Easter Chicks, Bunnies, Often Left To Die, Experts Warn

New Haven Register

By Lauren Garrison

Caption:  Kim Link has been caring for Toulouse ganders Tutter (left), and Angelo since they were found dumped and injured in a parking lot. She owns Majestic Waterfowl Sanctuary in Lebanon CT., and cares for ducks and geese purchased as pets and later abandoned.  Photo by Peter Hvizdak

Two years ago, a Pekin duck appeared on the pond next to Rita Millak’s Seymour house.

Millak began feeding the hungry white waterfowl she eventually named “Hildegarde.”

But when autumn came and cool weather set in, Millak started to worry. She knew that Hildegarde, most likely a domestic duck and onetime pet that had been discarded by her owner, couldn’t fly and wouldn’t survive winter. Millak called veterinarians, police departments, animal control and the Audubon Society, but no one would step up for Hildegarde.

Millak said people who buy ducklings as pets and then abandon them later on is a common problem, particularly in the months following Easter. She’s been posting signs in Seymour warning people not to abandon their pet ducks because they won’t survive.

People who buy domestic ducks should be required to sign a statement agreeing not to release the animals into the wild, she said.

Fortunately for Hildegarde, Millak’s husband found Lebanon-based Majestic Waterfowl Sanctuary and contacted its president, Kim Link. Link promised to come out and rescue Hildegarde.

But one night, the temperature dropped to zero degrees. The next morning, Millak found Hildegarde trapped in the frozen ice in a brook next to the pond. Millak used a mallet to chip Hildegarde out of the ice, brought her inside and into a tub of water, and allowed her to pull the ice off her feathers.

Two hours later, Link picked up Hildegarde.

Hildegarde was one of about 100 abandoned domestic ducks and geese Link and her husband, Anthony, have taken in since they opened their sanctuary 3½ years ago. They’ve had to turn away many more for lack of space.

Ducks and geese can be affectionate companion pets if raised correctly, said Link, but many people are unable or unwilling to do so.

According to Link, many of the animals they take in were disposed of at ponds, like Hildegarde. Others come directly from owners who no longer want them after realizing “they’re too big, too messy and they don’t crack jokes like Aflac,” said Link, referring to the popular TV commercials.

Others are abandoned by schools’ hatching programs, she said.

“They’re so cute when they’re tiny, but they grow up fast and people are generally not prepared for these kinds of animals as pets,” said Stephanie Shaine, director of outreach at Humane Society of the United States.

HSUS’s Web site warns, “Bunnies, chicks, ducks and other animals are adorable, but resist the urge to buy or adopt a pet on impulse.”

This impulse is particularly strong around Easter, when images of these animals in cartoon and candy form pervade stores, signs and television programming.

Fortunately, said Shaine, the number of stores selling these animals to the public has declined.

But Link said she hasn’t observed any such decline. She gets about 100 e-mails a year from people who bought ducklings at Easter and need advice or want to get rid of their pet.

A survey of grain stores in the New Haven area, including many Agway stores, found that the majority of retailers do not sell live animals.

But Benedict’s Home and Garden in Monroe, which stocks rabbits, baby ducks and chickens, admits it sells “hundreds” of animals in the early spring around Easter time, said Jane Flater, assistant manager.

The older chickens go mostly to farms, she said, but the baby ducklings and chicks are often purchased by families. Under state mandate, individuals must purchase at least six animals at a time to show they’re “serious about it,” Flater said.

Majestic aims to “stop the cycle of abandonment” by educating the public about the care they’ll need to provide a duck or goose before they go out and purchase one.

To start, zoning regulations in some towns limit owners’ ability to keep ducks and geese in residential zones.

New Haven regulations prohibit the keeping of ducks and geese on residential properties. Branford and Madison regulations allow for ten or fewer ducks and geese on residential properties. In Shelton, residents may only keep ducks or geese if they live on five or more acres, which is considered a farm under the city’s zoning regulations.

Many people are also unprepared for how large their ducks and geese grow, said Link. Male Pekin ducks grow to 7 or 8 pounds and stand almost 2 feet tall, while geese can weigh over 20 pounds and stand 3 feet tall.

Ducks and geese also require specialized diets, and it’s difficult to find vets who will treat them, said Link.

These pets are also particularly vulnerable when kept outside since “they can’t run, they have no teeth, they can’t fly, so any kind of predator can take them,” Link said.

They must be kept in a predator-proof pen in the back yard during the day and should be locked up in a shed or barn at night.

Provided you care properly for your duck or goose, it will live from 8 to 15 years.

Hildegarde was one of the lucky ones. She was adopted by a family in Virginia.

Article originally published March 20, 2008