggs, your (human) social life will suffer, and you’ll have a lot of extra responsibilities for many years to come. Sold on ducks yet? Yay! You’re our kind of people.

 

Want to see a video summary of this article? Check out our Google Web Story about things you should know BEFORE you raise ducks… or browse the latest and greatest duck articles on Tyrant Farms!