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The Six Duckling Minimum
& Waterfowl Abandonment
In Connecticut there is a SIX duckling
purchasing minimum. Unprepared families have no idea the
trouble that this will cause them NEXT spring when their
ducks are mature. They see the ducklings and buy on
impulse thinking: "how cute!" Furthermore, stores
sell these ducklings "straight run," which means
"unconfirmed gender." The odds of actually ending up
with the proper ratio of 1 drake to 5 hens is nearly
impossible. Since mature drakes will fight with one
another, the seeds of the abandonment cycle have just
been planted.
The unknowing family often will not
discover their new problem until the following Spring
when their drakes face their first mating season. Mature
drakes will fight and can inflict serious injury on one
another and on hens. Too many drakes and not enough hens
also leads to the over-mating of hens, which can lead to
serious (and fatal) reproductive injuries. Multiple
drakes can also easily drown a hen during mating
rituals.
Families faced with fighting drakes,
will often abandon their "excess" drakes on ponds
(usually discarding their alpha drake, who is the most
aggressive), which is why there are always more boys in
need of rescuing than females. Other families who become
overwhelmed by their "minimum six" purchase will abandon
any "extras" on ponds as well.
A family wanted ducklings, but only
having one pen for their adult ducks, should only start
with two ducklings. A pair of ducks will get along no
matter what gender they are:
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If both ducklings turn out to
be drakes, a bachelor pad is usually pretty peaceful
without a hen around to fight over. If you want to
add hens, you will need to build a second pen, so
each boy has their own area.
If you want ducklings, it is smart
to start with ONLY TWO, especially if they
are straight run. Then, if you want to, you can add
adult ducks of known gender to your flock and round it
out just the way you envision it.
Keep in mind that each pair of
ducks will need a pen that measures approximately 250
square feet. Anything less than this often results in
hard packed ground that won't grow grass, which is very
bad for webbed feet and leads to foot pad infections and
bumblefoot. As it is with a 250 square foot pen, you
will probably need to turn over the ground every spring
and reseed grass.
Tractor Supply "Chick Days"
Tractor Supply runs a
national, month-long campaign to push the sale of
ducklings. They have surrounded the live birds in their
stores with skids of grain. It is an obvious attempt to
utilize living animals as impulse items to boost their
product sales.
With as many as 50 ducklings per store,
they are encouraging buyers to purchase ducklings and
then go to their website for care information. Their
website does not offer any care information specific to
ducklings or ducks.
This irresponsible and inhumane practice
is unacceptable and is contributing to our national
issue of domestic waterfowl abandonment. This is your
chance to be a part of the solution. Make your voice
heard!
Visit
Tractor Supply's website and copy and paste the
below message into their online "Contact Us"
form. Edit the message as desired and then click
on "Submit."
INHUMANE CHICK DAYS: I am contacting you
because I am alarmed that you are running a national
campaign that fosters the inhumane treatment of animals.
Selling ducklings as an impulse item is irresponsible
and often results in their subsequent abandonment on
public ponds. These domestic, non-flying birds do not
fair well in the wild and frequently suffer from
starvation, injury and death. Pushing the sale of these
ill-fated ducklings to further your bottom line is
inhumane. Selling pets without providing proper and
specific care instructions fosters a cycle of neglect
and abandonment. Please reconsider this practice.
A note from our
wonderful volunteers at Sideways Farm, Kentucky who
alerted us to this tragic issue:
Many of you are aware that Eric and
I have pet ducks, most of which where rescued after
being dropped off at ponds. Every spring, some
misguided (or greedy) retailer sells ducklings as
novelties. Unsuspecting individuals purchase these
darling ducklings for their children, not realizing
that in a matter of about 6 weeks, they will have a
full-grown duck to care for. These ducks have
imprinted on humans and DEPEND ON HUMANS FOR THEIR
CARE AND FEEDING. These are domesticated animals
that CANNOT FEND FOR THEMSELVES IN THE WILD.
Most people think that dropping them
off at their local pond is giving the ducks the
"good life;" little do they know that what often
happens to them is that they are eaten by one of any
number of predators: dogs, hawks, owls, raccoons,
opossums, fox, coyotes, even snapping turtles. If
they don't find their demise in this horrific
manner, they are likely to be hit by a vehicle (they
CANNOT fly) or starve to death. Well-meaning
individuals think that feeding ducks bread is doing
them a favor, but it simply fills their bellies up
with worthless, nutrition-less mass, and keeps them
from foraging for something that may give them the
nutrition they need.
Tractor Supply has implemented a
month long "special" of selling ducklings.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE help the ducks plight and go
to the above link. Maybe they will stop this
practice that sends THOUSANDS of animals to a
certain and horrible death.
I've had the pleasure of having
ducks in my life for about 5 years now--trust me,
they are every bit as smart, funny, and loving as
your cats and dogs. Eric and I realize that having
ducks may be a little unusual, and we always take
the good-natured ribbing in stride; but trust me:
these animals have a soul, and deserve a better
fate. Please help. Thanks so much in advance,
everyone.
Glynis & Eric Huffman
Sideways Farm, KY
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