PetCare For Those Pets You Cherish

I know that it is surprising to hear and not many people have heard of this but; yes there are ducks that live in people’s homes. It is very rare but, seems to be occurring more often these days. Ducks are becoming domesticated in several areas of the country. Believe it or not, Ducks make great pets.

There is a lot involved in the care of having a Duck for a Pet. There is also a lot of learning to be done. When our family first got our duck, we had no idea what to do with her. We knew that she was now not around her mom and other ducklings that she needed to grow and survive. So, we had to start researching about Duck Care. You see, we got our precious duck for an Easter gift. Our family is not one to give away precious pets after we get them and bond with them. Also, within a few days of having her, she had already “imprinted” with us. We became her pack. We quickly had to learn how to care for this precious Duck without the neglect of leaving her outside, in a pen, all day, and with no attention. She needed the love, affection, care, and attention that our other pets always have.

I started with the internet. This was 3 years ago and the research was lengthy. I started looking for information on house training a duck, what to feed a duck, duck as pets, and much more. It was very hard to find information on Domestic Duck Care. Now, over the 3 years a lot has changed. Pet Duck Care and Duck Diapers are easy to find in the search engines. I guess that more people are raising Ducks for Pets. But, take my advice; there are all sorts of different opinions and advice for Domestic Duck and Goose Care. I did some studying of my own on these sites and services that are now easier to find. I will have to say that, I only trust the care and advice from the source that I first learned.

After my long and lengthy research…I finally found the exact information that I was looking for. I found a wonderful lady and her husband who raise and care for Pet Ducks and Geese. They are very experienced in the matter. They have had their babies for years and they are quite the pack. I so enjoyed the website and learned so much. We called often and talked. I got great advice and support. And, believe me, in the beginning, you will definitely need support. This wonderful lady’s name is Nancy. I called her Nancy Goose. What a great friend she became. Nancy taught me so much. She even has a book that she wrote on the care for Ducks and Geese as pets. I could not have provided the care of our Duck with out Nancy, her website, her book, and her hand designed duck diapers.

Our precious Nancy Goose passed away on February 26, 2009. It has been so heart breaking. But, I am here to tell you, that Her Legacy Still Lives On in Duck and Goose Care.

Her site and store is still being run and supported by her wonderful and supportive husband Alan. He too, is a great guy, who will give the same type of support. This special site is http://thegoosesmother.com. You will find the right advice and great stories.

In the beginning it was so hard to care for this Duck. You see, ducks are very clean creatures in one but, very messy in another. The messy part of a duck is the “Poop”. It will be all over if you do not control it. I could not find out quick enough how to control it. So, I was thinking of a way to “litter train” our duck. Ahhhh…Aint’t gonna happin! I finally found Nancy’s site and got “The Miracle Duck Diapers”. Thank goodness, what a life saver and difference that made. Now our baby can be in the house anytime that she has her harness and diaper on. She loves to be in the house with us we are her pack.

Our ducks name is Kuacky. She does not totally love being in the house with us. She loves to be in her bath more. Her favorite thing is bath time rather it is by sprinkler, hose, or her special bath. There was a time when she had a child’s outside pool for her bath. She loved it so much and would literally swim, splash, and have a great time. But, unfortunately, Kuacky started having uncontrollable seizures. We took the big bath away in fear that she would drown if she had a seizure. At that time, the seizures were so bad and happening every ½ hour or so. They were so severe. We took her to doctors and did all that we could do. No one new what was causing the seizures. We really thought that we were going to loose our baby. But, all of a sudden they stopped. They still come occasionally and we keep a certain seizure medicine handy incase they get bad again. We really think that it has to do with her egg laying cycle. But, we are still unsure. There again, we had Nancy for support and advice. It was after we gave her “sugar water” (that Nancy suggested) that she got better.

Here is a video of Kuacky enjoying one of her showers.

Our precious Kuacky also loves to be out in the yard. She loves to graze the grass and eat bugs. Her favorite bugs are meal worms. We are even raising our own meal worm colony now. Hopefully she will get an abundance of meal worms soon. We are seeing results with the colony. There is another sad thing. When we can not be with her or she can not come inside, we can not leave her to roam the yard. We have to keep her in a pen. She gets so tired of her pen and we feel so bad about it. You see, for some reason she will not stay off of our concrete porch. The concrete causes her to develop foot infections on her precious feet. This infection is common with ducks. It is called “Bumble Foot”. We have had to have her feet lanced, stitched, and treated several times. Once a duck gets “Bumble Foot” it is very hard to cure and it comes back very easily. We battle with that all of the time. The reason she will not stay off of the concrete is because she knows that we might be in the house. The concrete porch is where the back door to the house is. She wants to be as close to her pack as possible. Remember, we are her pack.

If you do have or get a duck, let me tell you Exactly what their most favorite thing to do is. Their most favorite thing in the entire world is To Be With You or their Family. If you raise your duck from an itzy baby, they “imprint” on you. You and the family become their “pack”. If you put your “imprinted” duck with other ducks…your duck will not know what to do. Many people get and give ducks for Easter Gifts. Then they keep them until they are tired of them and then they dump them off where other ducks live. Big mistake! Those folks are setting their duck up for Death. A “Human Imprinted Duck” does not know how to survive with other ducks. Other ducks will not accept her/him either, and the “human imprinted duck” will not survive. I am going to do another post about Ducks for Easter so, stay tuned. Getting or giving a Duck for Easter is a Big Mistake. If you get or give a Duck for Easter, then you better be Serious about having one.

We just celebrated Kuacky’s 3^rd Birthday. We will talk more about that in the next post too. Did you know that Ducks have a lifespan of 20 years? It is true. It is all depends on the care that they receive.

If you are one who does have a duck or is serious about getting one, then you are more then likely looking for the right care. My advice is to trust The “Gooses Mother and Father” site. http://thegoosesmother.com

This is the Very Helpful and Very Needed book that I finally found. What a lifesaver it has been. I still refer back to it often.

You can also take a look at the “Duck Diaper Harnesses” while you are there.

Please leave your comment and opinion. It begins a great discussion.

Thank you for reading my article. I love hearing opinions.

Kami Snoeberger

xpectmorepetcare@gmail.com

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 8:42 pm and is filed under Ducks for Pets.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.