Favorite duck breed and why?

[KaleIAm]

Thanks for the info! Do you have any tips on how to raise them to be really friendly?

Ducks are so awesome and there's just so many to choose from! My mom only wants 2 ducks, so I think the easiest way to do that is to get a couple of the same breed. I wish I could just get all the duck breeds though

I think I'm pretty good at taming ducks! I've had two from ducklings, and adopted four as adults. Three of my adopted ducks were terrified of me at first and I quickly tamed them.

First I make sure I am NEVER scary. Pay attention to your ducks and you'll notice what makes them feel afraid. Then don't do it. That meant I didn't look directly at my ducks for a year, because predators stare before attacking. Instead I looked next to my ducks. They are fine with it now and actually gaze adoringly into my eyes.

Then I make sure I am a positive experience. I find out what my ducks like and give it to them everytime they see me. So everytime I passed by my ducks I tossed them their favorite snack food. I wanted them to be hanging out in their aviary thinking, "oh look that human with delicious treats is coming!" Not, "Oh no! That scary huge predator is coming!"

Third I spend a LOT of time with them hanging out, being still and not scary. Give them treats occasionally so it is good that you are there. I knit with my ducks, have dinner with them, and even nap with them.

When I gave my ducks treats at first I made a unique sound. Well... Let's be truthful, I quacked. But now when I quack they associate it with treats and they will come running back to me. It is very useful. I can call them off our pond because they know they will get mealworms. You can use any unique sound if you don't want to stand around quacking like a crazy person.

 

[SolarDuck]

Thanks for the info! Do you have any tips on how to raise them to be really friendly?

Ducks are so awesome and there's just so many to choose from! My mom only wants 2 ducks, so I think the easiest way to do that is to get a couple of the same breed. I wish I could just get all the duck breeds though

May I suggest 3 instead of 2? 2 do fine together, but in an unfortunate situation if something bad happened it would leave you struggling to try and quickly find another duck nearby, and that can be difficult.

 

[KaleIAm]

May I suggest 3 instead of 2? 2 do fine together, but in an unfortunate situation if something bad happened it would leave you struggling to try and quickly find another duck nearby, and that can be difficult.

x2
I couldn't agree more.

 

[SolarDuck]

Thanks for the info! Do you have any tips on how to raise them to be really friendly?

One thing that I have had good luck with is taking each duckling 1 at a time, and just putting them in my bed with me and spending some 1 on 1 time with each duck every day. I really found it to help them be less skiddish around you, and more affectionate towards you. Usually they will peep for a few minutes because they can't see the other ducklings, but they usually realize pretty quickly that they are safe with you. Although, not sure how well this would work if you only had 2 because I wouldn't ever want to leave just one alone in the brooder.

 

[KenjiQuacker]

I think I'm pretty good at taming ducks! I've had two from ducklings, and adopted four as adults. Three of my adopted ducks were terrified of me at first and I quickly tamed them.

First I make sure I am NEVER scary. Pay attention to your ducks and you'll notice what makes them feel afraid. Then don't do it. That meant I didn't look directly at my ducks for a year, because predators stare before attacking. Instead I looked next to my ducks. They are fine with it now and actually gaze adoringly into my eyes.

Then I make sure I am a positive experience. I find out what my ducks like and give it to them everytime they see me. So everytime I passed by my ducks I tossed them their favorite snack food. I wanted them to be hanging out in their aviary thinking, "oh look that human with delicious treats is coming!" Not, "Oh no! That scary huge predator is coming!"

Third I spend a LOT of time with them hanging out, being still and not scary. Give them treats occasionally so it is good that you are there. I knit with my ducks, have dinner with them, and even nap with them.

When I gave my ducks treats at first I made a unique sound. Well... Let's be truthful, I quacked. But now when I quack they associate it with treats and they will come running back to me. It is very useful. I can call them off our pond because they know they will get mealworms. You can use any unique sound if you don't want to stand around quacking like a crazy person.

Wow thanks, that's super helpful information! Ive found lots of stuff on taming ducklings but not really on taming adults, so thank you! and haha that's awesome that you quacked at them. I'm totally into birds and animals so I would gladly quack at them all day if that's what they wanted .

 

[KenjiQuacker]

One thing that I have had good luck with is taking each duckling 1 at a time, and just putting them in my bed with me and spending some 1 on 1 time with each duck every day. I really found it to help them be less skiddish around you, and more affectionate towards you. Usually they will peep for a few minutes because they can't see the other ducklings, but they usually realize pretty quickly that they are safe with you. Although, not sure how well this would work if you only had 2 because I wouldn't ever want to leave just one alone in the brooder.

ok thanks! my brothers actually planning on helping me take care of them, so we were thinking we could each focus on giving as much love and attention on separate ducklings, (but still obviously keeping the ducklings together in the same brooder). so doing 1 on 1 time might work, we'd just both have to take a duckling and do 1 on 1 time with our duckling in separate places or something. Thanks for the ideas!

 

[KenjiQuacker]

May I suggest 3 instead of 2? 2 do fine together, but in an unfortunate situation if something bad happened it would leave you struggling to try and quickly find another duck nearby, and that can be difficult.

my mom said someday we could get a third but we want to start out with just two, since we're new to taking care of ducks and we don't want to overcrowd our garden. But we have a lot or rescue ducks that get sent to a shelter nearby, so if something happened to one of them I could pretty easily adopt another one, and my friend is always hatching ducklings and finding homes for them, so I'm pretty sure I'd be able to find a second one pretty fast. But thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Percipen]

My favorite are my runners. They're quiet, very sweet and theyre the goofballs of the flock. Theres never a dull moment with them. Another thing I like about them is that they come in so many colors and patterns. We have a pair of blues, 2 fawn and white hens and we are getting some lavenders when the weather warms up over here

 

[citymeetscountry]

friendliness depends on how you raise them and not based on what breed lol

both my khakis love to dig around for bugs so khaki campbell might be good, this is my khaki hen, scout (i don’t eat their eggs and give them away but i think khaki are one of the best laying breeds)

Oh my, I love this duck

 

[KenjiQuacker]

My favorite are my runners. They're quiet, very sweet and theyre the goofballs of the flock. Theres never a dull moment with them. Another thing I like about them is that they come in so many colors and patterns. We have a pair of blues, 2 fawn and white hens and we are getting some lavenders when the weather warms up over here View attachment 2543551View attachment 2543552View attachment 2543554View attachment 2543556View attachment 2543559View attachment 2543582View attachment 2543550

runners are adorable! Ive heard they're really goofy too lol. my mom really wants a few of them for her garden, and I think right now i'm trying to decide between runners and silver appleyards. Thanks for sharing!