my ducks are afraid of me

[CrystaBub]

I have just a few of my Runners that will eat out of my hand no way would they climb into my lap. I only have 1 duck who will climb into my lap. My Muscovy drake Opie!

Oh that sweet Opie! He probably thinks of you as his real Mama!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I think he does

 

[DuckyDonna]

I think that you have a much better chance of your ducks loving you and being cuddly if they imprint on you when there are very very young. I have 5 runners and 2 of them I hatched and loved on since they were born this spring. My young boy will sit in my lap, snuggle with me and go to sleep just as content as can be. The 2 young ones will run to the fence when they see me coming. The other 3 are older and imprinted on nobody. Those 3 are starting to get a bit better about coming near me lately but are still very skittish and won't come within 5' of me...ever. I don't think I'll ever get to the point where they eat out of my hand like the 2 young ones do.

 

[WVduckchick]

Hi all!

I love my ducks, but they are super jumpy. They're Welsh Harlequin, don't know if that matters. I keep seeing cuddly duck photos on Instagram but my ducks HATE to be picked up and always run from me. They will eat out of my hand and sometimes sit nearby as long as I'm very still. I spend a lot of time with them and I've had them since they were 3 days old. They're 9 weeks old now.

Any advice? or will they grow to like me more as they get older?

View attachment 1589663

Gorgeous gorgeous ducks!!

 

[Julielynn810]

Gorgeous gorgeous ducks!!

thanks

 

[Julielynn810]

I think that you have a much better chance of your ducks loving you and being cuddly if they imprint on you when there are very very young. I have 5 runners and 2 of them I hatched and loved on since they were born this spring. My young boy will sit in my lap, snuggle with me and go to sleep just as content as can be. The 2 young ones will run to the fence when they see me coming. The other 3 are older and imprinted on nobody. Those 3 are starting to get a bit better about coming near me lately but are still very skittish and won't come within 5' of me...ever. I don't think I'll ever get to the point where they eat out of my hand like the 2 young ones do.

This makes me feel better, maybe they do like me, lol! They will come up to me and eat out of my hand. They just scream bloody murder if I try to pick them up.

 

[CrystaBub]

This makes me feel better, maybe they do like me, lol! They will come up to me and eat out of my hand. They just scream bloody murder if I try to pick them up.

I'm sure they love you in their weird duck way

 

[WVduckchick]

This makes me feel better, maybe they do like me, lol! They will come up to me and eat out of my hand. They just scream bloody murder if I try to pick them up.

Oh heck, if they eat out of your hand, they definitely love you!

Look around on this site. The cuddly, super friendly ducks are not the norm. Ducks are more naturally stand-offish. I’m just happy that mine don’t run away from me. I stopped trying to hold them a long time ago.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

We need a video of that!

X2!

 

[MissChick@dee]

Rather than picking them up try sitting on the ground to start. Let them climb On you get down on their level. Sometimes the highth of a lap in a chair is freighting. A bench works great gives them lots of “landing room”