How do you tame an adult Muscovy?

[chinwok]

What is the best way to tame a single adult muscovy duck that was rescued from a live poultry butcher shop? And how long will it take to gain its trust? And even though it’s already an adult, what are the chances it will imprint on me?

 

[KaleIAm]

My understanding is that the window for imprinting is very small, and has passed. But that doesn't mean your duck won't be friendly and enjoy your company.

My ducks are not imprinted on me. I have 3, and got 2 as 1.5+ year olds adults. They were terrified of me at first. Now they come when I call. Follow me around. Eat from my hand. Run to me when they see/hear something scary. One even hops up into my lap. The one I got as a baby doesn't even do that!!

None of my ducks enjoy being touched, though. Out of respect, I don't do it. They also prefer it if I walk around them instead of directly toward them, and avoid direct eye contact.

It took me about 2 or 3 months to tame my "wild" adults. I was only working part-time, and it was summer, so I could spend tons of time outside with them. Basically I sat outside in the grass ( in their aviary) and threw mealworms at them. I was very very still. I spent many hours a day reading about 10 feet away from them. When they seemed comfortable with that for a couple days I sat 8 feet away. I always threw mealworms so they associated me with deliciousness. Slowly I got closer and closer, until they were eating the mealworms right from my hands. I never moved closer until they were comfortable. Patience is the key.

Even though my ducks enjoy me very much, they would be sad without another duck. For the emotional health of your duck I highly recommend you get a friend for your duck.

 

[chinwok]

My understanding is that the window for imprinting is very small, and has passed. But that doesn't mean your duck won't be friendly and enjoy your company.

My ducks are not imprinted on me. I have 3, and got 2 as 1.5+ year olds adults. They were terrified of me at first. Now they come when I call. Follow me around. Eat from my hand. Run to me when they see/hear something scary. One even hops up into my lap. The one I got as a baby doesn't even do that!!

None of my ducks enjoy being touched, though. Out of respect, I don't do it. They also prefer it if I walk around them instead of directly toward them, and avoid direct eye contact.

It took me about 2 or 3 months to tame my "wild" adults. I was only working part-time, and it was summer, so I could spend tons of time outside with them. Basically I sat outside in the grass ( in their aviary) and threw mealworms at them. I was very very still. I spent many hours a day reading about 10 feet away from them. When they seemed comfortable with that for a couple days I sat 8 feet away. I always threw mealworms so they associated me with deliciousness. Slowly I got closer and closer, until they were eating the mealworms right from my hands. I never moved closer until they were comfortable. Patience is the key.

Even though my ducks enjoy me very much, they would be sad without another duck. For the emotional health of your duck I highly recommend you get a friend for your duck.

Thank you! Very informative advice.

I will follow your advice of being patient and respectful to the duck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

My Muscovy ducks are 12-8-7 yrs old and they will eat out of my hand and don’t mind a bit in me sitting out with them, they don’t like being handled, I only do it if necessary. They love dried meal worms, if your weather permits you might want to sit out as much as possible quietly being there. Then offer meal worms toss some a few feet away then over time just get them tossed closer and closer to you till she is eating out of your hand. She’ll come around. Bless you for rescuing her. Hopefully any trauma she has had in her life will eventually go away and she’ll trust you.

 

[Raenh]

It won't imprint, it might bond... but it's going to take A LOT of time, love, patience, and tenderness...

Good luck!

 

[bhaugh]

As stated please get her a friend preferably another muscovy. Ducks can hang out with chickens but they really prefer the company of their own kind.

 

[KaleIAm]

How is your duck doing?

I remembered another way to help your duck like you and feel more comfortable while I was walking to my barn this morning. My ducks don't like being startled or "snuck up" on. Really, anything that makes me seem like a scary predator they don't like, so I avoid those things. So when I am approaching their barn room or aviary I always let them know I am coming by saying, "hello ducks, quack quack quack!" I say the same thing each time and they know it means I am coming and going to give them something yummy.

By paying attention to your duck you will learn what they don't like. And you can try to make your experiences with them as fear free as possible. Then your duck will associate you with resources and protection instead of scary things. I imagine your duck will need a lot of positive experiences to recover from the negative ones they have already had.

Have you thought about getting a duck friend?

 

[miribb]

Hi there, I rescued an adult muscovy back in May. She was likely 8-12 months we we found her. Taming her took a long time and a few tricks, but she's very user friendly now. During hand feeding, I'd approach her with the food with both hands cupped, and while she was eating, start to scratch her chest and neck with the other hand from underneath. Eventually I could more obviously scratch her neck and after time, move round to her back. She leans into a shoulder and neck scratch. Having 2 hands coming towards her was too scary. Avoid loose and long tops, those are a bit scary, too. Took us about 4-5 months of at least twice daily periods of human interaction. Helps a lot that they are food driven. Usually she does a submissive crouch right before we spread her pellets out.

She gets talked to a lot, and 'chats' back, with no sound of course. She's become warier recently during breeding, and has no mate so we're learning a lot about her moods right now.

 

[Miss Lydia]

She could use a girl friend. I don’t know where you are located but there are a lot of muscovy dumped at parks and ponds in need of a good home.

 

[johntfs]

Meanwhile, prior to getting her a friend, try putting some (securely mounted) mirrors in her living area. Ducks do better in flocks - even imaginary flocks.