I think my ducklings hate me :-(

[Sweetest]

Last Thursday, my MIL and I went to TSC to pick out some chicks. We ended up with fifteen chickens... And then she saw the baby ducklings, and had to have those too. They're too cute! I was ok with having maybe two...we ended up with four lol. Now, nothing personal, but I'm not a huge fan of duck eggs for eating. So, as far as I'm concerned, these ducks are just going to be cute little things waddling around while the chickens scratch.

All four ducklings live with the chickens, and there have been NO problems so far. A little pecking out of curiosity, but no aggression toward each other. I have two issues.

One: My duckies have little bits of peeling skin on their poor feet. I've read that this is because they grow so quickly (I swear ours have doubled overnight), that their skin just starts to peel. It's just a little flaking, like a sunburn. Is this true? Or should I be worried?

Two: This is the REAL issue for me. I swear, these birds hate me. They peep and peep and peep and scream their little heads off at me. I pick one up, and he screams and squirms until I put him back down or let him waddle up my arm and bury his head in my hair. I have no problem sitting like that for a while, but eventually I do have to move around. They will eat out of my hand. We've let them swim a couple of times.

I have no idea how old they are or what breed they are. Like I said...I got them at TSC. My suspicions are that they're pekin ducks. No idea on the sex either at this point. They've begun preening a little bit, but other than that, all they do is run around the cage, eat, drink, and peep.

Does anyone have any idea how to get the ducks to stop screaming every time I'm near them? Or if that's just normal for ducklings, and they'll outgrow it?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Last Thursday, my MIL and I went to TSC to pick out some chicks. We ended up with fifteen chickens... And then she saw the baby ducklings, and had to have those too. They're too cute! I was ok with having maybe two...we ended up with four lol. Now, nothing personal, but I'm not a huge fan of duck eggs for eating. So, as far as I'm concerned, these ducks are just going to be cute little things waddling around while the chickens scratch.

All four ducklings live with the chickens, and there have been NO problems so far. A little pecking out of curiosity, but no aggression toward each other. I have two issues.

One: My duckies have little bits of peeling skin on their poor feet. I've read that this is because they grow so quickly (I swear ours have doubled overnight), that their skin just starts to peel. It's just a little flaking, like a sunburn. Is this true? Or should I be worried?

Two: This is the REAL issue for me. I swear, these birds hate me. They peep and peep and peep and scream their little heads off at me. I pick one up, and he screams and squirms until I put him back down or let him waddle up my arm and bury his head in my hair. I have no problem sitting like that for a while, but eventually I do have to move around. They will eat out of my hand. We've let them swim a couple of times.

I have no idea how old they are or what breed they are. Like I said...I got them at TSC. My suspicions are that they're pekin ducks. No idea on the sex either at this point. They've begun preening a little bit, but other than that, all they do is run around the cage, eat, drink, and peep.

Does anyone have any idea how to get the ducks to stop screaming every time I'm near them? Or if that's just normal for ducklings, and they'll outgrow it?

and yes pretty typical of ducklings, they are after prey. it will take some time but the more time you spend with them the friendlier tey will be come, How about just sitting on the floor and letting them come to you and not picking them up except when you have to. If we place ourselves in the ducklings shoes[so to speak] can you imagine how scary it would be to see something as huge as us humans coming in to their lil world and being picked up? I think I'd be terrified. If you can find dried mealworms, I find my ducklings and chicks love them and will crawl all over me for some in my hand. also some frozen lil green peas, thawed and smashed a bit so the ducklings can eat them. Patience is the key here, and it's very common for ducklings feet to peel. have they been in the tub yet? if not put some warm water in the tub and first time just to top of their legs let them splash around and play for about 5-10 mins,. making sure there are no drafts. then after they have had bath time be sure to pat dry and put right back under heat lamp. This will get them started preening and will also help with their peeling feet. be sure to stay with them while they are in the tub. after they have had their first tub time then give them more water so they can float and dive under they will have a blst and you will enjoy watching them. Good luck on getting them to love you, they may never want to be picked up but I can say you will have them following you around in no time if you take it slow and get to know them. Keep us update, and pics are always welcome. In case you haven't seen this: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/750869/raising-and-caring-for-ducklings#post_10611711

 

[Sweetest]

I spend quite a bit of time every day with my birds. I wake up and before I go to work, I sit on the floor with them. When I come home at lunchtime, I go in and pet them and take to them. And at night, I come home, throw my bags on the floor, and run in to hang out with the birds. I can take a chicken or two into the living room to watch tv after dinner. The chickens seem content to just hang out...watch a little tv, fall asleep on my chest, peck at my hair, go back to sleep... I've actually got one of the chicks on my chest right now...we've been watching chicken videos on YouTube, and it looks like he's trying to imitate lol.

