A broad range of duck breeds is found inside Howard “Howie” Berkowitz’ ranch The Duck Sanctuary located in Anza, all placed strategically according to their needs and socializing tendencies. White Pekin ducks, Call ducks, Magpies, Khaki Campbell ducks, Muscovy, Runner ducks, White Faced Whistling ducks, Rouen ducks, Swedish Blue and Blacks, and 5 different breeds of geese including the poised Egyptian geese. “All of my birds are domestic breeds, all wildlife that comes here, goes to Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center, we are partners with them and take all the domestics they take in,” Berkowitz explains.
Berkowitz started The Duck Sanctuary over ten years ago at his home with 5 rescue ducks that had been abandoned at a feedstore one night. Berkowitz had previous experience raising chickens, so he thought “how different can ducks be?” Berkowitz, who has a background as a biochemist and a classic car collector, began his journey in the duck world.
“It didn't take long to find out that ducks are as cute as babies. Soon, they grow up to be big ducks that require a lot of maintenance and care as well as
a special diet and lots, lots of water. Nothing could have ever prepared me for what was going to happen in the following years. It turns out that lots of people haphazardly buy ducks as pets not knowing what's coming in the next 6 months. Ducks go from cute peeping yellow babies into full grown quacking ducks in just 6 months. People then find out how messy, noisy, and care intensive they are and most wind up being dumped at parks and lakes, only to be eaten by predators or starving to death. So, in the following few years, I went from 5 rescue ducks to a 100 rescue ducks,” Berkowitz states.
With the Easter festivities approaching, it is quite common for some families to buy baby ducks to keep them as pets. After a few months, these ducks usually end up abandoned or dead as a common way to discard them is to leave them in parks or in the wild. Ducks that have lived in captivity have no instinct for how to survive outside their known home.
A key fact to keep in consideration regarding owning
ducks, is that the proper zoning is limited as they are considered farm animals.
Berkowitz strongly advises against these practices due to the demanding nature of these birds. He spends approximately 6k a month to cover the basic needs of the rescued birds, and this amount does not cover medical bills.
The Duck Sanctuary is a 501c3 nonprofit, however for the last 10 years, Berkowitz has been using his own personal funds to support the sanctuary. “We take in any abandoned or surrendered duck, no matter the circumstances, if it needs a forever home. We not only take in ducks that have been dumped, but we also work with the Humane society as well as shelters from San Diego to Los Angeles. We are now the only southern California waterfowl sanctuary that gives them a permanent home,” Berkowitz concluded.
Despite some people’s claims from social media local groups online, The Duck Sanctuary does NOT sell any animals or any animal byproducts and is fully compliant with all County and State regulatory departments.
To learn more about The Duck Sanctuary visit:
https://www.facebook.com/theducksanctuary
https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-us-build-a-new-sanctuary
Andrea T. Smith
