Can you raise and care for a duck in your backyard?

Filed under: Poultry |

raising ducks
Image by Viewminder
I spent some time under Chicago’s Wacker Drive today.

It’s a construction site.

They’re demolishing the old Wacker Drive and rebuilding both the lower and upper streets.

I grabbed a hard hat and my camera and just walked all over the place under there.

At first people ran from the camera…

they ducked outta the way everytime I’d go for the shot.

Nobody threw me out though…

So I just kept at it until the workers kind of ignored me.

Then I shot a couple up close and showed them to the guys.

It really lit ’em up.

Even the boss lightened up for a minute or two and let the guys enjoy them.

They work a tough job.

The conditions are incredibly dangerous.

There’s stuff moving and flying and falling all over.

Rubble and debris from the demolition make it difficult to walk…

and easy to fall.

There’s dust in the air that destroys young lungs.

Big machines that’d crush you without remorse are moving around in the dark.

The men yell and swear as they swing hammers and move materials.

It sounds like a bar fight.

Until you listen more closely.

Then it sounds like a song.

A song men have sung over the ages…

as they work with their hands and their muscles and their backs…

to go home to their families sore with cuts and abrasions and dust all over them.

These are the men who trade their bones and their muscles and their vitality and health for a paycheck…

so they can raise their children and support the ones that they love.

So you and I can have a smooth street to drive on.

They work day and night for some pretty good money…

but I’ve watched the toll it takes on them all of my life.

It’s tough work.

It’s hard on the body.

We should all appreciate the job that they do.

Some of them don’t make it home to their families alive.

Faces under the street
Chicago 9.27.11
35mm 1.8 cropped square witht he contrast and expo demolished

Workin’ Man Zombie

Question by Tegan: Can you raise and care for a duck in your backyard?
My family is looking to adopt a duckling, but I do not know if you can raise one in your backyard. I am pretty sure you can, but I am also asking if the duck will not get the police called on us, I have heard they can be very loud and we live pretty close to neighbors. If you can then if you know how please tell me how to set up and cage or place where the duck can stay and be raised and where to get the stuff.

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4 Responses to Can you raise and care for a duck in your backyard?

  1. i just ate a whole roasted duck a few days ago

    Black Power
    May 3, 2014 at 12:53 pm
    Reply

  2. I don’t know, but I know people who have raised a bunch of ducklings in their yard. I don’t think the duck will get the police called on you, they never seemed that loud. And I think you can get the supplies from here: http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html Good luck!

    Lol
    May 3, 2014 at 1:51 pm
    Reply

  3. If you’re wanting to get a duck, I would adopt 3. Ducks are flock animals and do better with others than by themselves.

    You can keep ducks in your backyard, but I would look online or even call the city you live in to make sure it’s ok.

    You can also get different duck breeds that are less noisy than others if you’re really worried about your neighbors getting mad. Stay away from Call Ducks and Pekins, as they are some of the loudest. I recommend Muscovy Ducks. They aren’t the prettiest, but they really don’t quack. They are more like geese and make peeping noises and hiss. Though, they can quack and sometimes will quack, but not as much as other breeds of ducks.

    If you have the money, you can buy duck coops, or you can even look online (Craigslist) for duck coops. You can even buy a small shed to turn into a coop, or make your own. You need something they can stay in at night, and I suggest putting a lock on it to lock them in at night so no preditors can get to them and kill them. You may also want to look into building a run that is fully enclosed. Young ducks can be easy prey for large birds. A cheap way I’ve seen people make their set ups for their ducks is getting a dog house, and a fully enclosed dog kennel and putting a plastic kiddy pool in it for them to swim in.

    As for getting grit, duck feed etc. check your local feed store. Rural King, Tractor Supply etc.

    Good luck!

    Farmer's Daughter
    May 3, 2014 at 2:46 pm
    Reply

  4. If a neighbor complains they your panrts will be fined for it and will have to get rid of it

    That and they need to make sure they can even have one in city limits. And ducks are food, not pets

    Clockwork_Knight
    May 3, 2014 at 3:10 pm
    Reply

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