Finally got around to doing it!

[nettie]

I changed my avatar... it only took me months trying to figure out how to do it again. lol that and always forgetting to just do it already. The little duckie in my old avatar isn't even my duck, so I felt I needed to use a picture of my own little buggers (Ming Mei was insisting on it)

 

[priss]

Awww that my favourite one of your little people!

I love it that Ming Mei is in her favourite colour too.
Give them all schnorgles from me.
xxxxxxxxxx

 

[RunnerDucks]

That is just too cute

Question... how tame are your ducks?
My indoor duck is beyond tame, but he was raised alone with only me to bond to. If I get another indoor duck, is he going to lose his extreme tameness?

 

[nettie]

Ming Mei and that color red, I tell ya! She just loves it. When I lived in Alabama, I noticed when we were on walks she used to walk to each red car in the parking lot, stop and admire it, then move on to the next red car. Nowadays, if you give her a choice of something red and something not red, she'll go with the red every time (like when she has to pick out a pair of shoes, she loves her red ones and hates the blue ones). She also likes to have her toe nails painted, so I'll hold the bottles up for her and she'll pick the color. she almost always picks red. One time she freaked us out by picking blue, so I obliged and did them blue.... she then got really angry with me and insisted I re-do them for her. Turns out she was attacking the blue, not picking it... She then picked red. lol.


Most of my ducks are pretty tame. 5 outta 6 are well behaved enough to take to public places all the time. Ming Mei and Victor are very good, but they are the oldest and have had the most training/attention thus far. Ming Mei is heavily imprinted on me and is a wonderfully tame duck (she tolerates everyone else, lol). Victor is very laid back and is nice to everyone he isn't scared of. He's our best "walker" and likes to show off a lot in the the park. Moxy is up there too, she just loves all people (and she listens well). She'll sit for you and let just about anyone pet her (we call her our ambassador duck). Norie is very sweet but a bit spastic, lol. She'll run away from you scared out of her wits, then stop dead in her tracks with her back flattened wanting to be pet... lol silly duck...

I adopted Vinny and Ollie when they were about 8 months old. I adopted them from my old roommate. Vinny was originally my duck, so I raised him until he was 3 months old (side by side with Ollie) and Ollie was to be my roommate's duck. But Vin and Oll became friends and bonded together a bit, so I offered to give Vinny to my roommate. Eventually my roommate couldn't keep them anymore, so I ended up with both of them. He didn't do a good job handling and bonding with Ollie so she can be a huge brat. Vinny is well behaved, but we had to train him not to bite or squawk at all hours. Ollie has been a bit tougher to socialize and get to trust us. She's decided she likes Joe, but not really me.... She likes to bite me and she likes to YELL. She also likes to bite her harnesses a lot, so we're still teaching her things. We've had them both since november, so we may never get Ollie to like/trust us completely but she loves the other ducks and likes living with us (she likes the benefits of having spoiling ducky parents, lol). She just never bonded with a person during that important time when a duckling....

For anyone planning on keeping a house duck, I recommend getting only one at a time, or in twos. They should be separated from each other in two separate brooders until they are at least 5-6 weeks old. They shouldn't be given mirrors, but they should be handled one at a time endlessly. At least 2 hours throughout a day. That's how you get them to bond with you. If you can put their brooders in whatever room you happen to be in, that works very well (We use plastic containers for brooders, so we could move them around easily). I also recommend a duckling that was incubated, not sat by another duck/chicken. A duckling imprinted on people make for better indoor pets usually, so if you have the choice I'd go with that. I would not get a duckling any older than Day old, or a shipped Day old. If the duckling has spent more than a few days with other owl, it may not bond to you. I had that problem with teo duckies named Peter and Sammy. They spend the first week of life with 8 other ducks and 8 chicks, so they were never that interested in me. I had to find them another home when they were about 3 months old.

I think Ming mei and Victor turned out so well because I had Ming Mei alone for about two weeks before Victor came along. Since the big size difference, I had to separate them, so I spent a lot of time with the individually. They only took baths together. Right after I got victor, I broke my knee and was in the house 24/7 for three months, giving me ample time to spend with each of them. I was able to teach them tricks and diaper them often. Moxy and Norie are on their way to being like vic and ming as well, they are only 5 months old now. Those two are not imprinted on me however, they are Joe's ducks.

Since I work from home, I can spend a ot of time with all the ducks. I go to their pen and visit them often throughout the day, which helps keep the bond strong. Even Ollie gets excited to see me in the morning. And they all get upset when I go away for a few days, then act extra loving when I get back. lol. I love my ducks

 

[Amiga]

I agree with Nettie's recommendation to raise ducks one at a time. I had one Pekin who was a sweetheart. Later, I took on three - a Pekin and two mallards, and they barely gave me the time of day.

Now I have eleven runners, and I have spent many hours with them, socializing them. We went through a rough spell from three to about six weeks with them acting terrified of me, but we worked it out.

When I let them out into their duckyard in the morning, first thing they all circle around me and say good morning. Several hang out to chat for five or ten minutes. Some let me pick them up, some shy away. But these are yard ducks, not indoor ducks, and I wanted them to have a strong flock identity so that they can support one another when I am not around.

It is working out well, and I have Nettie and Joe to thank for quite a bit of help and good advice.

 

[miniwhipkey]

Nettie,

Thank you for sharing your story. I love to hear about your ducks. I think they are great!! I do like your new picture of them also. I have raise my 3 call ducks one at a time. And you are right, it is the best way to keep them friendly.

Robin

P.S. Thank you for the new pink shoes!! I love them.

 

[Funky Feathers]

Awww. I just love that story! Ming Mei is so precious with her "eccentric-ness". Who knew ducks had color preferences? And admiring red cars- how cute is that? Now I want my ducks to be like her. They are trained to go back in their pen after free-ranging for a few hours, just by my voice telling them to go back in. It's so cute. They pay no mind to the dog (German Shepherd- note "herd" in the name!), whom we bought to train to herd & protect our birds. They listen to me, Lol! Quackers still has a leftover scab on one foot from the Bumblefoot episode, so he still wears the shoes, especially outside the pen. I think next I want to buy a walking harness and another pair of baby duck shoes. They are so addictive.

 

[Hattiegun]

I LUV that pic.... When I tell ppl about my ducks I show that pic also...lol I work at a Farm Coop
and some of the ole timer farmers have taken a pic home to show their wives... It cracks everybody up...
Sweet Sweet Babies....

 

[nettie]

you would not believe how hard it was to get all my ducks in a row like that! I have a whole memory card full of pictures of them all over the place. lol. That was taken while the babies were still little, thank goodness! I can't imagine trying now to take a photo of all six standing nicely... At least Moxy is posable, she lets you put her head and butt in position and will hold it.... Now if i could only get them all to do that!