Fall Dumped Ducklings. Not a Recipe!

[quackiemama]

Ditto I am very grateful for you hillbilly

x2 it is always entertaining

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Created are sometimes mentally impaired. The crest is a hole in the skull. I had one with crests where the ears should be and she was deaf. CRests, crests. For hecks sake spell check changed it to breasts. Breasts for ears.

Now that would be an interesting duck breed!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

x2 it is always entertaining

Thank you very much!

 

[johntfs]

I think you're going to need to push the issue a bit with the crazy crested one so he gets over it or you get him over or you just get rid of him one way or another.

Right now he's terrified and miserable, which is no way to live. Angel wing isn't a big deal, but eventually he's going to suffer illness or injury and you're going to need to examine him, hold him and treat him, which this behavior prevents you from doing. Beyond all that I cannot help but think that his attitude might eventually infect more in your flock.

Maybe start out by putting a chair in the their area. Go out there, get one of the ducks, put it up, carry it to the chair, sit there and pet it while giving it treats. Establish that being held by you is a good thing because it means petting, attention and treats. Do that with all the ducks, including eventually to the new ones.

Another possibility is to take the crested one and bring him into your actual house. Set up a playpen cage and feeding area and basically make him deal with the idea that the "humons" are his source of good things. And if he does die of a heart attack from crazy-induced fear, well, as much as it sucks for him, that's one less problem for you at this point.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

@johntfs You are right in all points except separating the little guy from his friends. They are the only thing that keeps him from going entirely loco. This morning Katharina duck forced him out of the duck house while i was still tieing the door open (its windy here): She wasn't feeling well yesterday evening, i assume there was a stuck egg so she went to bed early and overslept. Then he with his hesitation to go past me got in her way and she just pushed him through the door, just like »Move it you lame duck!«
And guess what: He wasn't eaten!
Despite all rasping of her friends the little girl came closer to me, sitting on the steps of the porch and ate some of the cat-kibbles - and she survived!
You could see the gears rotating under that crest, he stood still and was observing. Looking at me, looking at the other ducks, thinking…
There's hope!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Did she lay her egg?

 

[johntfs]

@johntfs You are right in all points except separating the little guy from his friends. They are the only thing that keeps him from going entirely loco. This morning Katharina duck forced him out of the duck house while i was still tieing the door open (its windy here): She wasn't feeling well yesterday evening, i assume there was a stuck egg so she went to bed early and overslept. Then he with his hesitation to go past me got in her way and she just pushed him through the door, just like »Move it you lame duck!«
And guess what: He wasn't eaten!
Despite all rasping of her friends the little girl came closer to me, sitting on the steps of the porch and ate some of the cat-kibbles - and she survived!
You could see the gears rotating under that crest, he stood still and was observing. Looking at me, looking at the other ducks, thinking…
There's hope!

That sounds like progress. Still, is this kind of behavior normal? Like, if you got a mostly grown duck/drake, would they act like these five? I recalled one thing from your post talking about this this situation:

Hi Friends,
you likely remember that i gave away six of my duck's fertile eggs a while ago to my neighbors whose broody hen hatched six cute ducklings. They are about six weeks old now, the surviving five are too much of a burden for their owners and they asked me if i would take them back…

Six eggs hatched six ducklings. The five remaining ducklings seem terrified of you and terrified that you'll punish them (the behavior around the pool). So, I guess I'm wondering what happened to duckling number 6 and did that trigger this fear they have of humans?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

That little freak is a fast learner: This evening he led the the other three Drakenagers into the duck house, ahead of the grown-ups, placed themselves strategically in front of the pellet feeder where the other ducks can't push them back and then literally jumped into the supper-bowl, scaring the grown up ducks away. Before they knew, the younglings stuffed their bellies full of tasty Winter Wheat fodder, burped and calmly walked into the bedroom… (Ok, they did not burp, but you could literally imagine the unkind sound!)
Blanca Duck found her master!
---
The neighbors told me they found the sixth duckling dead in the brooder one afternoon when they came back from work. No idea what had happened, in the morning it was running around just fine. I assume the little ones got their first trauma when they had to be removed from their Chicken Momma and the the Humon Momma was just overwhelmed with the amount of cute, dumb ideas that ducklings have.
And i know she has a very short fuse…

 

[DiYMama540]

Blanca may be forced I to a diet after all with these ducknagers around!! Teenage boys do love to eat and eat...and eat!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Boy you can say that again @DiYMama540 i only had one but he made up for 10. lol