Can Ducks be Potty Trained??

[bluejeans]

the best way to potty train a duck is with a very low low low boy toilet bowl. they will naturaly go to it as long as you leave no other water around.

 

[MadDogLady]

I DO think ducks can be potty trained. Untill a couple of months ago i only had 3 chickens but one passed away so bought a bigger pen and run and bought 6 new chckens and 3 ducks. The chickens went into the new bigger run and the ducks into the old chicken run. One thing i can garentee is there is less poo inside the coop when i scoop in every morning and as soon as they are out they are pooping all over the place. I really do think with routine and effort you can slightly toilet train them.

 

[DucksAndGardens]

My ducks come when I call them. I also have them trained to go outside in the morning when it's time to go foraging and then at night I can call them and they come back inside the house to go to bed. I still have mine sleeping inside at night because they are just coming up on 6 weeks.

 

[Amykins]

But HOW do you toilet train them? That wee-pad thing just flabbergasts me. I'd do anything to have my ducks poop on one of those!

 

[countrykid07]

i had two pet ducks for a long time, they both died a little over a year ago they were really old. But their names were Easton and Ted and i trained them to come when i call, give me kisses, lay down, and i actually potty trained them to go in their cage. Whenever they had to use it, theyd just walk up their little ramp and use it in the cage. this is how i did it: when Easton was little i noticed he always wagged his tail feathers before he needed to use it. so when i would notice he wagged his tail i would scoop him up and put him in his cage. Eventually he seemed to get that the kennel was were he needed to use it when he was inside, Ted pretty much just followed along lol. if anyone is curious the were both male american pekin ducks

 

[pattyhen]

Welcome to BYC Countrykid. That is a miracle that you trained your ducks to go in the cage. They must have been awfully smart. Are you planning on getting more ducks now?

 

[AimToMisbehave]

I read that ducks either don't have anal sphincters, or can't control them voluntarily (not a ton of studies conducted on the topic), so they have little to no conscious awareness of when/where they're eliminating.

 

[neaggie]

Aimtomisbehave- duck do have a anal sphincter. But being birds and evolutionally speaking, weight is a big factor when you main defense is to FLY! So they do not have a bladder of any size.

However, if you notice a duck or goose that is sitting on their nest, they rarely defecate on their nest. So do when they are laying single eggs, but when they have a clutch, they tend to get off the nest.

Again, an evolutionary thing: "IF the coyote doesn't smell my poop, well then it won't eat my eggs and me!"

That being said, it would take an enormous amount of time to watch your ducks and when they start their "I'm about to poop" wiggle (yup, they do) to scoop them up and put them in their cage, or a spot for them to relieve themselves.

They would also have to stay VERY CLOSE to their poop spot all the time for this to work.

i have a goose, that likes to come inside and nap on my lap. She has learned to stand up and squawk, and wants to be let outside, where she will poop and then come back inside.

Took a number of "NO!" and taking her outside before the learning took place.

and it is about 70% effective!

 

[Quackanory]

Totally agree with neaggie. Our ducklings shuffle backwards most times before they poop, so 'if' you were prepared to constantly watch them and react every time they pooped you may be able to condition them to prefer to poop in a particular location. I think they would need to be able to access the location within a couple of seconds though. & they don't *always* shuffle first. Often they poop while walking about and often they do random projectile poops!

I found it much less work to just make them some diapers (they're not available to order in the UK so I had to brush up on my sewing skills pretty quickly!)

Our ducks come when called and settle well at night, they'll also jump out of their bath in the sink when I put the hair dryer on! So they'll get used to routines pretty quickly.

Our ducklings are only just under 3 weeks old so haven't had a chance to really try teaching them any tricks yet. If I put treats in my hand and only give the treats to the duckling whose name I'm calling, after a few goes they'll learn when a treat is/isn't being given to them, so then only the duckling whose name I'm calling will respond. But I'm too undisciplined and usually end up just showering the pair of them with treats anyway!!

They adore treats though, so if I can restrain myself I'm sure I can get them to do a few simple treat orientated tricks. I'll be sure to let everyone know if I manage any!!

 

[Cayuga Grammy]

My daughter got her two Cayugas at 2 days old. We kept them in the house for the first 7 weeks. then put them outside in a 14x21 paddock we built with a 7x8 house. They are fantastic! They come when we call them. the ducks and our cat come when we whistle (like a dog). They walk all around our property with us. We could not seem to potty train them though. We tired and tried. They transitioned very well to their new house though. However, they imprinted on my daughter and now she's back in school full time. They do get lonely and mad at her. They love spending time with me and my boyfriend. We have our routines and outside time. This will be our first winter. They love sitting on our lap but do on occasion poop on us.