Ducks make popular gifts but aren't great pets for children

LEBANON, CONN. --Pekin ducks are, in no particular order: The mascot of insurance company Aflac. The model of Disney's "Donald Duck." The beloved pet on the NBC sitcom "Friends." The chief ingredient of a famous Chinese dish.

But the one thing Pekin ducks should not be, said Kimberly Link, are gifts for children. Especially the chicks.

"They're cute, but what people don't realize very often is they outgrow their cuteness very, very quickly," said Link, president of Majestic Waterfowl Sanctuary in Lebanon.

The nonprofit organization rescues dozens of starving Pekin ducks each winter from nearby waterways, where they are ditched after outgrowing their welcome.

Chicks shed their fur within two weeks to begin growing their creamy-white feathers, said Harlan Hyde, store manager of lawn and gardening supplier Agway.

They also grow quickly. Within six to eight weeks, adult ducks average about 9 pounds and 18 inches tall.

That explains why, come mid-summer, families who previously thought they'd be able to care for the ducks drop them off at places such as Spaulding Pond in Norwich's Mohegan Park.

But that can prove disastrous. Domesticated ducks have a hard time finding food in the wild. And in winter, predators such as dogs and wolves encircle ponds, driving the waterfowl into the freezing water, where they often die.

It is not uncommon, Link said, to come across half-frozen, half-ravaged Pekin ducks during the harshest winter months.

"There are state laws to try and help the situation, and we try our hardest to help educate people and let them know the responsibilities behind raising ducks," Hyde said.

He said Agway sold 120 chicks to residents and farmers during the four-week period leading up to Easter. And the store was all out of chicks by Easter Day.

Since Majestic began in 2004, Link said the organization has saved about 70 domesticated waterfowl.

A team of about eight volunteers lure the ducks into traps, then take them to the half-acre Lebanon sanctuary. The ducks are put up for adoption.

"We enjoy what we do here, of course, but it's really important for people to know that ducklings and goslings are very fragile and don't make ideal pets for children," she said.