For Older Ducks

[juniverse]

Hey Everyone - Just a silly thought I had in mind. My older house ducks are getting to be middle aged.... 6-8 years in Mallard years. One thing I noticed about them is that they are more affectionate at this age and more tolerable of their duck mom's affection, -- hugging, chatting with them. and quality time.

After hand rearing them for some time, my ducklings started to lose their fuzzy feathers and grew those adult wings. Then they started to grow more and more to full size adults. When my ducks were just starting to become adults they were so overly independent, bit me even from just chatting with them... and did not want mom around.... kinda like a teenager.

But after hitting the older years, my ducks tolerate my presence and yell for me to come over and chat with them and keep them company.

I was curious... any duck moms felt this too and go through this phase?

 

[Callender Girl]

That sounds lovely!

My runners -- all of whom I raised since they were a couple of days old -- have never developed a real affection for me. They went from ducklings who were sure I wanted to murder them whenever I got close to teens who believed the same thing to adults who tolerate me because I am the Giver of Food.

The closest I've come was with Quinn, my original runner hen, who would literally jump up and down with excitement when she saw me (yeah, I know she was only after treats, but it was still cute). She also followed me around from coop to coop, mostly hoping to steal the chickens' feed.

Quinn, who was about 6, and her brother, Skylar, died a few days apart a couple of weeks ago. In both cases, it appeared they just laid down and passed peacefully, which at least offered a little comfort.

Maybe Mallards are just more affectionate or maybe my runners are just -- pun intended -- odd ducks?

 

[fatty and friends]

mine have always been super friendly, but i’ve heard people say some ducks won’t let you hold them if they are molting because it can hurt their feathers