Rearing Ducks As Pets Tips To Help You Get Started

Rearing ducks may be done for leisure or for business. Raising ducks as pets would mean that you just want to see little ducklings near your home or in your own pond or pool. However, you may also rear ducks for business purposes. It could be because you love nature and that you want to be near all sorts of animals possible, preferably those that can be properly domesticated. You could sell your ducklings when they are all grown up or you can cook duck to serve at your restaurant. Whatever your reason, rearing ducks has a certain formula. It is not a difficult formula, mind you, but it is still good to follow certain trial and tested guidelines.

The Protein Diet

Keeping ducks is not about throwing bread crumbs at them for feeding sessions. They are not like that flock of birds at the park. You have to feed them a protein-rich diet and not fatten them with carbohydrates. During their first few weeks especially, you should be able to feed them about protein at about 20% of their whole diet.

Artificial Heat Source

If your ducklings are living with their mother, you will not have problem taking care of them. This is because they have their natural source of heat. However, it would be different if you have bought the ducklings without their mother. You will have to provide them with an artificial heat source. Just compare rearing ducks, especially ducklings, to taking care of little babies in an incubator. Grown ducks are known to survive liquid temperatures below zero but may not thrive in similar dry but freezing conditions.

Available Water

Being in the right temperature and eating adequate and healthy foods may seem enough to survive but your pet ducks need something else. They need water. You may have read that ducks can do well in your backyard but they may not be perfectly happy about it. If you want your pet ducks thriving and happy, you need to provide them a place to swim about. Ducks are happy when they are in the water. Water is an easy provision if you are near a pond or a lake. However, if you live in the suburbs and not the countryside, the chances are much slimmer. You have to buy your ducks a wading pool. Rearing ducks into happy and healthy pets do not just entail providing them with basic necessities.