friendly ducklings

[daisysducks]

what’s the best way to bond with the ducks and make them like me more and follow me? they follow me sometimes and they let me hold them and they’ll sleep in my hand. is that the most they’re gonna do with me and let me do? how can i make them more friendly?

 

[Kessel23]

If you have less ducks it will be easier to get them to be friendly, as the number increases the difficulty increases. It's best if you hatch and imprint them and spend a lot of time with them in yhe first few days, later on in their life its going to be difficult or impossible to imprint multiple ducks but you can make them tame around you by feeding them treats and not pushing them to do things that they are uncomfortable with. Examples are chasing them to catch them or forcing them to be held. They will never be lile tame chickens and comfortable jumping around all over you unless you imprinted from day one but they do get tame and usually dont like to be touched much especially when their feathers start coming in

 

[CoriM]

I had 6 ducklings last spring and was determined to make them friendly. They lived in a wading pool in my kitchen for two months. We held and handled them all the time. I still found that they would run from me and squack when I tried to pick them up. But they didn't really mind being handled once they were caught. They bond most with their fellow ducks, which is natural. I bring them lots of treats and they always come running to me when I come out with something special. When I have to soak them for bumblefoot they stand really still and are good. But they still don't love me to catch them and pick them up. I think it's the way it goes.

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

she doesn't have much choice but we have a Rouen who is getting more and more calm and comfortable being held, her leg is in a splint and she's living in the house now, and spends an hour or so in our laps each night getting medicated and hanging out getting some social time. she settles right in and will even fall asleep there, though not very soundly. I will be interested to see what she does when she gets turned back with the rest of the flock.
of all our ducks I would have said she was the least likely to tolerate handling.

 

[daisysducks]

I had 6 ducklings last spring and was determined to make them friendly. They lived in a wading pool in my kitchen for two months. We held and handled them all the time. I still found that they would run from me and squack when I tried to pick them up. But they didn't really mind being handled once they were caught. They bond most with their fellow ducks, which is natural. I bring them lots of treats and they always come running to me when I come out with something special. When I have to soak them for bumblefoot they stand really still and are good. But they still don't love me to catch them and pick them up. I think it's the way it goes.

thats exactly how mine act. they quack when I try to pick them up but if I'm sitting they climb on me sometimes or ill hold them one in my hand and it'll lay down and fall asleep. I handle them everyday, letting them run around my house and explore outside. I just wish they weren't so scared around people.

 

[corriemartin]

thats exactly how mine act. they quack when I try to pick them up but if I'm sitting they climb on me sometimes or ill hold them one in my hand and it'll lay down and fall asleep. I handle them everyday, letting them run around my house and explore outside. I just wish they weren't so scared around people.

It seems to me that it's pretty natural to be scared of people, particular if they loom overhead (you know, like a predator). My ducklings are almost two weeks old, and I've noticed that they've become a lot more curious. When I come out, they come running up and peer up at me. But they still run cheeping away when I take the cover off, or do anything else overhead.