My duck wont be a duck!

[finneasW]

Okay, first let me give some much needed context. My duck March was a surprise after we had given away all of our drakes. We had no clue they had fertilized an egg and she hatched soon after they left. She was all alone, we tried our absolute best to spend as much time with her as we could but it was difficult, and she was lonely. (Her mother rejected her, we don’t know why) Eventually, when she was about 2 weeks, we got chickens for the first time. 5 Of them, we kept her and the chicks seperated though. Eventually once they got big we moved them in together so she wouldn’t be so lonely. And she LOVED them. She’s grown up with these chickens and even though we have 4 other ducks that treat her nice, she stays with the chickens. She follows them around the yard, goes out of the coop when they do, and doesn’t go in the pool. She absolutely refuses to, to the point where she’s looking dirty all the time. If we put her in the pool, she jumps out and runs to the chicks. If i seperate her from the chickens, she screams until I put her back. She won’t live like a duck, she thinks she’s a chicken! I know she needs to swim but she just won’t go in the pool. Any tips or advice? Thanks. (Here’s an image of them all)

 

[SilverBirds]

Like you said, she's been raised with chickens so she thinks she's a chicken! I don't think there is a way to discourage this behavior as this is who she is. If she doesn't want to swim she doesn't have to swim. If you think she's looking dirty you can spray her with the hose. Some ducks love it and some absolutely hate but it encourage her to preen.

 

[ibarbidahl]

It's the age. She's still a baby and see the chickens as her "peeps" When she starts to mature she will do both - hang out with the chickens, and enjoy a swim in the pond. <3

 

[BelovedBirds]

Okay, first let me give some much needed context. My duck March was a surprise after we had given away all of our drakes. We had no clue they had fertilized an egg and she hatched soon after they left. She was all alone, we tried our absolute best to spend as much time with her as we could but it was difficult, and she was lonely. (Her mother rejected her, we don’t know why) Eventually, when she was about 2 weeks, we got chickens for the first time. 5 Of them, we kept her and the chicks seperated though. Eventually once they got big we moved them in together so she wouldn’t be so lonely. And she LOVED them. She’s grown up with these chickens and even though we have 4 other ducks that treat her nice, she stays with the chickens. She follows them around the yard, goes out of the coop when they do, and doesn’t go in the pool. She absolutely refuses to, to the point where she’s looking dirty all the time. If we put her in the pool, she jumps out and runs to the chicks. If i seperate her from the chickens, she screams until I put her back. She won’t live like a duck, she thinks she’s a chicken! I know she needs to swim but she just won’t go in the pool. Any tips or advice? Thanks. (Here’s an image of them all)

bless her!
I would just let her be herself. I'm not sure there's a lot you can do with swimming. You could try encouraging her with treats to go in, but ultimately some ducks just end up disliking it, it's not common but it happens. Perhaps it will change as she gets a little older.
If ever she get really dirty and does need a wash, I think all you could do is give her a warm bath, no soap, just water, and wash any mud/poop/mess away. Since she isn't swimming, she may not be waterproofing herself, and you will have to dry her up and keep her warm until dried. Then put her back out

 

[BaileyPoole]

That's adorable! I agree with @SilverBirds to try misting her with the water hose to encourage preening. And as long as she has access to water deep enough to clean her eyes and nares she should be fine without swimming.

 

[Yardmom]

A few years back I had a duck who believed she was a chicken. She would climb stairs to go to the chicken coop instead of stay with the other ducks. Unfortunately we had a predator take all, but one drake of the regular duck flock. When I moved him into the chicken coop for the winter she finally bonded with a bird of her own species. When they free ranged she would go with the drake to the pond for awhile, but always returned to the chicken coop for the night.

 

[finneasW]

thanks everyone for the advice! I agree the situation is kind of silly but I just don’t want her to have any health complications due to never being in water. She is still pretty young (I think you can tell in the photo, she doesn’t have all her feathers) so maybe it’ll change with age. And maybe she’ll always think she’s a chicken! either way, I’ll always laugh at how much she hangs out with them.

 

[KaleIAm]

Personally, I would let her be a chickenduck. I would mist her with a squirt bottle filled with just water and set to the mist function to encourage preening. Some birds enjoy it squirted over their heads and allow the water to fall on top of them. I would do this a few times a week, earlier in the day. A hose might be a little intense for a chickenduck, even though my ducks love it.

 

[ruthhope]

I have three stinky drakes that won't bath in the pool. They "dab wash" using the drinking water tub. When I have had enough of their dirty feathers, I hose them with the shower option on my hose. That is enough to get them in pecking order to bath. If I just carry them to the water and put them in, they by and large just get immediately out on the other side of the pool. So, worry not about lack of bathing -- just shower her when you decide enough is enough with the great unwashed!!!

My son has a muscovy who either thinks she is a chicken -- having never seen one -- or thinks a rooster is a drake. She was brought up with my drakes [She knows what muscovy and pekin drakes are!] until January when she had to be rehoused with my son's female pekins as my drakes were increasingly bullying her and she got to the stage that she would not go into the coop and hid in the garden all day. She is very happy with my son's pekin females and they all sleep, eat, swim and forage together. Then a white feral rooster turned up. He's a handsome guy but the pekins were terrified. Ms Muscovy however made a bee line for him with her back flat as a pancake and her tail turned up from the very first day. Within 3 days, he was mounting her as soon as she came out of the coop in the morning. The two pekins have warmed to him although only one puts up with him mounting her occasionally and the other is very loud in her objection. Once he is over his morning sex drive, all 4 are big pals hanging out together and foraging together.

Your duck, finneganw, has been brought up with chickens and so has good reason to prefer chickens. Let her be: as long as she is happy!

 

[Anime2lover]

I have this same problem with a duckling I am raising.