Do your ducks let you pet them?

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Four of my eight ducks I can go at anytime and pick them up. The other four I’m still working on. Two of them I just got about a month and a half ago and the other two I got in March so it will probably take a little while for them. My ducks love to be snuggled and held, the only probably is catching them! I did have two Rouen drakes I traded because they were being a problem in the flock and they pretty much hated me. Those two I bought and raised from ducklings.

You are lucky! Yes, the first problem is catching the ducks, but even if i manage to catch my currently limping Maggie Duck, she doesn't like to be held. If i don't hold her wings tight i will be slapped and fed feathers, if she can she will scratch me with her toenails and she will dare to fly off my lap even though her left leg is hurting during touch-down.
The only duck that stays calm in my hands is Nona Duck, she really knows that i don't want to eat her, but even she is running away from me when she is outside of the fence: First a couple of steps towards me, then the instinct kicks in and she turns around an just runs.

 

[Quack head]

I have three Silver Appleyard that was free ranged for a few months before I bought them. I tried almost everything for them to calm down and let me approach. Now, after four months they will run from our pond to me and wait for treats several time during the day and will even come, most of the time, when I call. They still will not let me touch them they only get within a few feet. BTW I had my first egg on September 23 and another on on Sept 24. It just takes time if they weren't hand raised I guess.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I have three Silver Appleyard that was free ranged for a few months before I bought them. I tried almost everything for them to calm down and let me approach. Now, after four months they will run from our pond to me and wait for treats several time during the day and will even come, most of the time, when I call. They still will not let me touch them they only get within a few feet. BTW I had my first egg on September 23 and another on on Sept 24. It just takes time if they weren't hand raised I guess.

Good job so far! Yes, it takes a lot of time before they accept you as one of their own and some will never like to be touched or petted, but you already had great success.

 

[Quacking ducks]

You are lucky! Yes, the first problem is catching the ducks, but even if i manage to catch my currently limping Maggie Duck, she doesn't like to be held. If i don't hold her wings tight i will be slapped and fed feathers, if she can she will scratch me with her toenails and she will dare to fly off my lap even though her left leg is hurting during touch-down.
The only duck that stays calm in my hands is Nona Duck, she really knows that i don't want to eat her, but even she is running away from me when she is outside of the fence: First a couple of steps towards me, then the instinct kicks in and she turns around an just runs.

My duck Bluebelle will sit on my lap and snuggle a little bit, but she is so suspicious of everyone and everything! She’s a biter, one minute she will be totally relaxed on my lap the next minutes she is trying to twist my finger off (with no success of course.)Lol

 

[Duckie doodle]

My pekin drake paco is very friendly he sits in my lap and let's me pet him, heck he even takes a nap right in my lap. All his other duck friends are a different story, I got to chase them around to catch them, then they are alright .

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

My pekin drake paco is very friendly he sits in my lap and let's me pet him, heck he even takes a nap right in my lap. All his other duck friends are a different story, I got to chase them around to catch them, then they are alright .

Consider yourself lucky! That kind of trust is rare with ducks. Did you raise him as a single duckling?

 

[MerryMeridional]

I have 5 cayuga (runner?) mixes. 2 allow me to pet, but its more of a mating thing. They lay flat and I can pet for as long as I want. The others side step my hands. They all practically attack me when I have mealworms, though. And if I am messing with the feed buckets and taking too long they nibble on my clothes and shoes. No more sandles around them! They were after my toes for awhile. They are also fascinated with band aids.

 

[Duckie doodle]

Consider yourself lucky! That kind of trust is rare with ducks. Did you raise him as a single duckling?

Yes I raised him but not alone. I raised his sister and a khaki campbell brother, but they are not as nice and friendly as Paco.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Well ducks have a distinct personality, i have 17 grown up ducks and they all behave different, from very skittish to almost hopping into my lap. Curious how the seven younglings will develop…

 

[AviansLove]

My ducks hate me, Used to love me, My muscovy used to love me now she bites my shoes and hisses while she "puffs up" her little "hair" I call it. She'll let me pet her sometimes if she isn't hissing at herself when she looks through reflection items in the field or yard, like an old mirror, or the garage sometimes shows her reflection because it is made out of a clearer metal. She is very funny honestly though.