Indoor Duck Questions...

[HappyPlace]

I figured if I did'nt understand the how or why, I would never know if I were doing something right or wrong or if what I was doing could be done better. I'm one of those people that does'nt grasp the concept of good 'nuff. Not OCD by any stretch of the imagination..but I believe that knowledge is power and gives the individual the ability to do more and do it better.

I feel the same way. I'd rather hear a hundred ideas from others before a project than spend a hundred hours trying to figure how to get something to work... I was raised "work smart, not hard" and to read the instructions first.

If I do decide to keep indoor ducks, I'll definitely have to keep in mind the painters' tarp, too. Definitely sounds like a time saver.

 

[duckdad]

Thanks,

Its a constant battle trying to find that perfect solution to cut down on time and effort. I tried blue tarps, that were ok as a base not as a surface to live on because they absorb nothing and they are slippery.
Towels ON blue tarps was the best solution up till now.

The painter canvas is like a 2 in 1 with canvas on one side and a rubber coating on the other. The canvas will absorb some of the 'wet' but the rubber prevents it from leaking thru.
Since my outside pen in on the patio, I try to minimize the washing as much as possible but I DO understand that every few days I have to strip it all and use a bleach water to clean it off and kill any mold.

The indoor pen can all be washed in the machine and/or hosed off outside. Inside and because of the shape of the indoor pen I use cheap nylon or polyester pillow cases to block the wet. I layer towels & cases on top of the tarp so nothing can get thru to flooring. Can't utilize my favorite tool (water hose) inside the house. I've always said that IF I ever got to design and build my perfect home it woulld have a firehose on the wall and a floor drain in the middle of the room for houskeeping...
The cheap pillow cases don;t absorb and let you shake off the solids outside. I roll them up, place them in a plastic box and carry the mess outdoors to shake off before heading to the machine.

After a bad experience with the bathroom mats....I know pretty much NOT to use bleach in the machine with the rubber backed canvas tarp...

 

[WafflesNTimmy]

Duck dad and happy place you both allowed for such an informational thread! Thank you!

I'm here looking and looking for information on indoor ducks for emotional support animal purposes. I too am waiting til the housing is right to adopt one. I have two current outside ducks whom I love love love. I would do diapers, though I can't find much information past the "basics" I love the info on the behavioral side of the ducks! I'd love to learn to train them to help me with my emotional needs rather than hire an expert (if there ever was one ) and have a very personal and loving relationship with my ducks. Duck dad are yours imprinted? How long can you be away from them? I have a job at a restaurant where I do six hours at a time.

 

[barnababy]

[[[.......Is there anyone that doesn't use diapers for their indoor duck?......]]]]

Actually, at the moment I don't. I have a duckling that was a surprise hatch- the only sole one that we did not know somehow his egg has been stashed away out back and we didn't find it. A opossum did, however, and tried to eat it, thereby hatching him early. He had a lot of problems; beginning with the left side of his face torn off and bleeding when we discovered him in the yard, still wet from his egg, and his eyes not yet open. Later a slipped wing, and some leg trouble that doesn't alter the way he stands or walks but when he is tired seems to pain him. With his injuries I didn't feel right putting harnesses or diapers on him and I haven't been able to find any designs that accommodate his issues. I do currently have my third one on the way now to try to start training him.
It is a ton of work. An absolute ton some days. Luckily for me (or should I say him) I'm not employed due to my own health issues, so all day long it's vacuuming, shampooing carpets, cleaning and changing his bedding and mine, mopping the floors, cleaning the garage floor, rinsing his pool out front (which doesn't matter because he hates water and will not get in it), he won't go in the backyard, doesn't want to be near any of the Ducks... and you CANNOT leave them alone. I only run errands with a babysitter at the house to keep an eye on both him and my kids: leaving the kids in charge of watching him because he sees them as my other ducklings and will be upset otherwise. I don't trust anybody to watch him or take care of him properly, so I've sort of babied him into being a bit of a brat, but that's the way that he likes it.
just keep all these things in mind for anyone that wants an indoor duck. They really are amazing, but they are a ton of work, and I've seen too many people think that they want a pet like a dog and then get a new phone or something trivial and decide that the new expense means that they just can't afford the food for the pet anymore and they will Craigslist the animal or worst, going to a local park and releasing them to a flock of ducks that are going to kill them. It's abuse and it's sad.
My other three stay in the backyard. When they were younger they were inside in a pen with bedding the normal way and then they would get time just around the house with me and a few times a day I took them out gardening, taught them how to hunt for bugs and where the best places where to find the best bugs. As they grew, it became 12 hours in and 12 hours out, keeping them inside at night because I didn't have a pen yet. This new guy was a complete surprise and I rescued him, so I didn't save his life just to throw them out to be killed by his daddy duck and now I am enjoying all of the crazy possibilities that can be a duck who thinks he's human.

