Want to check “own a duck” off your bucket list? Well, it’s mandatory to become a duck parent (if you can dedicate a good outdoor space to ducks) not because they are hardier and low-maintenance but inexpensive to raise as well.
As per the rough estimate, more than 35 duck breeds are being domesticated for years, and out of all these domestic pet duck breeds, Pekin and Mallard are the most loved and admired ones. Ducks are kept for a variety of reasons but mainly as a pet or for meat, eggs, and feathers.
Now that the worth-sharing information is served, it’s time to get to our today’s subject of discussion. Since you can not keep one male or female duck as they are normally kept in pairs, we would be estimating the cost by keeping “a pair” in mind.
Let’s Find Exact Answer
How Much Does A Duck Cost? The popular pet duck breeds Call duck is being offered between $20 to $50, Pekin $7 to $10, Cayuga $8 to $20, and Indian Runner duck for $5 to $8.
Ducks are as inexpensive to get as inexpensive to keep. There are almost a hundred duck breeds so it’s hard to tell how much you would have to pay to bring a duck home.
Generally, ducks, no matter which breed they belong to, are being sold for a price somewhere between $10 to $30.
Ducks are not that expensive. If you are lucky enough to get your favorite duck breed from the local store located nearby you would probably save $5 to $10. As you must at least have to get one male and one female duck. So, expect double of the above-mentioned prices.
The story does not end here, as you have just got the pair that needs to be raised, so not including their monthly upkeep cost would not be fair.
Their annual and monthly upkeep cost is generally lower than most of the pet animals and birds. If you know how to grab the discounted or cheap deal, the annual upkeep cost may not even go above $300.(Source)
Ducks and other such waterfowl’s natural diet is insects, worms, amphibians, crustaceans, pondweed, seeds, and aquatic vegetation but pet ducks do not get to eat the same food as wild ducks.
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The pet ducks normally eat chicken feed, greens, grains, vegetables, mealworms, cracked corn, birdseed, and peas, etc.
So if the duck is given the typical pet duck food, the feeding cost can be expected somewhere between $30 to $40 monthly.
Most of you might think water is free, why are we including it in any way? Well, water is free but the electricity that gives access to water is not. The aspiring duck parents can expect $4 to $5 as water cost.
Veterinarian cost of the duck pets is generally the lowest of all costs related to duck raising. The well-pampered pet ducks seldom get sick, even if they do they hardly need a checkup.
Ducks are not taken to the vet’s as they do not entertain such aquatic birds normally. The special thorough check-up can be expected to make you pay around $20 to $30
Yes, pet ducks do wear diapers indoors, it’s uncommon but quite helpful if you are keeping ducks indoors most of the time. It’s totally up to you, this cost can be successfully avoided by allowing your ducks to roam around outdoors. Duck diapers can cost you around $30 to $40.
You can not always be there for your ducks, somebody has to cover you when you are gone.
A babysitter is not needed if you have a family to cover you but if for some reason you don’t have anyone to look for your ducks, hiring a part-time babysitter becomes necessary.
A part-time duck babysitting can be $10 to $20 a month.
These were the expenses that you have to bear every month but there are some other costs as well that can be termed as “one-time” costs. Since they can not be neglected at all, so let us highlight those as well. Learn Why Are Ducklings Yellow?
The one-time costs include the necessities you must have to keep or raise a duck. The one-time expenses would be housing, bedding, duck feeder, waterer, brooder, and nesting boxes.
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Ducks might be inexpensive to get and the cheapest to raise but building a duck-friendly house for your pet ducks is costly.
The duck’s house should be equipped with additional flooring, bedding, nesting box, brooder, and ventilator, etc.
The duck house with additional flooring, bedding, ventilator, enter and exit door can be built up to $100.Learn how to keep duck’s bedding dry.
Feeders and waterers are mandatory to give ducks a luxurious lifestyle.
The container pots can also be used for these purposes as well but the commercial-build feeders and waterers are handy and easier to eat and drink from.
The average feeders and waterers can be bought for $30 to $40 and $30 to $50.
The brooder is needed to give ducks a balanced environment especially in those crucial years when feathers are not fully developed.
The brooder we need for our pet ducks should be two in one, it must be able to cool down or heat up the environment when needed.
The two-in-one brooders are generally expensive costing aspiring duck parents $120 to $300. The brooder may be a bit expensive but fortunately, it’s a one-time cost.
The nesting boxes are typically installed to give ducks a comfortable place to lay and watch over their eggs. Besides the above-mentioned purpose, the nesting boxes are of no use. You can avoid this cost for some time if it’s not the breeding season yet. Nesting boxes also provide safety against duck predators.
As soon as the breeding season hits, it gets mandatory to get the nesting boxes installed. The nesting box can be bought online in the exchange for a price between $28 to $35.
That’s it, ducks do not demand anything extra than all the above-mentioned basic accessories, food, clean water, and a place to roam around. You may need duck incubators in the breeding season.
There are some other accessories as well, but they can only be categorized as “luxuries”.
Since we are trying our best to help you in becoming a pet duck parent in the most economical way possible, we have decided not to discuss the luxurious items.
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It’s important to mention here that only the first month would be heavy on the pocket, the rest of the months might demand you to save $50 to $60 only.
No, they are neither expensive nor hard to keep. Ducks are super hardy and low-maintenance, they normally do not get infected every other day like chickens.
Ducks are cheaper to raise as they do not need anything extra other than duck-friendly housing, balanced food, water, and an area to roam around.
Ducks are quite inexpensive, they can be bought for a price between $10 to $20. The local pet stores generally offer ducks at a much cheaper price, so if you are considering buying a duck from a local store nearby, you can expect to get it for $5 to $10.
Pet ducks mostly eat chicken feed as their natural diet is impossible to be arranged. Besides chicken feed, they eat weeds, grains, and some fruits, and vegetables. In treats, they can eat grapes, sunflowers, apples, and bananas. Additionally, you can feed rice, cheese, cat food, and dog food.
In brief, a pair of ducks can cost you around $150 to $200 in the first month whereas for the rest of the months the upkeep would not go above $50 to $60.
