Do your ducks let you pet them?

[J99]

I have 2 Indian runner or mixed Drakes and two Rouen ducks. They will come to me when they see me. If I sit out in the coop they all four come to me and peck my clothes , shoes and my chair. When I talk to them they’ll cock their heads to one side and listen and they get all loud and happy when they see me come in , but if I even act like I’m going to touch them in any way they all run away and quack

 

[J99]

Wow lol I only have four and I can’t sneak anything they want to all touch me but I can’t touch them

 

[Rammy]

Nope. They think Im going to kill them when I go into thier yard. Almost break thier necks getting out of the pool.

 

[Runner duck mom]

We try and sneak in a few pets on occasion but they see my hand coming and step back just enough so I can't reach them. Hand goes away and back they come Our one duck will give me an angry quack to scold me for trying to touch her. So dramatic, lol!

 

[Muscovy-palooza]

That's funny! Mine mostly do the same however we are sneaking in pets when we are giving them special treats. Some totally freak but most of them are getting acclimated. We have a couple that we can hold. I am certain that if I worked with them more that they would be climbing in my lap. They wag their tails and come when I talk to them. Imagine 30 ducklings and 12 adults! It's amazing how they differ in personality. They are so darn cute!

 

[FortCluck]

One of my muscovy allows me to pet it and hold it, but she's disabled and she knows I'm not going to hurt her or anything. My other 3 run like crazy

 

[BantyChooks]

That sucks I thought ducks got close to you and man I’m out there often dealing with them , as I said they do come right to me and peck me not angrily just curiously and will listen to me talk but that’s as far as we’ve gotten and I’ve had them since they were 8 was old

They do. You just have to recalibrate your expectations to reflect their minds, not yours. Spend time with them on their own terms, and they may even climb into your lap eventually! I find that doing yard work such as weeding is the quickest way to get them interested in you. Appeal to their curiosity. They've got a lot of it.

 

[DuckyBabies]

My two do the same! One of mine will get as close as humanly possible to me and even peck at my clothes or my toes (he thinks it’s food because of my nail polish) but if I so much as even reach my hand out like I’m remotely going to touch them they run away scared to death.

 

[Jpat]

All the ducks i hatched myself had no problem being petted, The ones i got as adults never wanted to be touched ever

 

[Jpat]

Awwww you’re so lucky

Thanks! All those ducks moved on to a hobby farm with a big pond, Iam hatching new ones

My trick is to hatch 1 or 2 at a time for maximum bonding. when i hatch 1 duckling i do it while iam off work and spend as much time with it as possible and the brooder is in the bedroom at night, The wife loves it haha

your in a great spot with yours, a place alot of people work for years to get too! your ducks look very happy and healthy