I have stupid ducks......

[jbrown_14105]

Hello,
I got these Peking ducks from the SPCA 3/4 grown now almost fully grown....I think they have NEVER seen a farm pond. They are scared I think.
My wife & I have been "herding" them to the pond to swim....they are scared of the pond, we finally have to almost push them in, they will suddenly figure out that they are paddling with out their feet touching ground. They will all gather up real close to swim, do the duck things that ducks do while in the water, flappin, splashing, bathing, even diving once in a while. (real close)
When we leave them for a while and stand close by they will stay in the water for a bit...all bunched up real tight, almost on top of each other, and after a few minutes they splash real fast & almost "run out" then the natural preening will result which is good.

However is there ever gonna be a time when they would ever go to the pond to swim ? (it's a natural that a duck takes to water ????...not these guys)

 

[dumb_cluck]

Believe me, they will "get it". They need to be relaxed enough to discover the fun of being in the water. If they were caged by the ASPCA, then they are pretty scared of EVERYTHING. Like being cooped up as a child, then taken to the park at age 12.

 

[MichikoSaur]

Yeahh, I agree with the first post, I say only time will tell, I don't think they'd be scared forever. Just give them time. They'll make their way. just keep encouraging them.

Good Luck to you!!

 

[srpaint]

I found with my ducks I finally just had to leave them be. Then they started going in on there own all the time. They really like it when you put fresh water in too.

 

[gryeyes]

No, you have "developmentally disabled" ducks, suffering from a woefully un-enriched ducklinghood. They're not stupid!

All but my very first two ducks were terrified of swimming water at first.

 

[missred871]

lol Darlin' we ALL have stupid ducks, hahaha. Wouldnt change it for the world! Give em some thawed out frozen peas and make nice with them. If you were caged by the ASPCA you would be scared too I cant imagine, kudos to you for taking them in, eventually they will start acting like normal stupid ducks but for now they are flighty and afraid someone is going to put them in another cage. So butter em up and love em eventually they will see the light and go to the pond themselves lol.

 

[chickensioux]

Quote:

 

[Thomas423]

Peking ducks are not the sharpest crayons in the box. They are kinda stupid.
We had 2 raised from chicks that loved being in their little pool, but everytime they went to go in it, they had to re-learn where the entry point was.
It was so funny to watch. They would run around and around until they finally figured out the spot that we had built up for them to enter.

From what I read about Pekings, all the natural instincts have been bred out of the species.
Maybe give them a little swimming pool to use until they get used to being in water.
And enjoy them. They'll give you many reasons to laugh.