Another Duckling Question

[Violet22]

The 2 runners I raised from babies are really calm, and friendly. I bought 2 adult females last year so I would have more girls for my boys. They are very skitterish, and terrible mothers, I found one perfectly formed little duckling in half it's shell today that I think they killed by trampling it when they freaked out about something. They have one baby that is lucky to be alive, and I would like to remove it, but I don't want it imprinting on me. If they hatch another one, I think I will remove the babies. But.............is their skitteryness genetic, and will their babies be like that? If it comes down to whose I keep, I want to keep the calm ones. The runner that I raised has always let me near her and her babies, (might have helped I would take her peas while she sat on her nest!) and her babies are calm and bold, and that is what I want.

 

[ChickenToes]

I'm not sure about the genetics involved, but I would say you've got a good chance that the babies will be friendly and social. Handle them all the time and socialize them, and they will have a better chance of becoming friendly adults, even though Runners do have a tendency to be skittish.

 

[Violet22]

Thank you for your post.......I hope so! I was so mad at them this morning when I found the trampled baby, I may even get rid of them after all this.

 

[dieselgrl48]

The first runner duckling's I got were from Mc Murray.I didn't have any problem's brooding them.They trained up pretty easily too for going to sleeping quater's as well.Sadly I lost most of a flock of 14 due to some dog's so I never got to hatch any of my own except maybe a couple of mixe's from the very few survivor's I did have.Mine were doing really good too and was about laying age when they got took down

.The most skiddish I have ever hatched are Cayuga.I hatched 2 in Jan. and have lost one of them already but the other one seem's to do ok around the other duck's.

 

[JosieR]

My Cayugas are worse than my runners. My runners will come right to my feet, going on about whatever they're trying to tell me. Tonight I spent AN HOUR trying to get that last Cayuga put to bed for the night. My runner and my Cayuga drake see me with the bag of peas "Oh, it's bed time!" up the ramp they go. My other runner close behind, my other Cayuga following her.

That last freaking duck, scared of me, scared of the peas. Eating them only after they've been on the ground for a while and are warm

Seriously, scared of the sound the bag of peas made when I moved it, afraid of the sound the peas made hitting the ramp.

I'm covered in bug bites and only after my husband came out and we both walked towards her from opposite side and sort of funneled her to the ramp did she go up it.

The entire time the runners were standing up in their house, right next to and almost at eye level with me yakking away (probably about what a paranoid dummy that last Cayuga was LOL)

 

[Amiga]

Runners have a tendency to be high strung. They absolutely hate feeling cornered. I have eleven of them, and we had to work on their fear response to me that began at about three weeks. Since they were about six or seven weeks old, things have been fine. They can get spooked, but they settle down quickly. Usually, if they are concerned, they just walk quickly into their little house and watch from there.

If the runners have not been worked with from an early age, their natural tendencies to be mistrustful and panicky may be tough to smooth out.

I am prejudiced, but I think runners are really great, and I would keep them and work with them.

 

[Violet22]

Oh I love the runners I raised from babies!! They are my favorite, the most friendly and definitely the leaders of the rest of the gang. The two that are skitterish, I got as adults from a guy who didn't handle them at all. I would love more, and I am hoping some of my babies will look like runners instead of their dad who isn't. The two skitterish ones I got as adults, I may keep, I just was so upset today when I saw the trampled baby.

I won't do anything with them yet, I'll wait and see what happens. They are the only ones that have been mean to my other ducklings too, and pick fights with the rest. They have never really settled in with my others and it's been 9 months since I've had them. Everyone else gets a long great with no fighting. Depending on how many babies I end up with, I may have to get rid of some........I think I would rather keep two of the babies than two adults who may never settle down.