Duck friend or not?

[Alf264]

Hi my female pekin duck lewis is 8 weeks old. We were given an egg which we incubated and hatched And were not intending to have just 1 duck. I tried to get another one so she would have a friend but in my area buying a pekin duckling at any age was not possible, there were none at all to buy and I have looked quite a lot.

However, it didn’t really seem to be a problem due to quarantine I have all the time in the world to spend with her and have spent so much time with her. She has gotten so attached to me, and me only no other humans and does not like the 6 chickens we have. It’s almost like she thinks she’s a human and this is seen as we have 4 dogs who try to love her but she just doesn’t show any interest.

She isn’t moved outside yet as I want to keep her inside until I know for sure she won’t get cold and I also feel really bad for her being alone in the pen outside.


If I get another pekin duck around her size will she enjoy it and bond with it? Will it help her sleep without me around outside and will she get along with it?

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

It probably would be very nice for her! Ducks should always have at least one friend. The only thing you would have to worry about is if your duck acts aggressive to a new duckling. She's never seen another duck before, so you would have to introduce them slowly. But it usually ends with two happy ducks doing silly duck things!

 

[Cuccoo Shack]

Hi. I had 2 ducks that imprinted on me, and one died at a young age. It took me awhile to get some more for her to have friends. She was extremely loud all day long if I wasn't around. I got some babies and let her come to the broader to check them out. She seemed happy and always wanted to be around them. They were scared of her, but after a few days of letting them hang outside together she would lay down next to them and they got used to her. When we got a drake he was about 10 weeks old. They weren't so happy with him at first. Took a long time to integrate. If you can find babies it might be easier for integration, but I'm not sure. They're all different. But she does need friends, or you will never get any sleep!

 

[Alf264]

It probably would be very nice for her! Ducks should always have at least one friend. The only thing you would have to worry about is if your duck acts aggressive to a new duckling. She's never seen another duck before, so you would have to introduce them slowly. But it usually ends with two happy ducks doing silly duck things!

Thank you! I will be getting a friend as it will also make my life a bit easier. Yes I do not think she would act aggressive to a new duckling as she is quite timid with everything and everyone except me, if any other human goes to touch her she walks away but with me she snuggles in and wants to be pat. I have put a mirror in her enclosure ever since 3 days old and she probably wouldn’t sleep without it and would scream all night for me to come pick her up and put her in bed with me. She does look into the mirror a lot and looks quite content when she does so hopefully that’s a good sign. Maybe that indicates that when I do get her a friend she will think that’s the *friend* who is in her bed every night but suddenly in physical form

 

[Cuccoo Shack]

Thank you! I will be getting a friend as it will also make my life a bit easier. Yes I do not think she would act aggressive to a new duckling as she is quite timid with everything and everyone except me, if any other human goes to touch her she walks away but with me she snuggles in and wants to be pat. I have put a mirror in her enclosure ever since 3 days old and she probably wouldn’t sleep without it and would scream all night for me to come pick her up and put her in bed with me. She does look into the mirror a lot and looks quite content when she does so hopefully that’s a good sign. Maybe that indicates that when I do get her a friend she will think that’s the *friend* who is in her bed every night but suddenly in physical form

LOL! Yes, I too have slept with birds we do it for the love of fuzz! I was really surprised how mine took to the babies. At first I thought she was being aggressive, but she was just excited for friends. The mirror is a great idea. Wish I would've thought of that! When we got the babies we let her stay with them as much as she wanted. When they got big enough to go outside they would scatter running from her. Eventually she just laid down where they would be eating and she would show them how to do things. It took about 2 days of that before they would follow her around. Now she's going to be a mama tomorrow!