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Ducks, whether they are raised as farm animals or pets, are great animals to keep domestically. However, ducks have special nutritional requirements. If you do not feed ducks the right food, they will not grow properly. Poor duck nutrition can also lead to illnesses and even death in your flock of birds. Also, the wrong food can cause... more »
Relatively easy to raise and care for, Muscovy ducks are a wise pet of choice among anyone looking to exercise insect control in their yard, farm or ranch. Muscovy ducks are not the most popular breeds of ducks for domestication, but they are still capable of serving a purpose, making it well worthwhile to learn how to raise them. more »
Geese are more than just very large waterfowl. They have a particular purpose on the farm as geese make excellent watchdogs for a flock of ducks. If you are raising waterfowl for eggs or for meat, it is always a good idea to have these "guard" birds handy. The proper conditioning and handling will have these large birds happy and... more »
A duck pond might already exist in your backyard, but you can also create one to enhance your yard and sustain your local wildlife. However, when you have a duck pond, you need to properly manage it and provide nutritious plants for the ducks. If you plan on hunting the ducks, this should be done no more than once a week so you don't... more »
Many people think that ducks are the perfect pets. They kill unpleasant insects, are easy to train and will even keep your yard weed free. However, pet ducks do have one drawback--they are not housetrained. Most duck owners use duck diapers to prevent their pets from leaving squishy, dirty "presents" lying around. You can purchase... more »
After a name is agreed upon, a baby nursery theme is next on the list. With advice on...
Adding ducks to your poultry yard can bring interest and variety to your life. In the right environment, the birds pretty much take care of... more »
With nearly 22 million ducks raised in the United States each year, more and more small farm operations are adding ducks to their yards. Besides... more »
Ducks are sociable, lovable creatures that provide companionship as pets and provide eggs as farm animals. Looking after fully grown ducks is a... more »
Ducks may not be traditional pets; but many people raise them right in their own backyards. You don't need to live on a farm or have lots of land;... more »
There are several breeds of ducks. Each duck egg may hatch in different timeframes. The following steps will show you how to hatch eggs from the... more »
Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies listed in full in the Anatidae article; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered ducks. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water.
Ducks are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes, gallinules, and coots.
Etymology
The word duck comes from Old English *dūce, a derivative of the verb *dūcan "to duck, bend down low as if to get under something, or dive", because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending; compare with Dutch duiken and German tauchen "to dive".
This word replaced Old English æned "duck", favored by æned presumably developing into a homophone of the outcome of Old English ende "end". Other Germanic languages still have similar words for "duck", for example, Dutch eend "duck" and German Ente "duck". The word æned was inherited form Proto-Indo-European; compare: Latin anas "duck", Lithuanian ántis "duck", Ancient Greek nēssa/nētta (νήσσα, νήττα) "duck", and Sanskrit ātí "water bird", among others.
Some people use "duck" specifically for adult females and "drake" for adult males, for the species described here; others use "hen" and "drake", respectively.
A duckling is a young duck in downy plumage"Duckling". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Republished by dictionary.com, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/duckling, Accessed 05-01-2008. or baby duck."Duckling". Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd., Republished by dictionary.com, http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/duckling, Accessed 05-01-2008.; but in th read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck
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