 

[acriswell4]

I have a couple little female rouens, one I hatched and the other purchased, that are growing up indoors until they are big enough to take care of themselves and live among the other adults. Its work. It's like having a 2 yr old baby....a couple 2 yr old babies. They get into everything, chew on everything, poop on everything, and eat like small hogs.....


I keep my 2 "kids" in a pen that I made from 1/2" PVC pipe and use old towels to line the bottom so they have a softer surface to walk on. I wrapped the pen with garden fencing thats secured with tie-straps to the legs of the pen.

I lay a tarp down, then the towels, them set the pen on that. They have plenty of room to run and play, I can roll up the towels and take them outside to hose off the worst of the mess before throwing them in the washer. Kids get bath time daily, fresh water as needed (food and water in bowls that are inside a tupperware container to help avoid spills)  and fed twice daily. Thier area still requires some extra attention since they cannot take a bite or drink of anything without slinging it all across the pen...and onto the wall.  As long as I keep "fresh sheets" on their bed the smell does not get bad and I use air fresheners when they are away playing in the water. I have to pick up the little one but the other will hop out of the tub and walk right next to me all the way to the pen and stand there waiting to be helped back inside...they DO learn.


Its alot of work but I would not trade it for the world. They are more fun than I could ever have imagined, and I have the pleasure of watching these 2 intelligent birds grow up and mature. They are imprinted and spoiled rotten, but they were never intended to be wild and totally on their own.


If you;re up to raising a couple children that are extremely curious, a little messy, sometimes nasty, and sometimes noisy, then go for it !  If you love ducks you;ll likely love having a couple in the house. They're a constant source of entertainment around here.

Can you post a pic of the ducks pen

 

[acriswell4]

Actually, at the moment I don't. I have a duckling that was a surprise hatch- the only sole one that we did not know somehow his egg has been stashed away out back and we didn't find it. A opossum did, however, and tried to eat it, thereby hatching him early. He had a lot of problems; beginning with the left side of his face torn off and bleeding when we discovered him in the yard, still wet from his egg, and his eyes not yet open. Later a slipped wing, and some leg trouble that doesn't alter the way he stands or walks but when he is tired seems to pain him. With his injuries I didn't feel right putting harnesses or diapers on him and I haven't been able to find any designs that accommodate his issues. I do currently have my third one on the way now to try to start training him.
It is a ton of work. An absolute ton some days. Luckily for me (or should I say him) I'm not employed due to my own health issues, so all day long it's vacuuming, shampooing carpets, cleaning and changing his bedding and mine, mopping the floors, cleaning the garage floor, rinsing his pool out front (which doesn't matter because he hates water and will not get in it), he won't go in the backyard, doesn't want to be near any of the Ducks... and you CANNOT leave them alone. I only run errands with a babysitter at the house to keep an eye on both him and my kids: leaving the kids in charge of watching him because he sees them as my other ducklings and will be upset otherwise. I don't trust anybody to watch him or take care of him properly, so I've sort of babied him into being a bit of a brat, but that's the way that he likes it.
just keep all these things in mind for anyone that wants an indoor duck. They really are amazing, but they are a ton of work, and I've seen too many people think that they want a pet like a dog and then get a new phone or something trivial and decide that the new expense means that they just can't afford the food for the pet anymore and they will Craigslist the animal or worst, going to a local park and releasing them to a flock of ducks that are going to kill them. It's abuse and it's sad.
My other three stay in the backyard. When they were younger they were inside in a pen with bedding the normal way and then they would get time just around the house with me and a few times a day I took them out gardening, taught them how to hunt for bugs and where the best places where to find the best bugs. As they grew, it became 12 hours in and 12 hours out, keeping them inside at night because I didn't have a pen yet. This new guy was a complete surprise and I rescued him, so I didn't save his life just to throw them out to be killed by his daddy duck and now I am enjoying all of the crazy possibilities that can be a duck who thinks he's human.

