What Duck to choose????

I can't address all the breeds you mentioned, but I can say from experience that we purchased a baby Pekin duck 7 years ago and I am very happy with the decision. He spent the first 3 weeks of his life in our bath tub and now lives in our back yard. I had no idea what an awesome pet he would be. Our son was 9 when we got him and "Jack" was happy to interact with our son and his friends. He gets along just fine with our dogs and swims with the neighbor's kids in our pool. I wouldn't generally say that ducks are highly interactive with people, but Jack is and is almost affectionate -- as much as could be expected from a duck. During the summer when we eat outside at the patio table, Jack comes over to beg for food just like the dogs -- he will even grab a hamburger bun off the table if we're not looking. I have even seen him dart between the legs of our Boxer to steal food out of his dog dish. He was raised as a single duck and evidently is not interested in other duck companions. In fact, a pair of mallards started flying into our yard every day last summer. The male mallard tried to attack Jack, who quickly waddled between my legs for protection. I would definitely say that it's important that all the kids interact with whatever duck you choose regularly and beginning at an early age. I wasn't aware of it, but apparently ducks can become one person pets.

I owned quite a few Rouen ducks. They are good animals. Gentle and smart. Good breeders and great parents. Good foragers. They get pretty large, therefore, it's highly unlikely they will fly away. Mine couldn't get out of the fenced area. Rouen's come in other colour combinations besides the mallard. However, I liked them best! And, if you don't want to feel guilty about providing a kiddie pool to play in, think about Running ducks. I hear they are good pets too. Have fun choosing! I think all ducks are basically good creatures.

OK, i have 8 ducks right now and 4 different breeds. they are just my pets. first of all i would recommend getting a pair to keep them more content because they are monogamous (except mallards).are you going to let them free range? i hope you can... they will stay in the general area unless they are alone then they will try to find a mate. if you are in a cold climate during the winter months than you will want a hardy breed. with all of your guidelines i would suggest a blue Swedish. they are big, flightless, genital and most of all beautiful!!! also if you like the penguin look runner ducks are all of the above.

4 kids and some ducks... who's gonna clean up the massive amounts of poo that these sweet and adoreable pets can pump out? I rescue them... ducks AND geese and I can tell you that just 1 duck is a lot of work. It sounds like you are informed about WHAT kind to get.... now what about husbandry? That's the most important issue that you're going to face. 1. What kind of bedding are you going to use? 2. What food are you going to feed it? 3. Did you know that they will eat their own eggs if they aren't getting enough calcium? The list goes on... learn more about the care taking and then your decision will be easier.

I had Pekins I got from Murray Mc and I really liked them. I had eight of them and they were always friendly. I have four children and I can't remember anyone complaining of bites or aggression. I think they are wonderful...but they are the only kind I have ever owned. They draw back is they aren't very smart. Two died getting into weird situations on our farm...and another couldn't outrun a neighbor's dog. We never ate them even though that was the original idea. However their eggs are good for cooking with. They turned out to be better pets and adorable "moving" lawn art. They love to travel about in single file lines just like country style art depicts. They got along great with chickens and some of them even took up residence in the coop.

Well of course we all like the breeds we have had. I like Muscovies. Some people think they are ugly ( red fleshy wattle around the eye ) Even though they could fly I never had any leave the yard. They were freindlier than the mallards or even pekin. THe only ones that seemed to like people even without food. But the Rouen is a pretty docile breed if a bit large.