Duckling imprinting? Chickens and Ducks? Peafowl and ducks?!?

[lillypad268]

I have three ducklings arriving from the hatchery in a few days (two swedish blues and one white egg layer) and I was wondering what people's experiences with imprinting was?
I also have two chicks (12 days old) and I am wondering when/if they can be introduced?
And in the incubator there are a few peafowl, I am going to keep them separated for awhile while they are young so they don't pick up anything from the chickens but hopefully eventually they're all going to be free range on my lot and I am wondering what people's experience with their interactions was?
I'd love to hear your fowl stories

 

[Macbeth2003]

Well in March we received 6 ducklings in the mail from Metzer Farms, all girls. A Pekin, Sonia; a Black India Runner Duck, Daffy; a Chocolate India Runner Duck, Ruth; and Three Khaki Campbells, Athos, Porthos and Aramis. My wife and I opened the box, and my wife, son, and I were all careful to hold them, touch them, etc each day. My son( 8 then 9 now) begged and begged to have the brooder in his room, so the first small plastic one was, then when they grew we moved them into the living room in a larger space.

The Ducks keep their distance from my wife and I. If we sit outside they will freely wander near us, after 15 minutes or so, and they don't run so badly that we can't catch them, but they seem to have little to no bond with us. My son can walk up to them and sit next to them and they will walk right over him, or climb in his lap.

Just as they turned 8 weeks and we moved them outdoors a colony of feral Muscovy's was cleared in an area by the city - probably best not to think about what the city did with them. A block or so away at my son's school they found an abandoned baby duckling. After watching it for an hour to make sure there was no parent, they called us, since we had ducks. He has been raised alone, as he was too small to go with the others. D'Artagnan (his name) is terrified of the other ducks (we are slowly introducing them) and will follow any of us around, He loves to nibble our fingers, climb in our laps, have us touch him or stroke him. He is now about five weeks old. By this point the others wanted nothing to do with us( except Liam my son). So those are our experiences, make of them what you will.

 

[lillypad268]

Well in March we received 6 ducklings in the mail from Metzer Farms, all girls. A Pekin, Sonia; a Black India Runner Duck, Daffy; a Chocolate India Runner Duck, Ruth; and Three Khaki Campbells, Athos, Porthos and Aramis. My wife and I opened the box, and my wife, son, and I were all careful to hold them, touch them, etc each day. My son( 8 then 9 now) begged and begged to have the brooder in his room, so the first small plastic one was, then when they grew we moved them into the living room in a larger space.

The Ducks keep their distance from my wife and I. If we sit outside they will freely wander near us, after 15 minutes or so, and they don't run so badly that we can't catch them, but they seem to have little to no bond with us. My son can walk up to them and sit next to them and they will walk right over him, or climb in his lap.

Just as they turned 8 weeks and we moved them outdoors a colony of feral Muscovy's was cleared in an area by the city - probably best not to think about what the city did with them. A block or so away at my son's school they found an abandoned baby duckling. After watching it for an hour to make sure there was no parent, they called us, since we had ducks. He has been raised alone, as he was too small to go with the others. D'Artagnan (his name) is terrified of the other ducks (we are slowly introducing them) and will follow any of us around, He loves to nibble our fingers, climb in our laps, have us touch him or stroke him. He is now about five weeks old. By this point the others wanted nothing to do with us( except Liam my son). So those are our experiences, make of them what you will.

awesome thank you for sharing your story!
Aw poor muscovies... they're such a great breed, I remember being young and going to this bothell country village during duckling season and all the mommies would run away except this muscovy. I gained her trust over years, she started out pretty trusting and eventually let me pet her.