Aurora residents could soon keep domesticated ducks on their properties after the Aurora City Council approved the measure Monday night.
Council members voted 9-1 in favor of the measure on first reading, with Councilman Curtis Gardner voting against it. The second vote is likely slated for Sept. 12, according to city staff.
Duck owners must abide by certain requirements: They have to keep a minimum of two ducks as the ducks are social animals; single-family properties that are less than 20,000 square feet can have up to six chickens or two ducks and four chickens; single-family properties with 20,000 or more square feet can have up to eight chickens or two ducks and six chickens or three ducks and five chickens, or four ducks and four chickens.
Roosters will still not be allowed on residential properties within city limits.
The ducks and chickens — which were already allowed — have to have a covered “predator-resistant” house in a fenced-in yard that’s at least 2 square feet per hen or duck and the chicken and hens must have access to the coop and outdoor enclosure during the day. At night, they have to be secured inside from dusk to dawn. They also have to be sheltered so “as to prevent them from coming into contact with wild ducks or geese or their excrement, and to prevent them from running at large.”
From April through October, ducks have to have access to a single container with a minimum of 30 gallons of fresh potable water, according to the ordinance.
And owners will have to get a city permit.
While the City Council had serious questions about ducks running into other people’s yards and water features, they also took advantage of the opportunity to use as many puns as possible during the discussion.
At one point, Mayor Pro Tem Francoise Bergan asked, “do you have any concerns about quackery?”
Updated 3:45 p.m. Aug. 24, 2022: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the vote on the measure due to a misstatement by the city clerk.
