Live Duckings Bunnies and Chicks Make Poor Easter Gifts

People planning to buy ducks, chickens, or rabbits for Easter should avoid the quick cute route to a gift unless they have adequate knowledge, space, and resources!

For instance ducklings grow fast! Their growth rate is about an ounce a day! Ducklings look cute in the first week, but then they get older, messier, and harder to handle. If you have raised ducklings like my daughter, you learn to love them at every stage of development, but many parents aren't looking past Easter morning.

Chickens and rabbits are no different. Many people buy them for their young children. This is a mistake. Very young children don't understand the responsibility in caring for these animals. A child's small hug can kill a duckling, chick or rabbit.

Ducks make great pets if you are willing to make a commitment. Many people don't know what to feed ducklings either, according to my daughter they do not eat bread. In fact bread can be very bad for them as it replaces other foods that have nutrients essential for their growth and well being like duck feed or crumble which can be found at farm stores. So this year, for the little ones, get a stuffed animal. If he or she likes live ducks, then visit a local farm.

Releasing a duck into the wild is not a responsible option and will only meet with limited success depending on the breed, age and location. If your duckling is mostly yellow it is most likely a pekin. These ducks are not bred to fly and would have a difficult time evading predators. Even if your duckling/duck is a mallard, one of the most adaptable to captivity and the wild, if its flight feathers are not in it also will have a hard time evading predators. Lastly location, some conservation land near your home teaming with domestic and wild predators is not the ideal location to carelessly dump a duck.

If you don't know how to properly care for ducks, rabbits or chickens, maybe get some colorful fish that are a little easier to care for. Fish are a lot of fun to keep and they are very relaxing to watch. I recommend tetras because they are hardy and easy to care for. So please don't buy a duck, chicken or rabbit this Easter unless you know their care. The following are some websites where you can do some more research if you really have your heart set on a duckling.

www.ducksducksducks.com A great all around duck website for children and adults.

www.liveducks.com A great website for duck care.