There are lots of reasons to appreciate spring, and one of my smaller delights is the appearance of marshmallow peeps in the stores. These are a much better addition to an Easter basket than a real chick or duck, too. The same goes for chocolate bunnies. I’ve written about rabbits as pets before, but have never said much about ducks or chickens.

If you live in within Jamestown’s city limits, you may not have “…barn animals, including but not limited to cows, horses, pigs, goats, sheep, chickens, ostriches and other similar livestock.” That should take care of things, but what if you live in an area where chickens and ducks are permitted? First, in New York State, you must purchase at least six chicks or ducklings if they are under eight weeks old. These birds are flock animals and aren’t meant to live without some pals.

Since many of my friends have animals of all kinds, I asked who had fowl and what it was like to keep them. The first response was from a woman who received live animals as an Easter gift when she was a child. “I received a duck and a chicken…for Easter. The chicken grew to be a mean rooster and the duck was crippled.”

Another responded that her biggest lesson about chickens was that they needed quite a bit of space. Six chickens might not need much, but if you build up a flock, you’ll need more than just a house lot to keep them happy and productive.

Ducks need water. That should go without saying, but someone giving a duckling as an Easter gift may not be thinking about what the adult animal will need. There’s a great website about ducks, http://ducksandclucks.com/blog/2013/06/14/want-a-pet-duck/. Here are a couple of excerpts from that site, in case you think you want a duck.

“Ducks are…more emotional than cats or dogs. If you raise one duck and that duck depends on you, you cannot leave that duck alone for even one day without that duck missing you and getting upset/depressed/scared when you are gone. Don’t do that to a duck. Ducks need duck friends.”

“Ducks poop everywhere. You cannot train them.” That means that if you have an artificial source of water, you will have to clean it periodically to keep it fresh, as well as cleaning their pen. You also have to have a predator-proof area for your ducks. Ducks need daily care and they can live up to 20 years or more. To quote again from the duck website, “There is no such thing as a duck sitter…Ducks require complicated care. Note: none of your friends or family wants to watch your duck while you are on vacation. They asked me to tell you that.”

I had not thought of it, but apparently, ducks bite. “Some male ducks bite all the time. They do not bite because they are mean. They bite because they love you. They bite hard…You must wear long sleeves and long pants and socks and shoes to visit your ducks.”

Finally, “Ducks are more maintenance than the space shuttle.” Bob Tarte wrote that line in his book, ‘Enslaved by Ducks.’ Believe him. Don’t get a duck. Just read his book instead.”

Turkeys are not generally on the list of pets given for Easter, but one of my friends had turkeys and hers, at least, were wonderful pets. “They are sweet. They sat on the porch swing with us in the evenings, watched as my husband worked in his shop, and loved going for walks with the dogs.”

This same friend recommended against geese unless you wanted guardians. “The gander can be deadly. My method to ensure I didn’t get attacked worked better than all the advice I was given. Instead of kicking him or chasing him with a broom if he attacked, I grabbed him up and hugged him, telling him how pretty he was. I made kissy noises and petted him from his head down to his back, crooning a little love song. He hated that with a passion so he gave me a wide berth. He would rather attack the UPS truck than mess with me.”

So, unless you have the space and the time to devote to any live animal, be it chickens, ducks, or cute rabbits, and are prepared to care for those animals properly, and for their lifetime, stick with marshmallow peeps and chocolate bunnies for Easter. They don’t need special housing, or daily care, and they are delicious.