Ducks are stupid

[Magnolia Ducks]

That is just a behavioral enclosure. That is not where it lives. I highly doubt the duckling lives alone. There is a lot of rules and regulations on research and housing that is far more controlled to maintain proper health. You have to do things in a controlled environment to get reliable data.

I am reliable data. A lone duckling will follow Anything for company. This is BS.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

This article goes along with the imprinting video.
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2016-07-1...ewborn-ducklings-can-acquire-notions-same-and
As well as this one:
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2016-11-18-ducklings-maintain-two-separate-memory-banks-visual-information
I tried to find the actual study, but it's not open enough to read the whole thing.
This isn't the first imprinting study of course but scientists don't use emotions when conducting studies or experiments. Their focus is more on the abstract, reasoning, and the outcome plus they tend to be more analytical than those of us who would reject the idea of conducting an experiment such as this.

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

I was pleased and impressed, my wife and i were at an appointment late this afternoon, and dod some grocery shopping on the way home. Didn't make it back until after 7. They had all worked up their courage and were inside their abode . Good duckies!

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

I think we have had a breakthrough, they were inside again tonight after dark. They are in about 550’ of electronet so they have some levels of relative safety, but still. Also one the Harlequins came to “investigate” the evening peas. After almost 9 months of totally avoiding them.. I didn’t see her actually try any.. but they checked it out.
That might not seem like a huge victory, but i can get the others to jump over and do backflips for peas.. so having something to leverage them with is a big deal.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I think we have had a breakthrough, they were inside again tonight after dark. They are in about 550’ of electronet so they have some levels of relative safety, but still. Also one the Harlequins came to “investigate” the evening peas. After almost 9 months of totally avoiding them.. I didn’t see her actually try any.. but they checked it out.
That might not seem like a huge victory, but i can get the others to jump over and do backflips for peas.. so having something to leverage them with is a big deal.

A little birdie told me your ducks decided to prove to you that they aren't stupid.

 

[CrazyChicken Lady]

Lol this thread is great! I love my darlings so much but they can be so goofy sometimes! My Pekin adores blueberries and will eat as much as she can swallow. If I bring them mashed, in water or somehow hidden she won’t even try them!

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

They are a riot, i am glad they have adjusted to the light. It is rather funny, it snowed day after thanksgiving, we went to NH and my folks watched them. I don’t know if it was the snow, or the change in caretakers, but egg production shut off. Which makes me wonder, from whatever dormant state eggs stay in until developing, how long does it take from start to finish?

 

[3DFowlFarm]

Seriously, i love them, but I have no idea how the species has survived this long. I put a light on the outside of their coop. Now they are afraid to go in, they would spend all night outside if i didn’t make them go inside. If the light is turned off, they go in when it gets dark.
If I go out with 2 bowls of peas or a dish of meal worms they follow me around like the Pied Piper, if i go out with a bale of shavings they freak out in terror.
All last winter i kept refreshing a pile of straw for them to lay in outside in the sun, they loved it, put it there yesterday since the snow and they wouldn’t go near the “big scary spot” rather they hung out on the ramp of their house and continue to poop in their own way. This morning I tried to herd them to the “scary spot” to no avail. I scooped up Scuba and carried her to it and plopped her in the middle, seeing her enjoying rooting around for whatever and not being swallowed by the earth or worse, the rest of them came running to also be in the “spot”. Really, sometimes I just shake my head.

I concur, and you can't fix stupid. But we who love ducks just power thru. I think their brains work like WiFi, not always the best streaming!! Definitely a good laugh, thanks for your post. Thought the same thing just today, cheers

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

They weren’t so alarmed by the snow today, but were quite insistent on me refreshing their nest.