indian runner ducklings!

[animalloverabh]

hmmm im stuck between appleyards and runners....cant decide....help?

 

[WadeMD]

Runners are very skittish in my experience... swedish and cayuga are far less so (I imagine many of the larger ducks are less so). I wouldn't choose a runner as a lap duck - very loud and very apt to scare themselves (and it lasts a long time when they do). However, if they live outside and are just conditioned to enjoy human company, any would probably work just fine.

 

[1lpoock]

I kind of disagree with the above post. Everyone has different experiences and I've only had my runners for a week, but they are the sweetest things!

 

[Sweetfolly]

Quote:
They tend to get more skittish as they mature. Again, it's all about how much time and effort you put into taming them - and you need to keep it up all the time, not just when they're little if you want to keep them tame.

Mine were very bold ducklings, very bold juveniles, and now that they're breeding they're become a lot more stand-offish and suspicious of me, and the drake will flap and bite at me if I reach into the pen while they're in there. The duck is still very sweet, but she doesn't run up to the fence every time she sees me to beg for treats anymore.

Personally, I'd go for Appleyards, animalloverabh - they're rarer, and being a bigger breed, they should be calmer and less skittish. However, Runners are a great choice as well - plus, they come in so many more colors!

 

[Amiga]

So far, at twelve weeks, my eleven runners are little sweethearts. About five of them are a bit shy, probably always will be. The other six call for me, come over to visit me, nibble my shoes and trousers and so forth. All of them are very cooperative and easy to herd. When there is the occasional breakout of the temporary fence area (I am with them when they are in that fence, so I see the breakouts immediately - actually, they are usually a result of the runners wanting to be closer to me), I fairly easily can get them back in the pen by herding or they will let me pick them up, one by one, and place them back inside the fence.

They went through a very skittish stage from three to five weeks, but we seem to have worked through that.