Best way to mark Ducks

[DuckDuckPromise]

Would your ducks still have access to water? I would think the food coloring would wash right off.

Should ducks with bumble foot be allowed to swim?

 

[Sara S]

Oooh, that sounds like a good idea, but how can you use crayons?

Crayola * the markers

 

[sowNreap]

I seen the same picture!! I don’t remember where on here though. I’m so scared of strangulation, but I would love to do something like it!!!

Mine would never let me pick them up or hold still to do something like that. I used to be able to sort of pet 3 out of 6 of them, now just down to one. He sometimes wants to bite though & I hate having to scold him making the petting an unpleasant act so if he's in biting mood I just leave him alone. I won't tolerate biting.

 

[Isadora]

Should ducks with bumble foot be allowed to swim?

Personally I would only put the feet in water if I was doing a soak treatment. Otherwise I would want to keep it wrapped and clean.
I didn't know what your plan of treatment was so just wanted to make sure if you were using food coloring that your duck wasn't having access to water to bathe in.

 

[GR Appleyard]

Nail Paint?

 

[ruthhope]

Mine would never let me pick them up or hold still to do something like that. I used to be able to sort of pet 3 out of 6 of them, now just down to one. He sometimes wants to bite though & I hate having to scold him making the petting an unpleasant act so if he's in biting mood I just leave him alone. I won't tolerate biting.

I have a bitey muscovy. For the week between Christmas and New Year, he started full frontal attacks on me I think when his adult hormones kicked in. He had intensive therapy for about 10 days, but he hasnt done a flying attack since. He does however periodically forget he is not supposed to bite my feet. I got a large dog crate and he goes straight in there for 10mins or so if he bites me or my small pekin drake. He's now much better and I haven't bothered to take him to the crate today when he tried to bite my friend's feet. I just picked him up and held him under my arm so that he couldn't bite my friend. He knew he was behaving badly.

I think that if a duck's behavior changes, the duck is teachable to not bite. If the duck has bitten from being a duckling, it may not be possible. The dog crate "cooler" is working very well for me and you might get your cuddly duck back. Mine never was cuddly as a duckling but he accepts being picked up--even when that leads to being put in the dog crate-- and I sit and cooch him when he comes up to tell me all about whats going on, several times a day

 

[Weeg]

Would leg bands be okay? I think thats a pretty common and fool proof way to mark a bird. Theres lots of Etsy sellers who sell leg bands. You can also get them at the feed store.

 

[BReeder!]

Kool-aid works as a temporary dye.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

When one of my ducks ducks was being over mated I cut the toe end off a baby sock and slipped the cloth tube over her neck. She did not like it but it stayed on and gave her neck time to heal. It might work better than a bandana and be less of a choking hazard but a purple duck works too.

 

[sowNreap]

I have a bitey muscovy. For the week between Christmas and New Year, he started full frontal attacks on me I think when his adult hormones kicked in. He had intensive therapy for about 10 days, but he hasnt done a flying attack since.

Mine has never attacked me like that. He actually doesn't attack at all. The only time he tries to bite me is when I try to pet him.

I got a large dog crate and he goes straight in there for 10mins or so if he bites me or my small pekin drake. He's now much better ....

I don't know if it's a good thing or not but if he keeps trying to bite me after I say NO! I grab his bill and hold it for a couple seconds. That seems to work for me.

The dog crate "cooler" is working very well for me and you might get your cuddly duck back. Mine never was cuddly as a duckling but he accepts being picked up--even when that leads to being put in the dog crate--

I've never been able to pick him up. None of my Muscovy's are cuddly, they don't like being touched & can't pick them up. But I didn't get them until they were probably about 6-8 weeks old. No matter what I've done I can't get them to let me touch them.

My friend who helped clip their wings literally "fell" on them in order to pick them up. She didn't like crushing fall on them but more like fell to her knees, arms outstretched, hunched over them & scooped them up. Treats didn't work, nothing worked, that was the only way we could do it. She would then hand him off to me to hold while she clipped wings since I'd never done it before I wanted to see how to do it. She got a few punctures and scrapes from the claws but it wasn't too bad. I'm not sure how I'm going to pick them up if I ever have too. Might have to try her way.

They'll all eat out of my hand but if I dare try to touch them while giving them treats they'll just walk away. They hate being touched more than they like treats.

Sorry for going off topic.