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Chic pets to keep: DUCKSMay 29 '00 Write an essay on this topic.With all due respect, Ladyvamp (who wrote about pigs), we must not forget the other farm animals who can be equally fabulous living companions. I have to share with you all the perks of in-house living with a duck. Disclaimer:This is all from personal experience when I had my pet for 3 months in 1999. Why a duck? Well, if you've got sheep...I stay in college and rules say no pets allowed except for fish, perhaps. Everyone's been trying to smuggle animals from cats to amphibians - whatever seemed small enough to get away with. I found fish rather drab pets to keep. I needed another option. (and if I could be original at the same time, why not?) How cheap can you get? Dogs and cats in pure breed form can cost you a bomb. True, you can pick one up from the pet pounds, and your mongrel may be your best friend, but try this one for size: a duck will treat you like the surrogate mother you always wanted to be. You can get ducklings at markets (I paid $3 Oz dollars for one at a local market in Australia) and before you purchase it, make sure you know what sex it is. I had mine wrapped up in a box too late and never really knew whether my duck was male or female. So when it came to name giving...I called it Duff, a relatively bi-sexual name. Anyway, I guessed it was female - most of my pets were so why break tradition? There are 2 types of ducks to take note of: The wild-life breeds are different from domesticated farm ones, in that the farm types don't fly. Beware of funny looks Naturally, rearing farm animals in a college dorm is not a popular act. I had to contend with gaping faces, female friends squealing with delight and protecting my little one from being stampeded. There were death threats, notes left by friends who wanted to make duck rice or peking duck out of my new pet. I made sure Duff never left my sight. Food and water Grain Pellets are best for the duck's diet, and you should be able to purchase them from the market as well. It shouldn't cost more than a dollar. Don't try pet stores, I doubt they stock duck food. Remember the age-old saying: what goes in, must come out. So if on occasion, you want to treat your pet to some vegetables, make sure you have plenty of lining in the eating tray. Ducks can be rather animated animals with boundless amounts of energy. For water, get a heavy container that can't be tipped easily or else you'll be spending every minute trying to stop your duck from putting its webbed foot in it and knocking it over. P/S: Watch your duck when it eats and drinks, it's adorable when it makes these happy little noises when slurping water and pecks away at the pellets. Living conditions Pad up its living quarters with strips of paper or dried hay. I used paper, and changed it every day. Keep it moisture free and always supplied with ample food and water. Like I said, I lived in college and didn't have a proper place to put Duff. She had to settle for my laundry basket which was this green oval plastic thing surrounded with a grid mesh. Walks You don't need a leash. Nor a collar. Once you establish surrogate mother status, the duckling will follow you everywhere. Of course, there were times when my duck got distracted and veered off into a bush and I had to crawl in and get it, but as long as you avoid places near the roads, your duck will enjoy taking walks with you. I had green open spaces around college which were safe for running around, but to heighten the fun- go to a big open field and watch your duck go berserk at the vast amounts of space. Rub-a-dub-dub Put your duck in a tub, if you have one, and fill it up with water. You should at least teach it how to swim because if you intend to give it away to a farm, you don't want your pet to be an outcast! Unfortunately, Duff loved the tub so much she refused to swim in the pond when I took her. This is a way of bathing your duck, but don't use shampoo or any assumed household cleaning agents - what are you trying to do? Poison it? Keep it natural. Quacks This alone can kill you. A duckling's quack isn't as loud as a full grown duck but it's bad enough. Imagine being in a room with it 24 hours a day and Duff quacking non-stop (it didn't sleep much). Simply drove me up the wall! Of course, if you counter its quacking with music, you can somehow drown it out when you're tired of it. I'm not sure Duff managed to appreciate music even after 3 months. Ladyvamp said pigs will substitute as an alarm clock. Well, a duck will be your aphrodisiac! Little stunts to teach your little one There aren't many that I know of, but Duff learnt how to jump staircases with some grating effort. When she was about 2 months old, and strong enough, I would stand one step ahead of her and encourage her to jump up. If she couldn't, we'd try again another day, and a week later she actually hopped a whole flight of steps! By the way, if your duck can step up with one foot, it's not normal. Growing older In the early stages, your duckling will be a yellow fuzzy creature which will later undergo a transition into a mature duck with features. Supposed 'teenhood' for the duck would be when it looks like a mish-mosh of feathers and fur. I remember Duff used to escape from her basket by jumping right out of it, and I'd come home, exhausted from school to find her under my bed and pecking at the dust. Not only that, she left poop all over the floor and mind you, it acts like acid. I still miss my old mat which has disintegrated in patches where my duck sat... And there were those times when it got its little head stuck between the holes of the basket and it would try and get its head out by wildly gyrating & shaking until I came to its rescue... Finally after 3 months, Duff had to go. My college administrator found out and Duff was getting too big for me to take care of. A friend who owns a duck farm (not to eat but to rear for fun...or at least that's what she told me) offered to take it there. I haven't seen it ever since, but I'll never forget my little Duff. I'd take a duck over a cat any day! Owners' attributes Plenty of tender loving care, and oodles of patience. Invest in ear plugs if you must. Ducks don't injure anyone, their beaks are too rounded to cause pain and they can only nip. Keep that in mind when you get one for the kids. Enjoy your low-budget pet! If you city people have never seen a duck before or if you'd just like to see what Duff looked like, it's in the photo album on this forum: http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/epinionsinternationale  |
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