Do human imprinted ducks ever stop crying when I leave?

[saschoey]

I have had a single duck I found as an egg for 12 weeks now and due to a bunch of circumstances (having to temporarily surrender her to WIRES because they thought she was a native, 2 different coop shipments being cancelled/delayed/sent to the wrong address/parts missing) we have only just got her a female friend to live outside with in their coop. However as she was raised with me and my family she is very much imprinted on us and quacks loudly at 6:30 every morning and every time we go back inside. We live in a small suburban area with neighbours overlooking our garden and are very worried the sound is annoying them (it even annoys us a lot) or worse, we are worried they’ll just kill them.
My question is will my duck ever grow out of being so reliant on us and bond more with the new duck or are they like that forever? I love her so much but if it’s not going to improve quickly I’m worried we might have to adopt her out along with the other duck. They have plenty of food and water and outside swimming time. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Good and bad news: Yes, she will let go of you, but it will need some time.
At an age of three months she is what i call a »ducknager« and teenager rules apply: They are loud and cheeky, bring themselves into trouble and in the end come back crawling to their parents for comfort…
You can help her getting over the fact that she won't be together with her humon flock for 24 hours anymore by making her outside environment as exciting as possible:

• Hide some treats in the grass, so that she will be busy finding those
• Make a mud pit for her, ducks love to drill holes into the ground and can they do that for hours
• A kiddy pool is irresistible and ducks love to bathe
• Sit down somewhere away from the house and feed some treats to both ducks, so they get accustomed to each other

And be consequent: Herd them into their house in the evening, feed them some treats and say "Good night ducks! See you in the morning." Then go back to your house.
It will take maybe a month and she will be fine, forgive you and be a normal duck.

 

[sourland]

She may eventually bond with the new duck, but it will take time. This is one of the reasons supplying a singleton duckling or chick with a mirror for 'company' is a good idea. Good luck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Good and bad news: Yes, she will let go of you, but it will need some time.
At an age of three months she is what i call a »ducknager« and teenager rules apply: They are loud and cheeky, bring themselves into trouble and in the end come back crawling to their parents for comfort…
You can help her getting over the fact that she won't be together with her humon flock for 24 hours anymore by making her outside environment as exciting as possible:

• Hide some treats in the grass, so that she will be busy finding those
• Make a mud pit for her, ducks love to drill holes into the ground and can they do that for hours
• A kiddy pool is irresistible and ducks love to bathe
• Sit down somewhere away from the house and feed some treats to both ducks, so they get accustomed to each other

And be consequent: Herd them into their house in the evening, feed them some treats and say "Good night ducks! See you in the morning." Then go back to your house.
It will take maybe a month and she will be fine, forgive you and be a normal duck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

If you only have the one and she imprinted on you of course she’s going to cry for you, your her flock. Give them time they will bond. Do you keep them in a secure area when they are outside? Knowing they are safe helps you be more peaceful at letting them be left out there to bond.

 

[saschoey]

If you only have the one and she imprinted on you of course she’s going to cry for you, your her flock. Give them time they will bond. Do you keep them in a secure area when they are outside? Knowing they are safe helps you be more peaceful at letting them be left out there to bond.

They are in a very safe coop that is “built for about 6 chickens to live permanently” as the place we bought it from said. The only problem is I work full time and don’t feel safe leaving them out unsupervised all day... my mum will let them out for a few hours but that’s the best we can do. The coop has shade and 2 water buckets they can sit in and grass for them to nibble at.

 

[chickens really]

Give it time. Don't go to her when she calls. Eventually she will adjust.

 

[saschoey]

Good and bad news: Yes, she will let go of you, but it will need some time.
At an age of three months she is what i call a »ducknager« and teenager rules apply: They are loud and cheeky, bring themselves into trouble and in the end come back crawling to their parents for comfort…
You can help her getting over the fact that she won't be together with her humon flock for 24 hours anymore by making her outside environment as exciting as possible:

• Hide some treats in the grass, so that she will be busy finding those
• Make a mud pit for her, ducks love to drill holes into the ground and can they do that for hours
• A kiddy pool is irresistible and ducks love to bathe
• Sit down somewhere away from the house and feed some treats to both ducks, so they get accustomed to each other

And be consequent: Herd them into their house in the evening, feed them some treats and say "Good night ducks! See you in the morning." Then go back to your house.
It will take maybe a month and she will be fine, forgive you and be a normal duck.

Thank you!! Would you suggest keeping them in the coop mostly (it’s been storming and very hot here in Australia) to get them used to it or bringing them outside as much as possible? But when we do take them out my duck cries unless I stay outside

 

[Miss Lydia]

I don’t blame you being safe is very important. Just give them time, while your at work they are together right? They’ll soon be best friends.

 

[saschoey]

Update: almost 4 weeks later and the quacking is no better... it might actually be getting worse and she seems to just be cranky all the time now even when she’s been let out and has fresh food/water/swimming water. If she glimpses us through a window (we have to have the blinds drawn most of the day because of this) she’ll start quacking again. I can even hear her voice going hoarse.