Ducks are a common sight in the US, both in rural and suburban areas. Most people keep ducks as poultry for eggs and meat.
Ducks grow fat, and they produce amazing meat; you could hatch the eggs, cook them or sell them to restaurants.
Most domestic duck species are messy and stinky. With this in mind, it could be hard to think of ducks as house pets.
You will need a way to rain the ducks to be cleaner if you want them in your house. So can you keep a duck as a house pet? Let us look into it and see.
Can You House Train A Duck?
No, you can’t house train your ducks. They aren’t as intelligent as dogs, and potty-training them is impossible.
You can keep them inside the house if you can manage their movement. Limit areas the ducks have access to or put them in diapers. This way, they won’t make a mess on your carpet or furniture.
Can You Keep A Duck As A House Pet?
Most people see ducks on farms or in backyards, and they can’t imagine keeping them in the house.
The fact is, ducks are feathery and could be a good addition to your house. But can you find a way around their messy nature and keep them in the house?
Ducks are normally friendly, active, social, and fun. They might get moody during the breeding season, but they are nice most of the time. Their happy personality and funny disposition make them good for indoor pets.
You can have ducks indoors, but they are harder to care for than other pets. One advantage of ducks is they have a relatively strong immune system. You, therefore, have little to worry about in terms of sickness.
Ducklings are cute, and they can easily imprint on a human. This means they see you as a parent and will follow you around all day. Given a chance, they will nuzzle around you and sleep.
They do this to feel safe and warm like they would in their mom’s wings. The best thing for ducklings is to allow them to grow with their mom. If you leave them alone, they will stress out and make a lot of noise.
Ducks preen themselves quite often, so they will be clean if their environment is clean. The problem is that they poop a lot and everywhere.
Ducks eat practically anything they can find, so their poop has dangerous bacteria like salmonella.
You need to limit their movements to prevent them from spreading these germs. This is especially important if you have a crawling child.
Children might lick their hands and get sick. Once you have your space figured out, you can keep the ducks.
Ducks are some of the noisiest birds you could keep. You might find their quacking noises amusing, but neighbors might not share that opinion. You might want to keep them away from other houses where the noise is a nuisance.
Dogs can chase and harm your ducks. Keep your compound behind a fence so the dogs can’t come in.
Lock your dog up when the ducks are out. Provide high-quality food for your ducks, and they should be okay.
Tips For Keeping Indoor Pet Ducks
You can have ducks in the house if you have the right management skills. Ducks aren’t like dogs or cats, so they will need more attention.
You have to create a good living space for them and ensure their comfort. Here are some tips that will help you keep them;
1. Allow your ducks to go out regularly.
You could want to keep your ducks indoors all day to keep them clean. This will work for you, but it isn’t good for them.
Ducks love to walk outside in the grass to find insects, worms, and plants. Outdoor time is crucial for a healthy duck.
Your ducks will be happiest outdoors, so you need a safe place for this. You can use an enclosure like a lawn with a fence. Make sure it is safe for the ducks. It should not have sharp tools or thorny plants like cacti.
2. Access to sufficient sunlight
It would be best if you allowed your duck enough sunshine for them to get healthy. Sunlight access can be a basking spot in the house, or you might have to let them out. The exact amount of sunshine they need varies depending on how they live.
If your ducks lay eggs, they will need about 12 hours of sunshine each day. This will give them enough vitamin D to produce eggs. Denying them enough sunshine might lead to malnutrition even with the correct diet.
If the ducks don’t lay eggs, you can reduce their time in the sun if you need to. You must try to give them at least 6 hours of sunlight.
The best form of sunlight access is outdoor foraging. They get to stretch, exercise, forage, and have a good time.
3. Find a way to keep your house clean with a duck.
Ducks are messy birds. They will poop wherever they are, and it is impossible to potty-train them.
Additionally, they spill a lot of water and food when they eat. Once done, they will walk in that mess and spread it all over.
This means you have to find a way to control your ducks, so they don’t ruin your home. The first step of this is finding a room to confine them in. You can’t allow them to walk around the house freely all day as they can create a big mess.
It would be best if you also diapered the ducks as soon as you get them inside the house. A diaper will allow you to keep the ducks on a couch or cuddle them. You will not have to clean up after the duck, and the house won’t stink.
4. Get at least two ducks.
Ducks are social creatures, so they will need each other’s company to thrive. You will be able to hang out with them, but that isn’t enough. Keeping a duck alone is not healthy for them; they will get lonely and moody.
Eventually, they will start to bite, and you won’t like them then. It would be best to get your duck a companion, another duck to keep them company. If you don’t have enough room, get only two ducks, but the more, the merrier.
How To Set Up An Indoor Duck Pen
If you want to have ducks indoors, you need a pen. This can be a small enclosure within a room, or you could use the whole room.
You can get a pen from a store or build one at home. Either way, there are some important factors you need to manage.
- Keep them in one place. The whole point of an enclosure is to keep the ducks in one place. Ducks can be destructive, so you can’t allow them to roam around the house at night. Get a pen that can manage the ducks without causing discomfort.
You have to allow space for a little movement inside the enclosure. 6 feet by 5 feet will be enough for two ducks. This enclosure will be for nighttime only. If they spend more time in the enclosure, it will have to be bigger.
- Separate the enclosure from the floor. You can allow your ducks to sleep without diapers. You will need to protect the floor since they might spill water or poop. You can use a curtain shower or another kind of plastic paper.
They will be easier to clean, and you can re-use them for months without needing to replace them.
- Make the base soft. Ducks lie on their bellies when they rest, and they need a soft spot to do this. Place some cushioning after the plastic paper, whether a blanket, paper shreds, or sawdust.
These will give the duck a soft place to lie, so the belly retains the soft, luscious feathers. Rough surfaces will make the belly lose feathers which isn’t healthy.
- Use a duck-proof feeding tray. Ducks eat rather fast and leave. In their haste, they will spill food and water all over the place. Eventually, they will walk and play in a mess, which gets them dirty.
You must get a feeder to help you manage spillage within the enclosure. A cleaner enclosure means a cleaner duck and an easier time for you. Make sure to clean the trays and enclosure each morning.
Conclusion
Can you house train a duck? You can’t house train a duck, but you can keep them in the house with the right tricks.
You could confine them and use diapers to keep them from pooping all over your floor. Use the enclosure at night and allow outside games during the daytime.
Don’t use pesticides in the area where your ducks play. The insecticides will poison your ducks and could lead to death. Keep the ducks out of oil or gasoline as it will stick on their feathers. The best move will be to create a garden with plants and insects for ducks.
