Getting Started with Ducks

Ducks are the real clowns of the bird world, some people think that title should go to parrots, or possibly budgies, but they don't know what they are talking about, really it's the ducks who have the best sense of humor. Ducks are all of intelligent, daft, practical, easy to keep, generous and charming, all bundled together into one neat tightly-feathered package. They come in a huge array of different sizes and colours, and no matter which of the breeds you choose you can at least be assured your birds will repay your efforts ten fold.

But really, why keep ducks?

For the vast majority of keepers the answer will come down to one of three choices:

As cute family pets that the children will love.
As productive egg layers for the best possible cakes.
As meat birds to be reared and slaughtered for the table.

All of these are sensible reasons to keep ducks.
On the other hand, if you are looking to start a business then you need to think long and hard about whether that's a good idea; ducks are demanding when reared intensively, needing specialist equipment and a lot of space and time. Really, this book is for the home breeders and keepers, this book is here to answer all the important questions a new keeper might have, though if you are thinking in business terms then all the information is still highly relevant – you just need to think in much bigger numbers.

So let's get started with the most important question of all...