Friendly ducks - that WANT to love me!

[SoCalChick]

Not having much luck with ducks that want me to love them! I have hatched two batches of Calls - and both batches of ducks wanted NOTHING to do with me - didn't like bread or treats I threw for them - always walking away - I hatched and handled them from day one - but they were never coming any where near me once I put them in their pond & yard - so after 8 months - I gave them to a private wildlife park. Any ideas on a breed of duck that likes hanging with people?
I have a great enclosure with a duck-dreamhouse and a 30x15 pond i built - with no ducks in it

Thank you for your time.....

 

[Miss Lydia]

I don't know how you feel about the Muscovy duck. The are bigger than calls but are pretty friendly, wag their tails like doggies too. I don't pick mine up much and cuddle them but they like to hang out with us and love it when you dig in the yard or garden thinking it's all about getting them a worm. lol

 

[DuckLover3]

Ok, first of all, bread is terrible for ducks! Do NOT feed your ducks bread! Secondly, don't give up on your ducks. If you want them to love you, you have to spend a lot of time with them, especially when they're little, but also when they're adults. My Cayuga loved it when I held her or pet her, but I've also heard that Indian Runners make great pets.

Hint: if you order a lot of ducks (anything over 6 normally) they won't bond very well to you. Your best bet is 1 to 4, but even 4 is pushing it. You can always raise a few ducklings at a time until you have the amount you want, although if you're ordering them from a hatchery, that could get expensive.

Good luck!

 

[Oregon Blues]

This is not intended to be an insult. It is intended to be good advice. If you want a pet to love you, get a dog.

Ducks do not like to be picked up and handled. The best use for ducks is to have something that you can watch and admire but do not expect to cuddle and adore you. You are hoping for something that is not in their nature.

Ducks are timid by nature. It takes a lot of calm handling to get them to trust and feel confident to come right up to your feet to eat. If you catch them and pick them up or pet them, then they will probably avoid you and want to stay far enough away that you can't catch them.

If you want a bird that loves you, try a cockateil. They adore attention and will sit on your shoulder, follow you around, and learn to talk.

 

[wildpeas]

I agree 100% with Oregon. Ducks just aren't meant to be cuddly lap pets. Sure some people have ducks that act more like dogs but they are the exception to the rule. No matter how much farm breeding is done, at the end of things ducks are still semi-wild animals with prey animal instincts. My ducks are being raised as pets but as pets that we watch and dont touch unless we have to. They will follow us around outside to a certain extent but when we want them to go some where we have to herd them. They do not respond to their names and only come within catching distance when I dont want to catch them or if I have peas. I want to add, our ducks are not afraid of us but they do keep an eye on us like any sensible prey animal would do.

My goslings are a little different. They seem to like to be picked up and held. They also like to have their necks stroked and they 'talk' to us all the time. They lay next to our chairs when outside and will eat from our hands. I expect them to outgrow most of these behaviors but still be friendly as adults.

 

[DuckLover3]

In most respects Oregon Blue is correct, although my Cayuga did enjoy being held and pet, as did my Rouen/Kahki drake (he even stayed so close to me that I had to avoid tripping over him), but that is unusual. If you have just 1 duckling (which isn't really suggested as they are flock animals), then the duck will most likely bond to you as a member of its flock, but otherwise your best bet is a different kind of animal (like a dog). Also, even if your duck does love you, it can create problems. For example, my drake was the only one to hatch out of 7 eggs, so that's probably why he was so affectionate to me, but now he seems out to kill me. He has become very aggressive and has even drawn blood with some of his bites. So yeah, if you want an animal that will really be affectionate towards you, you probably don't want a duck.

 

[m.kitchengirl]

I am afraid I have to agree with the crew here.
I love my ducks, but I love them for their duckisms, not because they have feelings for me. My ducks love water, peas, slugs... They seem to enjoy when I sit outside, keep still, and watch them. They like to run near the hose & bite the spray that splashes up. They like to command me to do their bidding.
I had read all of these things about ducks being the new dog before I got my ducks, and I handled them like crazy & tried to make mine into this creature I had read about. They are happier being ducks, and I am happier letting them be ducks.


My English Angora rabbit (male) is extraordinarily sweet & cuddly. I have also read English Lops & other large breeds of rabbit can be very dog-like. My English is a nice mix - he is independent like a cat in some ways, and friendly like a dog when it is his time out of the cage. I can fill his feed & take off for the day/an overnight & he is fine. Dogs are a huge commitment, one I can't make right now, but the bunnies are just right for me. Maybe it is time to start exploring other options.

Good luck.

 

[DenverDucky]

My pekin duck is very sweet and loving. I've had her since she was a few days old and she bonded to me right away! She will demand to get up onto my lap, bed, couch and will spend hours cuddling with me. She loves to be as close to me as possible I hope this helps!

 

[SoCalChick]

Thank you to those who actually gave me breed advice. I never said or stated that I wanted to hold them, cuddle them, or pet them like a rabbit. I just asked for a breed of duck that didnt mind being around a person and didn't fly & flee when they saw me every day. Im sure just like chickens there are some breeds that are more friendly - thats all I was asking.

 

[tinydancer87]

My ducks are like what you are wanting, they will come to about 3-4 feet away, eat, etc, they just don't like to be picked up. They will "quickly waddle away" if you start walking towards them swiftly, they can tell when you are after them, lol. I have 2 runners and 3 cayugas, they were handled a lot as babies, but once they got old enough to go outside they mingled with the chickens and didn't get held anymore. I think they learned from the chickens about how to run to me for food, lol. They will eat out of the feed bucket as I'm holding it, but the minute my hand or arm moves in their direction, they are walking away quacking.

I know that some breeds of ducks are just more flighty, mandarins, wood ducks and other wild types are like that. I do think I read somewhere that calls can be like that too. I know cayuga and runners are ok, also muscovies, pekins, and rouens. I usually will hatch out a bunch of babies, handle them all the same way, and when they get older I will sell the "wilder" ones and keep the tamer ones. Even within a breed you can have exceptions as to wildness/tameness.