When I go in the other room to hang out with the chickens and ducks, usually I just open the cage and sit on the floor. Eventually, they start coming out to me, crawling up my pant legs, sitting in my hands... They're really sweet. The ducks seem to not want to come out at all.

We take them for a bath every other day, and they really like being in the tub. Before, we were letting them swim in a plastic bin with water, and they didn't seem to like it much. I think they just felt crowded. Because tonight in the tub, they were swimming around and ducking their faces into the water, and one kept trying to swim and scratch his neck at the same time lol. Maybe having more room makes them happier...I dunno.

Thanks for your advice about the ducklings. I'm not quite sure how old they are...old enough to be starting to get feathers on the "shoulders" or their wings, but everywhere else is still fluff. Their bills are turning a more orange color, instead of being pink. I swear, the ducklings double and triple in size every time I see them! How old should they be before I start giving them treats like mealworms? I don't want to jump the gun and upset their little tummies.

 

[ohiofarmboy]

Well I don't know anything about the peeling feet but my ducks are screamers too. I found the way to there heart is peas! They LOVE peas! Keep in though they need grit (sand) to help digest anything but crumbles. Have fun!

And I'm sure they don't hate you. They are most likely just scared.

 

[GloryGirl]

Are they feathering like this?




These are my Welsh Harlequins that are 4 weeks and 2 days.

This is what they looked like a week ago:




Hopefully that will help you narrow down their age, but I'm not 100% sure that feathering age isn't breed or size related.

 

[BickeringToast]

Awww! I doubt they hate you, ducklings (at least my 4) seem to LOVE raising the alarm. My 4-pack peeps like maniacs but then want attention (aka peas). All 4 will sit on my legs if I sit on the ground in their pen. Doc is the only one who does not mind being caught AND held. Mose doesn't mind being caught but does NOT want to be held. Niles acts like a lunatic when being caught but doesn't mind being held.And Daphne is not at all thrilled to be caught but seems to like being kind of wrapped up in a towel and held.

Just keep being patient and paying attention to them and they will figure out you are not out to get them

 

[Sweetest]

A bag of peas it is!! They eat crumble out of my hand, and they try to eat the camera when I'm taking pictures. They're very curious. And their eyes are VERY intelligent. Eyes, I said. I'm reserving judgment on their brains. Like I said...they DO try to eat the camera...

My ducklings look like this:





A week ago, when we bought them, they were tiny enough to fit into one hand. The chicks that I have in the cage are two different ages, but we can't pinpoint yet (thank you, TSC). We were told that the ducklings are the same age as the smallest of the chicks we bought that day, and the smallest chicks were juuuust starting to get their wing feathers on the tips. I think they've at least doubled size in a week!!! Because they they're even bigger than my oldest chicks!

 

[missnu01]

Yep, those are Pekin ducks...you haven't seen anything yet in the way of growth...They are a huge full size duck in around 6-7 weeks...so it has to happen fast. We are thinking of raising pekin ducks as meat birds...They are dirty, but they get big fast..As fast as cornish X, but I can breed my own Pekins...

 

[nickie]

Rough guess: maybe 2-3 weeks old. The camera angle makes it hard to tell. The appear to be pekins.

 

[Sweetest]

Thanks!
So so helpful!!!


These were the ducklings the night we brought them home. They were the size of my hand. And my hand is about 6 inches from wrist to the tip of my middle finger.


Hopefully this picture gives a better idea of the size. On the left is a seven pound hanging feeder from TSC. Obviously, not hanging. On the right is a one gallon drinker. It takes two hands to hold a duck these days.


I'm hoping that the zoning board moves quickly. We didn't think that zoning was going to be a problem, since we live on ag land. But because we have an older, undersized lot, they're telling us that coops have to be in a certain spot. But that's impossible for us. If ducks grow THAT fast, the zoning board will hopefully move and move quickly!!!!!!!