I also have a single inside duck that I have had since she was born, and I love her to pieces and all summer she has gone camping, rafting, boating, and basically everywhere I go. She can not be left alone and she wants nothing to do with other ducks, I work at a school so summer was easy to care for her but now school is starting and she is almost all grown so now she won't come to me anymore except on her terms and she is getting more and more skiddish, my husband will be home so she won't be alone but she did not bond to him the way she did with me and my daughter, spots imprinted. I thought maybe a new home with other ducks would be best that maybe he would adapt but after a week I went to see him and he ran into my arms and started chirping and shaking. So I brought him back home. We are hoping to move next year onto property so I just need to stick it out. Also if I didn't have two dogs that wanted to eat him it would be easy to just let him have free range of the house. I get his diaper next week. What kind of pen do you have yours in and what breed

 

[acriswell4]

Duck dad and happy place you both allowed for such an informational thread! Thank you!

I'm here looking and looking for information on indoor ducks for emotional support animal purposes. I too am waiting til the housing is right to adopt one. I have two current outside ducks whom I love love love. I would do diapers, though I can't find much information past the "basics" I love the info on the behavioral side of the ducks! I'd love to learn to train them to help me with my emotional needs rather than hire an expert (if there ever was one ) and have a very personal and loving relationship with my ducks. Duck dad are yours imprinted? How long can you be away from them? I have a job at a restaurant where I do six hours at a time.

My duck is now two months and spots did imprint!! He is getting better with me leaving he doesn't yell the entire time, I have only been gone 5 hours at the most but I go back to work on Tuesday so we will see

 

[barnababy]

Half pekin half rouen. And i dont keep him in a pen. He has a soft crate that's collapsible but i want him to like it on his own. He likes it ubder the bed better. He has 2 dog beds aroubd the house, one goes onto my bed at night with strategic bedding cuz he sleeps with me. He has a cat bed that's easiely thrown in the washer that he sits on the center console of the truck on if i do have to go anywhere.
Funny you should mention your husband, starting last weekend, wheb mine vomes to town Barnaby will bite the **** out of him. Hes never attempted to bite anyone before. He's just a lover. But he can't stand the husband. Although at night he wants to lay on his legs to sleep.but if Josh moves to reach him, B bites, hard.

I also have a single inside duck that I have had since she was born, and I love her to pieces and all summer she has gone camping, rafting, boating, and basically everywhere I go. She can not be left alone and she wants nothing to do with other ducks, I work at a school so summer was easy to care for her but now school is starting and she is almost all grown so now she won't come to me anymore except on her terms and she is getting more and more skiddish, my husband will be home so she won't be alone but she did not bond to him the way she did with me and my daughter, spots imprinted. I thought maybe a new home with other ducks would be best that maybe he would adapt but after a week I went to see him and he ran into my arms and started chirping and shaking. So I brought him back home. We are hoping to move next year onto property so I just need to stick it out. Also if I didn't have two dogs that wanted to eat him it would be easy to just let him have free range of the house. I get his diaper next week. What kind of pen do you have yours in and what breed

 

[Chantillylace]

Our Muscovy is an indoor duck, when we are gone and at night she’s in a very large dog kennel, about 7x7 feet with a top. $150 on Amazon. We used bungee cords to attach a tarp under the kennel since it has no bottom. Then we use pellet pine bedding. We have to throw it all out once every 4 days. For about 5-6 hours a day she’s in our largest bedroom with us, flying around and exploring. She pretty much has free reign in the house when we’re home, we have all wood floors so she has a great time and every once in a while we let her out without her diaper only just pick up after her. She flies quiet a lot, and I don’t clip wings. She wears a diaper while she’s out of her cage and we change the liner every hour on the hour. She is super friendly and cuddly especially when she has the diaper on for some reason, she does bite pretty darn hard but for the most part is truly a wonderful pet. Now, I have to say, I’m used to having parrots so I’m used to the constant work but I would never give her back for the world.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sue sounds like a wonderful part of your family. Can we see her all grown up. Love her baby pic.