Anybody with experience letting mother duck raise ducklings that you want to be tame? I have questions.

[Gooseypoo]

The ducks, geese and chickens we currently have we raised lovingly by hand. Lots of snuggles and cuddles, individual handling, and they were kept in the house until they were large enough/feathered enough to go outside. They are all very friendly and easy to handle. I would like to get some ducklings started as we are down to only one hen and one drake but I don't have the time/energy/space to raise them by hand like we did the first batch. So I have been considering getting some fertilized eggs and inducing our hen to sit on them and raise them herself (I've done the research and know it is possible to induce broody behavior in ducks).

My question is this: since the parents are both so tame, do you think it would be possible for the babies to grow up comfortable around people even though they aren't going to be imprinted on us like their parents were? I really want to have more ducks, but not if they're going to grow up to be a wild, frightened mess!

 

[Gooseypoo]

... nobody...?

 

[FoodFreedomNow]

Of course it's possible...Nature vs. Nurture. Based on my experience, though, I think there's a much greater likelihood they'd be people-friendly if hand raised with lots of interaction. Best of luck.

 

[Luv Ducks]

The ducks, geese and chickens we currently have we raised lovingly by hand. Lots of snuggles and cuddles, individual handling, and they were kept in the house until they were large enough/feathered enough to go outside. They are all very friendly and easy to handle. I would like to get some ducklings started as we are down to only one hen and one drake but I don't have the time/energy/space to raise them by hand like we did the first batch. So I have been considering getting some fertilized eggs and inducing our hen to sit on them and raise them herself (I've done the research and know it is possible to induce broody behavior in ducks).

My question is this: since the parents are both so tame, do you think it would be possible for the babies to grow up comfortable around people even though they aren't going to be imprinted on us like their parents were? I really want to have more ducks, but not if they're going to grow up to be a wild, frightened mess!

 

[Luv Ducks]

I have two five year old Rouen hens that I got from a friend that wanted to get rid of them. I incubated two Mallard Rouen ducklings and hatched them out. They ended up being super friendly as I handled them daily and talked to them since they were in my living room until almost fully feathered. My older Rouen hens were always skittish. Now that they see these babies eat out of my hand and follow me around they also will eat out of my hand and have become a lot tamer. Ducks seem to play follow the leader and do what others do. The funny part is I hatched out two more and they are in my living room. They came out very skittish and still are even though I have raised them all exactly the same. I can't explain that. Hopefully your babies will follow Mom's tameness, Good Luck.

 

[Beaglegal]

All my mama raised ducklings behave the same way to me as the rest of my ducks. They learned their behavior from the group. They are friendly but wont let me handle them with out fuss.

 

[bhaugh]

I don't get cuddly with ducks. Muscovy drakes can become aggressive with their human caretakers if there is no respect boundary. And at 15+ lbs of flapping wings and nails it makes for a battle. But my ducks had to be tolerant of being handled for vetting. And aggressive ducks were removed from the gene pool.
Why do your ducks need to be cuddly. Most ducks can be friendly but don't necessarily need to be loved on. A mom raising her own ducklings can be tame but they most likely won't be like the adults. And that's ok.