Help with Pekin ducks!

Lynz1889

Hatching
5 Years
Aug 22, 2014
1
0
7
Forest Lake Minnesota
I am new to ducks. I hatched 3 pekin ducks on August 17th of this year. I keep them in my house in an old pack N play. I do have a hand built wood duck house outside for them when the weather is nice. Winter is approaching fast here in MN.

I need help with ideas on how to create a safe place to keep them. Either inside my home or outside. Right now my house is very stinky, I keep up on cleaning out there area and keeping it poop free, but it's very overwhelming. I was thinking about diapering, but I do not know a single thing about diapering a duck, how successful is it? is it worth the money? Would my ducks even allow such a thing since they are 6 weeks old?

Also, I need ideas on how to get them to trust me. Any time I approach they get jumpy and skittish, they warm up a little bit after a few minutes, but I thought they would trust me more since I hatched them and they live inside with me. I do work, so I go hours during the day without seeing them. I take them out of their pen and let them roam around my basement and watch tv with them, I will hand feed them spinach as a treat. I do have one pekin that is trusting of me and he/she lets me hold them and cuddle with them, but my other two Ruby & Reggie still seem nervous.

I have Ferd ( Ferdinand) Ruby and Reggie (Reginald) I believe Reggie is a drake. Would that have anything to do with why he is the most untrusting of me? The 3 of them have always been together since hatching. So I do know that they imprinted on each other. Is there still time to get my ducks to bond with me and trust me?

Thanks!
Lynsie
 
Basically talking, petting and hand feeding treats will help a duck trust you. There is a huge list of duck treats here -->https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/242460/the-ultimate-list-of-duck-treats-and-supplements

As for a duck house you can use a dog house, coop or build your own. Ducks are quite cold hardy depending on the breed. Some duck house's have 3 walls and a roof. The height should be tall enough for them to stretch up without hitting the roof and the width able to accommodate their extended wing span, if they wanted to stretch.

Keep these questions in mind. How cold does it get where you live? Whats the wind like and sun exposure like?

If it gets really cold pick a sunny spot with low wind currents.

Is your yard enclosed? If not consider making a run. Mines 8 by 8 with 4 ducks and the house is 3 by 8, all 3 ft tall.
 
I have raised Peking ducks for 3 years now. When I had my first bunch of ducks, I built a big duck house put in straw and heat lamps a small kids pool with a heater in the water and fenced in the area to protect against predators. The ducks never used the house. They stayed out in the snow. Didn't matter 10 degrees or 100 degrees. I have pictures of them swimming in the pool with it snowing. Ducks are built to withstand the cold. The water never really hits their skin because of the oils in their feathers. This past winter I went out to feed my chickens and ducks and couldn't find the ducks. Here they were laying on the ground covered with snow from the night before. They really do tolerate the cold well. As for getting them to trust you, it really is a matter of handling them from the start. Pretty much after they 48 hours of hatching handle them daily and often. They need to develop a bond with you and that's done through close contact. Also the house I built them, they never used it. Hope This helps. Good luck.
 
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