Can Ducks Be Potty Trained?

There are at least one million reasons to love and keep ducks and all of them are equally convincing. Most of us take a step back because our idea is usually discouraged saying “they can not be kept indoors”. It is fair to think can’t be potty trained and kept indoors when you have heard it at least a hundred times. In this article, we would try to address whether the ducks can be potty trained or not? So, without further ado, let’s reveal the truth.

Can ducks be potty trained?

No, ducks can not be potty trained at all. They have been kept at the farms and even in houses as a pet as well but either the keeper has to make peace with them pooping around or keep them outdoors. 

Ducks can not be potty trained but some other pet animals can be

Frankly, these aquatic birds are not that great pets(no offense) as a house or potty training ducks are almost impossible. However, some small pet animals can be trained easily. The commonly known ones are;

• Rabbits
• Guinea pigs
• Ferrets
• Rats

Rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, and rats do test your patience with house and litter training but eventually, they start using the litter pans. Ducks or ducks like birds even after testing your patience would stay naive throughout their life, they would never use a  litter pan  “intentionally”.

If kept indoors, ducks would be pooping around everywhere

These aquatic birds are not categorized as ” house pets”, the outdoor environment suits these more. If kept indoors, they would be pooping around everywhere: kitchen, garage, bedroom, living area, dining room, bathroom, almost everywhere and will sicken to death. 

They can’t be potty trained but there is a solution, duck diapers!

Yes, duck diapers do exist. As these aquatic birds can’t be potty trained, so to keep them indoors around you, duck diapers were introduced. Though duck diapers have been around for ages still, most of us either do not know about them or find keeping ducks outdoors rather cheaper.

Even strict training and patience can not potty train these aquatic birds for a legitimate reason

You have been reading for the past 2 minutes that ducks can not be potty trained, what if we inform you that there is a legitimate reason for that. Duck house or potty training is impossible because these aquatic birds do not have sphincter muscles so they can not control defecation.

Ducks poop a lot, that’s even more challenging 

Ducks have no control over defecation and they poop a lot that makes the whole scenario even more difficult to handle. That’s why they can not be kept as house pets.

Now that the real reason why ducks can not potty trained has been revealed, let’s move ahead and see what else can be communicated.

Everything else you need to know

Ducks can not even help in water

Yes, the ponds ducks swim in are super dirty. As they have no control over poop, they can not even help in the water. Wherever they are, if they have to drop they would drop.

As per the experts, ducks poop around 20 times a day

Ducks of all ages poop a lot, the baby ducks poop every 15 minutes whereas the fully healthy and fully mature ones poop around at least 20 times a day. The little ones poop more than the adult ducks because their system is short and moves super fast.

If you want to own a bird that can be potty trained, consider getting a parrot instead

Parrots are probably the only birds that can be potty trained easily and quickly.

The tamed parrot requires even less time than the untamed ones, they would take only 72 hours to be potty trained. Parrots make great house pets, so if you want a bird that can be trained consider getting a parrot instead.

There would be some other birds as well that quickly learn to poop on command but parrots are the easiest ones to train. But potty training parrots does require patience, commitment, consistency, and positive reinforcement of course.

There are millions of videos and articles that teach us how we potty train our pets(only the ones that can be potty trained) but if we try hard to find one we would not find a single video or post on how we potty train our ducks. That’s another proof that ducks just can not be potty trained. 

Or have heard someone claiming that they have successfully potty trained their duck? No? Well, how would one claim when they can not be trained even with patience, commitment, consistency, and positive reinforcement.

Even if ducks do understand that the litter box is to be used for pooping, they would still not be using it for the purpose. Why? 

Hard work, dedication, and patience always pay off, we all agree but potty training a duck with dedication is a whole other scenario.

If one tries to teach his/her ducks what litter box or pan is for and they get it what is it bought for. Still, these aquatic birds would never be able to perform up to your expectations. The reason is that they can not hold in the poop like other house pets. 

Almost all duck keepers who keep ducks indoors use duck diapers

Bird enthusiasts hardly keep ducks indoors as the said birds are meant to breathe and forage grubs, slugs, and snails outdoors to produce healthy eggs and live a balanced life. Even if the experienced duck keepers do confine them indoors they prefer keeping them in duck diapers. First time before ducks go outside we need some stuff to keep clean.

Since diapers are the only solution, this post would be incomplete if it does not contain valuable information on duck diapers as well. Here is what you need to know about duck diapers

Duck diapers come in a variety of sizes and designs as they should be

It appears that even diapering ducks would be a hard nut to crack, well it’s not that tough. Fortunately, the duck diapers come in a variety of sizes and designs. Generally, most duck diapers require you to put the diaper strap over the head, move the diaper under the belly, and bring it over the tail. 

How often the duck diapers have to be changed, vary from duck to duck

Ducks, when they get to eat and drink more, would certainly poop more. So, on days when ducks eat more, more diapers would be required. The ducks that get to eat a balanced amount of feed every day can spend a few hours in the same diaper but the fellas that spend most of their day eating and drinking may not go more than one or two hours in the same diaper. 

Dirty Diapers Are An Issue For Ducks As Well

Dirty diapers are known for causing sores, rashes, and burns, and these issues are not just faced by humans but ducks as well.

The dirty diapers must be changed as soon as possible if left unchanged they would cause severe rashes, sores, burns, and even more alarming feather rot. Let’s not forget infections here, if unfortunately, the dirty diaper caused an infection you ducks would suffer more. 

Ducks can not be kept diapered all the time, they need a break from it too

Ducks are already doing you a favor to stay in diapers when the said birds are made to roam around free, it would not be fair to keep them in diapers all the time.

They need a break and a breath of fresh air too. Plus using it at a time of absolute necessity would save these poor aquatic birds from infections, sores, rashes, burns, and feather rots. And when giving them a break puts them in a good playful mood, why should they not be given a chance to?

Using diapers occasionally is a healthy

Ducks would be healthy if they get to live a “regular duck life”. Try putting them in diapers when you have no other option, at the time of taking them to the vet and allowing them to rest on your lap. Take them outside diaper-free, put them on only when you bring your duck pet indoors.

Liners would be a great option

The liners serve ducks the same. So Yes, duck diapers can also be made comfortable with liners. If your pet ducks share the bed with you, liners would be a fine idea as they are great in catching poop and preventing rashes and other common diaper issues.

Do not put on any other diaper that is not meant to serve ducks

We have often seen duck keepers bringing their ducks to the vet in a dog or other diapers that are not meant for ducks. It is just not recommended to use any other diaper other than the specific duck diapers even if they fit perfectly well. Using bigger diapers should also be avoided as they have the reputation of restricting movement and taxing the poor aquatic birds with an extra burden.

In brief, ducks can not be potty trained because they do not have sphincter muscles so they have no control over defecation.