Family heartbroken to find out backyard ducks not allowed in Miamisburg

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Since June, the family has housed them in a little fenced-in area they made. They feed and care for them, even give them medicine.

“He has a vitamin deficiency,” Govoni said of one duck.

The ducks even have served as sort of therapy animals for her son who has autism, she said.

Credit: SEAN CUDAHY / STAFF

Credit: SEAN CUDAHY / STAFF

“My kids love them, everybody in the neighborhood loves them,” Govoni said.

But the family was surprised earlier this week when a city official told them they may have to get rid of their ducks, and if they don’t could face a citation.

Backyard poultry is a controversial issue, with many cities outlawing the practice, including Miamisburg. Govoni said she had no idea her family was breaking the law.

“I started crying at him, like ‘what can I do?’ ... I’m like ‘what can I do?’”

City officials issued the following statement regarding the city’s policy on backyard ducks or chickens:

“I understand ordinances, I understand city laws, but ... they’re not harming anybody, they’re not a nuisance, no one’s complaining about them. It’s not like we’re raising them to slaughter them. We literally have them ... no different than our dogs or our cats or anything,” Govoni said.

That’s also why Govoni is concerned about what would happen if she had to get rid of the ducks.

“I’ve raised them since ducklings,” she said. “We’ve had them since they were little yellow and brown chicks.”

Credit: SEAN CUDAHY / STAFF

Credit: SEAN CUDAHY / STAFF

“It’s heartbreaking to think to have to get rid of them them. ... I can’t give them to a pond. This is what they know; they know we feed them, we take care of them.”

For now, she is in limbo as she asks for the city to give her time while she searches for an answer.