Imprinting my duclinks?

[Johnchickens2]

Hi!
I've got two Muscovy ducklings. They eat right from my hands and like ro nibble my fingers, which I know shows affection. But they dont seem to follow me, they just follow one another. I am afraid they lose the bonding with humans and when they grow older, they will run away from my children and I. We really want them not to be scared of humans. They are about 4 weeks old. What can be done?

 

[Miss Lydia]

They have mainly imprinted on each other. But sure sounds like you have a good relationship with them. We really have to enjoy what they give us which is mostly eating out of our hands and enjoying hanging out with us. I can get my group of 5 Muscovy and 9 Runners and Buffs and goose and chickens to follow me when I put mealworms into a container with a lid and shake it and whistle I've been doing this since they were all young and they know if they come and follow me they will get a treat. I don't expect my birds to be up in my lap cuddling that happens when tiny but they grow out of it pretty fast. Hopefully your two Muscovy ducklings will stay close to you. Mine really are like little puppies they eat out of my hand they come running when I bring out the shovel to look for worms and they aren't afraid of me just don't want to be picked up.

 

[Luv Ducks]

They have mainly imprinted on each other. But sure sounds like you have a good relationship with them. We really have to enjoy what they give us which is mostly eating out of our hands and enjoying hanging out with us. I can get my group of 5 Muscovy and 9 Runners and Buffs and goose and chickens to follow me when I put mealworms into a container with a lid and shake it and whistle I've been doing this since they were all young and they know if they come and follow me they will get a treat. I don't expect my birds to be up in my lap cuddling that happens when tiny but they grow out of it pretty fast. Hopefully your two Muscovy ducklings will stay close to you. Mine really are like little puppies they eat out of my hand they come running when I bring out the shovel to look for worms and they aren't afraid of me just don't want to be picked up.

Mine are the same way. My Ducks know when I have lettuce which they love and when I sit out in the pen with them will surround me to get their fair share. They don't want to be held and only my Muscovy Drake lets me pet him. The rest say "We'll eat your lettuce but HANDS OFF!!!! lol

 

[CoriM]

Yes, be thankful they are bonded to each other. You would never be able to give the type of company to one duck that they need. They are flock animals! But you can still raise them to love you and come to you by spending a lot of time with them, being calm and gentle with them, and giving them special treats every day. My ducks will come running to me for treats no matter what, and will sometimes follow me if I am trying to get them to go somewhere they want to go. But they mostly need to be bonded to each other, and you might even consider adding a 3rd duck so that if something happens to one of them the lone duck is not desolate.

 

[Quatie]

All the muscovy I have, I have gotten where they were 5-9 weeks of age. Despite not hand raising them, they have been fairly social. They are very smart birds and realize you bring them treats, food, fresh water and such. My muscovy are always the ones more curious about what I am doing. Mine do not like being handled or pet, but they will happily eat out of my hand. They may go through some broody hormonal moments, but they normally remain pretty sweet as long as you spend time with them.