Duck behavior I'm not familliar with?

[melAnconaMom]

So my Ancona duckings are still receiving bath time indoors till the weather warms up and i get a swimming apparatus set up for them outside and they have this strange behavior when I have to change out the water and I turn the faucet back on. They all sit back sorta on their hauntchs * if you can call it that* puff out their chest and pull their head tight against their body? I'm posting an image as an example at the bottom. They seem to do this any time the water is running until the tub fills to their desired depth and i turn off the water... I can't find any info about this anywhere online or this forum though. Is this a defensive pose? or is it relaxing? They are only 4 weeks old.

 

[Amiga]

Might be a little anxious.

 

[melAnconaMom]

Maybe? They interchange from running to the faucet and drinking from it and sticking their heads in the running water to sitting back like that. They're showing no signs of fear of the faucet, so I haven't been able to sort out the behavior. and they only do it when the tub is empty or hardly filled and the water is running, if i leave the tub empty and i turn off the water.. they waddle around and dry and oil themselves like normal..

 

[Amiga]

Could be the beginnings of preening behavior.

 

[melAnconaMom]

what is that? is it any different from cleaning off their baby feathers? because they have already started that process and have a lot of their adult feathers in but still do the sitting upright whenever the faucet is running. Im just afraid im traumatizing them or stressing them out maybe? I am just trying to make sure I'm not harming them in any way.. Ive never seen ducks behave in this manner.

 

[Amiga]

I would just wait to get them in the water till after I filled the tub. I think you may be picking up on something that none of us here could, so err on the side of caution. There is no shame in doing your best to raise healthy ducks.

 

[melAnconaMom]

difficulty on that is.. I do wait to put them in.. but then they make the water so filthy immediately right now because of preening off baby fluff and the the scat of three well fed ducks that i have to drain and re-fill the tub. I guess I will take them out and let them run around in the bathroom while i refill the tub and see how that fairs.. i just wish I knew what in the world they were doing.

 

[Amiga]

How often did I say that . . . I wish I knew what they were doing!

Proud of you for being conscientious!

 

[Speceider]

Ducks do that facing into a hard rain. They probably associate the faucet noise with a hard rain (FAP).

Clint

 

[seaneduck]

When ever I turn the garden hose on and spray my ducks, they will all stop what they are doing, and turn into the spray and look just like your picture--chest out facing the spray. They must feel the splash from the water in the tub.