Heya guys, I was thinkin of getting myself a Pekin duckling, if I can find one, to add to my dove act. Either using it with a micro lions bride or as a stand alone production. I'd like you guys to share some experiences, pros and cons and limitations that you've had with performing and keeping ducks. Cheers!

Pros
They make a huge impact.
Your audience will love them.
They are funny.
You can use corny jokes like, “This will quack you up”

Cons.
They smell real bad.
They are not always quiet in their compartment like doves are.
They are not quiet at ALL in my back yard!

I will probably not replace my ducks when they die, if that tells you anything.

I agree with the pros and would add to the cons
They are incredibly messy birds compared to doves, they do their duck business everywhere and seem to produce incredible amounts of it.
They can be pretty ornery birds as well.

On one other good note, they will keep the snails out of your yard, though what they leave behind will be far more fertilizer than you really want.

What kind of food do ducks eat? Do they need a bucket of water? Can they live inside a garage? What type of white duck is the best to have and where would you find a good source for quality ducks? Do they bite? Are they easy to train? Is it a good idea to own two female ducks versus two male ducks?

First of all, I live in an apartment which is why I thhought of a duck to produce. Its a large bird and its not a cokatoo or a macaw to make loads of noise or tear up your woodern furniture. Did some research and looks like you cant keeps ducks here as pets. Unless you get them from a farm. Farm don't wanna sell you their ducks... Pet shops don wanna waste time bringin in Ducks. This can be frustrating. I've got a lot of wooden furniture at home needless to say props and illusions made from wood. I really want to produce a big bird in my dove act as a finale and I finally found what I could be looking for. A toucan. only set back is that its not black or very colorful. So a doves to toucan using a 'blammo box' or lions bride may be funny. At the same time, it could be otherwise coz David Bass does a doves to python...confusing.... grrrrrr

Jcmagician,

I am not an expert on ducks but I can tell you I feed mine cracked corn and keep them outside year round. They have a “kiddie” pool to swim in most of the year, except in the winter as they are not very good ice skaters. I’m sure they would be fine in your garage. They do not bite and are about as easy to train as doves. I can also tell you the females are much noisier than the males---I wouldn’t think of saying that they are like humans in that way.

As soon as Ken gets his stitches out, the casts off and out of traction, (LOL) we will ask if that is true of doves too.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Thanks for your concern Bob, but I am OK. Doves are just the opposite. The males make the noise, but unlike ducks the noise is a very soothing Coo.

I use white call ducks in my act and they are small (about the size of a mallard) and do not get real big like pekin ducks. I use a duck bucket and where do the ducks go? for props. The pros I find are that audiences love them. I have booked a lot of shows simply because I talk about ducks in my promo materials. The white call ducks are small and they fit in props well. To avoid a lot of duck doo at a show I don't feed them prior to a show. They eat after the show! This has helped a lot in cutting down the droppings at a show or in props etc. The cons they can be smelly although I allow my ducks to bathe a lot and they really do keep themselves pretty clean. I feed them cracked corn and lots of water! I think for me it is a selling feature and for the return on investment in having & caring for them the return is great!

I have also found that having two drakes (males) are better than two females. They are much quieter and do well together. As far as do they bite? no they may peck at you and it feels like a pinch. Like any animal, if you take good care of them and spend time with them they will get to know you and will be really comfortable with you. My drakes are great ducks and make a big impact at my shows! They are used in my finally of the show and will even wave goodbye to the audience. They are a great addition but do need to be cared for!