What are your ducks’ favorite toys/entertainment?

[HENS-and-MARES]

Hi! I’m doing a school project that involves looking at what helps keep ducks entertained. What do ya’ll provide for your ducks’ enrichment? Let me know if there is any specific type of toy/plants that your ducks like, or if they like something that’s not an option on the poll.

 

[KathiQuacks]

My adult ducks beg to be let out to free-range and swim on my pond every morning! They’ll pace back and forth the coop entrance and quack constantly until I open the door. Once on the pond, they’ll spend most of the day dabbling and filtering through pondweed and mud.

I don’t know if I’d call it entertainment, but my adult drake, specifically, has a strange fascination with my hen’s nest and eggs. Once my ducks return from free-ranging, he’ll rush over to the nest as fast as he can and SIT on it himself! I’ve had to keep the coop door closed during the day just so he’ll stay off, eat, and actually hang out with his hens. He’ll sit on it all night long, only moving so his hens can lay their daily eggs.

My ducklings, various ages, 2.5 to 6.5 weeks old, are enamored by hay and grass! They’ll happily chomp away at it any chance they get - I’d argue they like their grasses even more than swim time!

All of my ducks, old and young, now and in the past, have loved peas, mealworms, watermelon, cucumber, and eggs as treats.

Oh, by the way, your Blue Swedish is gorgeous

 

[MGG]

Mine just love to make and play in mud. And after that fill their clean pool with mud. This is their favorite time of year, lol. They do also like mealworms/bsf larvae, it's the only thing that tears them away from the mud temporarily. They think all new stuff is scary so no toys or anything here.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Snow. Honestly.


I have one, Doula, who will stand facing the wind so she can gobble snowflakes

 

[Jenbirdee]

everything except the toys.
my geese and my chickens like toys. but not the ducks

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Mine like none of these - mud, period. My three ducks are crazy about mud.

 

[ProudRedneck]

The BEST duck toy - comical video of my drake playing with this toy

 

[telandra2]

Ducklings: A rotting pine log I tossed into the pool. A dozen bits of adorable spent all day, every day stripping and eating any bit they could pry off. The adults couldn't get past the duckling swarm.

 

[HENS-and-MARES]

I don’t know if I’d call it entertainment, but my adult drake, specifically, has a strange fascination with my hen’s nest and eggs. Once my ducks return from free-ranging, he’ll rush over to the nest as fast as he can and SIT on it himself! I’ve had to keep the coop door closed during the day just so he’ll stay off, eat, and actually hang out with his hens. He’ll sit on it all night long, only moving so his hens can lay their daily eggs.

My gander does this lol. He goes broody more often and more consistently than my female geese

 

[HENS-and-MARES]

Thank you to everyone who responded! This was very helpful for my research project, and for setting up my duck pen to have more enrichment. Ya'll are awesome.