Best treat?

[Miss Lydia]

Mmm Good!!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Yep, agree with others about the mealworms...all my birds lose their minds if they hear a plastic bag shake at all! @WannaBeHillBilly was able to successfully switch from the mealworms to cat food though!

Switched? - Not really! I still have a small stash of dried meal-worms and whenever they see me picking up that container the duck-alarm goes off and there are 24 quackers in front of the patio deafen everybody: »We want meal-worms!«

 

[KaleIAm]

My ducks, like all the others have said, are obsessed with mealworms. I say, "come here ducks," and they come running as fast as they can. They also love grape tomatoes.

At one point I adopted 4 ducks who had been abandoned on a lake. They were really scared of me and preferred it if I didn't look at them. So I didn't. I looked at the ground near them. It really helped. I moved very slowly around them, and avoiding walking directly toward them. Everyday, several times a day, I slowly tossed mealworms near them and then slowly walked away.

After a week of doing that I slowly tossed mealworms, and then slowly walked 10 feet away and sat down in the grass (not looking at them) being as still and quiet as I could be. When I got up to leave I spoke softly first and then crawled backward and got up so slowly.

The next week I walked only 8 feet away to sit down, then the next week 6 feet, then 4, then I sat down right next to the mealworms. The week after that they were eating from my hand and while they did I softly repeated, "come here ducks."

Basically I trained them to associate the mealworms with me, and then with a phrase. Now they follow me around and one even hops up into my lap. But mine are pets and I spend tons of time with them.