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What Ducks Are the Friendliest? Top 3 Best Ducks for Families

Ducks can be great pets, especially if a human raised them from a duckling. There are many types of ducks that you can keep as pets, but certain ducks are friendlier than others. The Pekin duck, the Call duck, and the Muscovy duck are all ideal as pet ducks.

The Pekin duck, Call duck, and Muscovy duck are the top three friendliest duck breeds and the best ducks for families to raise as pets. This is because these breeds are calm and known to be non-aggressive and playful with children.

Many ducks are social and have lovely personalities. It also helps that they are adorable. Check out this article if you want to know the top three best ducks for families.   

Are Ducks Friendly with Humans?

Ducks are fantastic animals, extremely intelligent, and capable of bonding with humans. They can understand commands, play games, and enjoy the company of humans who treat them and their babies with care. If a duck is raised from a duckling by a human being, they can become bonded with them.

Where Can I Keep My Pet Duck?

Ducks require adequate shelter. They should be protected from inclement weather, and you should place them in a safe area where they cannot fly away. For up to four ducks, a good size dog house is appropriate.

Try to make sure the door is closed if it becomes very cold. A duck’s home should always have clean straw or wood shavings for their beds.

  • Try to keep your ducks safe from any four-legged family members you may have, such as dogs or cats.
  • A three-foot-high chicken wire will suffice as their fencing.
  • If your yard is already fenced in, you can let the ducks roam around to their little duckie hearts’ content.

Check out these Duck Feeders and Duck Pellets found on Amazon, along with a couple Toys for Ducks and you’ll have some very happy ducks. And happy ducks make for better tasting eggs.

If you want to give them water for swimming, try using a plastic wading pool. You can usually find them in toy stores. Your ducks should be able to get in and out of the pool. Do not make your ducks swim in dirty water. They deserve fresh, clean water for swimming and drinking.

Here’s a video with an experts explanation about the types of pet ducks:

Which Ducks Are the Friendliest?

You may be looking for the right duck for your family to keep as a pet. Some ducks have more charm and character than others, and some ducks are excellent egg layers.

Whatever type of duck you prefer, know that some ducks make beautiful pets, as each species has a purpose, and every animal deserves a chance to have a home.

The following includes the friendliest duck breeds:

Pekin Ducks Make Great Pet Ducks

The Pekin duck is the most widespread duck to have as a pet. They are typified by a yellow bill and creamy white plumage. They have the most adorable, upturned rump and orange shanks and toes. Their bill is orange colored. Pekins have gorgeous dark blue eyes.

They have a wonderful disposition, which makes them amazing pets. Their personality traits:

  • Outgoing
  • Enthusiastic
  • Active
  • Calm

Due to their easygoing, sweet personality, they are great with kids and fun to have around. They often become excited when they see their human coming, and they will allow you to pet and interact with them. Sometimes they can get overexcited and “quack” loudly.

Pekins will typically lay, on average, about 200 eggs per year. They will generally lay one egg a day when they do. Pekin ducks are excellent egg layers but do not often sit on their eggs. Usually, duck eggs must be artificially incubated if you want to raise them as ducklings.

  • Pekin duck embryos take about twenty- eight days to develop.
  • During this time, you must routinely turn the duck eggs.
  • When eggs are artificially incubated, eggs are moved to a hatcher three days before hatching.
  • The temperature is generally lower, and the eggs hatch easily.

Peking ducks have feet that paddle easily in water, which they adore. Pekin ducks enjoy large areas where they can roam and explore. Pekins are too heavy to fly and like to stay close to the ground and forage for weeds, grasses, bugs, and worms. The typical Pekin duck weighs about eight pounds.

What About the Ducklings?

Ducklings must be overseen by their mothers when they are in the water. Their feathers are not adequate to protect them when they are swimming. It is difficult to tell the sex of the ducklings.

When a male duck matures, it develops what is referred to as a drake feather, and they will have a single black feather underneath their wings.  

Call Ducks Make Great Pet Ducks

The Call duck is a handsome duck that is black or dark brown. Initially, they were used as a decoy for hunters because of their loud call, which enabled the hunter to be able to lure their prey.

The call duck emitted the original “Duck call.” Using these birds for hunting has been mainly banned due to impeding conservation efforts, as the call duck was overharvested.

Some of the appealing colors of the call duck:

  • Apricot
  • Bibbed
  • Black
  • Blue fawn
  • Silver
  • White

They can also be magpie, gray, or pie colored. Call ducks have plump bodies, short legs, rounded heads, and a broad bill. Call ducks are often found to be pets in many households and on farms.

They are incredibly animated and fun to watch. Because of their small size, they are good fliers, as they are descendants of Mallard ducks.

  • This plucky duck is considered a show duck and has won the most championships out of any other duck breed.
  • Call ducks are rather adorable, as they resemble stuffed animals.
  • Unlike the Pekin duck breed, call ducks are happy to sit on their eggs and raise their little ducklings.

Call ducks are adorable and gentle and great with children. Call ducks are the perfect pet due to their compact size. Kids can easily handle the call duck, and it is easy to fall in love with them. Extra care should be taken with them when they are young, but they become very hardy as they mature.

Muscovy Ducks Make Great Pet Ducks

Muscovy ducks are one of the oldest types of ducks, and homesteaders usually keep these adorable birds as pets. Muscovy ducks are not aggressive toward humans and often become attached to their caretakers.

Unlike other duck breeds, Muscovys are not quacking ducks. Instead, they are quiet, which means they would make a good pet for those who live close to another house or have neighbors.

Muscovy ducks come in many colors:

  • Blue
  • Buff
  • Chocolate
  • Lilac
  • Pied
  • White

Muscovy ducks are excellent foragers, as they keep the pest population down. Muscovy ducks have adorable babies, and they are easy to raise. These ducks are cool, calm, and collected. Muscovy ducks are also fierce and protective mothers.

Most predators steer clear when they see a mother Muscovy duck and her ducklings. (source) This avoidance is due to the Muscovy mother duck tearing into the face of whomever she may feel is a threat to her babies.

However, Muscovy ducks are great with humans they feel comfortable with and will like to sit beside their favorite human.

Conclusion

Ducks can make excellent pets if they are bred for human companionship and treated well. The Pekin duck, the Call duck, and the Muscovy duck can make delightful pets for your family.   

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