More tween duck behavior q's

[Andrea PNW]

This might be a dumb question - but all my ladies want to do it try and eat me. My clothes, my face, my watch, my hair and occasionally coming close to taking our an eyeball.

As I mentioned before - I stopped doing pick-up lap time and I just sit in the doorway of their pen and they are all over me. I assume this trying to eat my and everything on my person is like a kitten that attacks and tries to eat your hands and feet etc. I assume I should tolerate this and just keep my face away when they come in for a smooch?

Also - what's that whole vibrate-y charge thing they do into my lap/hands and then run away thing?

 

[Andrea PNW]

Oooh including a pic

 

[416bigbore]

Are they Hungry? How much are you feeding them and what?

 

[Andrea PNW]

Omigosh they eat so much - they are exactly 8wks. As we speak they've got a full dish of crumble (mixed with oats), a bowl of arugula and shredded iceberg in water and they just finished diced cherry tomato and meal worm treats by hand.

 

[KaleIAm]

Most members agree that the vibrating neck thing is ducks trying to establish dominance.

My duckings were also particularly mouthy. In part I think this was them tasting everything. Is this food? How about now? Maybe now? And since I was the provider of food... Well my eyeballs could very well be food.

They still frequently check my shoes in case I have food inside them.

 

[SolarDuck]

Lol I think they just love you my ducks nibble on me all the time!! I pretty much just tolerate it, every once and awhile one gets a little bit carried away so I stop her but it always seems loving never seems like she's trying to hurt me. I think as long as they aren't hurting you it won't hurt to tolerate it, and if they do get a little carried away and start preening a little too hard you can try either locking them in coop for 10-20 minutes or just ignore them and go inside. That seemed to work for me, haven't had any incidents of them getting rough in awhile.

 

[Andrea PNW]

Yeah they aren't rough - just really fascinated in the fact that I don't have feathers and what do I taste like. Re the dominance vibrate-y neck thing - there isn't anything I'm supposed to "do" right? Just know that's what it's about and it's no big deal.

They've just calmed down and Bev is sleeping on my foot. They are all clustered around me so I don't think they don't like me or anything....

 

[SolarDuck]

Re the dominance vibrate-y neck thing - there isn't anything I'm supposed to "do" right? Just know that's what it's about and it's no big deal.

I dont know if it is necessarily only a dominance thing I see a mother duck at my local park do it every time she has had ducklings. She kind of does the vibratey neck thing and then just jently preens or nudges them. I don't really think there is anything you should do as long as she stays gentle

 

[416bigbore]

Looks like they are quite content.

 

[KaleIAm]

Yeah they aren't rough - just really fascinated in the fact that I don't have feathers and what do I taste like. Re the dominance vibrate-y neck thing - there isn't anything I'm supposed to "do" right? Just know that's what it's about and it's no big deal.

They've just calmed down and Bev is sleeping on my foot. They are all clustered around me so I don't think they don't like me or anything....

I didn't do anything about the vibrating neck thing, except I stopped doing what made my ducks do it.

I'm not sure that it is about dominance, but I have seen members more experienced with duck communication than I am insist that it is. So I assumed that my ducks didn't appreciate whatever I was doing. My ducks only did it when I was trying to be physically affectionate with them.

My ducks also preened me a lot when they were young. I pretty much cherished the mouthiness.

Here is Pigweed, the first one 6 years ago as a kissy baby. The second one 5.5 years ago preening me.