My Ducks Are Having Trouble Trusting Me

[4ducksinapond]

Hello. I have four ducks (two Khacki Campbells and two Welch Harlequins) and they are 100% scared of me. I cut them up healthy vegetables and fruits, talk to them for hours, let them all around the yard, refill their water (drinking and swimming) and food, and feed them their favorite, mealworms. Even after all of this they seem to hate me. They're still ducklings so I still have hope, but it's worrying. They only come close to me when I'm sitting down because I seem like less of a threat. Even when I'm sitting down, they still dont let me pet them. The closest they ever got to me was when I feed one of them by hand. (Which has happened a few times) They seem very hesitant around me. I really want them to love me, but they wont even come near me. We made a stepping stone for them and its currently drying. I'm hoping they'll at least be appreciative for that? I'm not really sure. I'm desperate. Please respond with any tips that will make them become more affectionate and trust me more.

 

[nuthatched]

Did you raise them from babies or get them when they were older? They look pretty mature to me.
If you raised them, did you have a brooder that you reached down to get them from? That was probably pretty scary for them to have the Hand of Fate swoop down from above, they probably remember that.
Chickens and ducks are prey animals, it's their instinct to be scared of things. They don't often like to be petted or touched, they aren't dogs.
Just continue sitting quietly around them, like take a book or something. It took over a year for chickens I raised to not act like I was going to stab them or something.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

How old are they? I've found that my ducks go through what I call their "teenager" phase where they're not fans of me at all. It's almost like "stranger danger" but with someone that's cared for them since they hatched or right after. With patience, my ducks get past this and will start to trust me again. In my experience, this is usually something that happens between them being ducklings and adults.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Also, I'm not sure that any animal is going to be appreciative like we would think. They enjoy some of the things we do for them, but they are animals and appreciating someone for an act they've done isn't really something we should expect. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be mean or sarcastic. I've got a rooster that is a complete and total JERK, and I've found myself thinking, "why can't he see that I am the one that provides his basic needs. I feed, water, house, and care for him!", but he is an animal and I'm not sure he is capable of appreciating what I do for him. It's just not something that crosses his mind. My big ducks are almost 2 years old. The drakes don't care for me but they aren't aggressive. The ducks don't like to be handled, but they seem to be my biggest fans whenever I'm out there digging up earthworms with them. Food is the biggest incentive I've found to get them to follow me around. They also really enjoy whenever their pool is cleaned out. These things make them happy and I enjoy sharing that with them. I guess it ends up being a huge part of how we, as humans, look at it.

Again, please please please don't think I am being unkind or a smarta**, because I promise you that is the last thing I'd ever try to do. I completely understand as I've been where you are. I hope what I've brought up isn't received in a negative way. I wish you the very best and hope you for bond's with your ducks that would leave me in awe

 

[4ducksinapond]

How old are they? I've found that my ducks go through what I call their "teenager" phase where they're not fans of me at all. It's almost like "stranger danger" but with someone that's cared for them since they hatched or right after. With patience, my ducks get past this and will start to trust me again. In my experience, this is usually something that happens between them being ducklings and adults.

They're 7 weeks old. We got them about 3 days after they were hatched.

 

[4ducksinapond]

Also, I'm not sure that any animal is going to be appreciative like we would think. They enjoy some of the things we do for them, but they are animals and appreciating someone for an act they've done isn't really something we should expect. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be mean or sarcastic. I've got a rooster that is a complete and total JERK, and I've found myself thinking, "why can't he see that I am the one that provides his basic needs. I feed, water, house, and care for him!", but he is an animal and I'm not sure he is capable of appreciating what I do for him. It's just not something that crosses his mind. My big ducks are almost 2 years old. The drakes don't care for me but they aren't aggressive. The ducks don't like to be handled, but they seem to be my biggest fans whenever I'm out there digging up earthworms with them. Food is the biggest incentive I've found to get them to follow me around. They also really enjoy whenever their pool is cleaned out. These things make them happy and I enjoy sharing that with them. I guess it ends up being a huge part of how we, as humans, look at it.

Again, please please please don't think I am being unkind or a smarta**, because I promise you that is the last thing I'd ever try to do. I completely understand as I've been where you are. I hope what I've brought up isn't received in a negative way. I wish you the very best and hope you for bond's with your ducks that would leave me in awe.

Also, I'm not sure that any animal is going to be appreciative like we would think. They enjoy some of the things we do for them, but they are animals and appreciating someone for an act they've done isn't really something we should expect. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be mean or sarcastic. I've got a rooster that is a complete and total JERK, and I've found myself thinking, "why can't he see that I am the one that provides his basic needs. I feed, water, house, and care for him!", but he is an animal and I'm not sure he is capable of appreciating what I do for him. It's just not something that crosses his mind. My big ducks are almost 2 years old. The drakes don't care for me but they aren't aggressive. The ducks don't like to be handled, but they seem to be my biggest fans whenever I'm out there digging up earthworms with them. Food is the biggest incentive I've found to get them to follow me around. They also really enjoy whenever their pool is cleaned out. These things make them happy and I enjoy sharing that with them. I guess it ends up being a huge part of how we, as humans, look at it.

Again, please please please don't think I am being unkind or a smarta**, because I promise you that is the last thing I'd ever try to do. I completely understand as I've been where you are. I hope what I've brought up isn't received in a negative way. I wish you the very best and hope you for bond's with your ducks that would leave me in awe

I completely understand what you're saying and you don't seem sarcastic at all. You're intentions are very clear and I understand you're just trying to help. Regardless of if they feel appreciative I still hope they have fun with the stepping stone. I try to be consistent so I dont scare the Khacki Campbells but it doesn't seem to work anyways. I would love to see my ducks happy, so maybe we can clean their water more often. We came up with this thing where it overlaps the dirty water with clean water every minute by a pipe and a filter and if it gets too full it'll stop. Maybe that will make them more happy. Once they do start to trust me (which I'm sure they will now that you've said that it could just be a phase) I could try and find insects with them. Thank you for taking your time to reply.

 

[4ducksinapond]

Did you raise them from babies or get them when they were older? They look pretty mature to me.
If you raised them, did you have a brooder that you reached down to get them from? That was probably pretty scary for them to have the Hand of Fate swoop down from above, they probably remember that.
Chickens and ducks are prey animals, it's their instinct to be scared of things. They don't often like to be petted or touched, they aren't dogs.
Just continue sitting quietly around them, like take a book or something. It took over a year for chickens I raised to not act like I was going to stab them or something.

We had them just days after they were hatched. They're 7 weeks old. Yes we had a brooder. And I can definitely see why they could remember that. I'll take your advice and just talk to them. I'll try and make them more comfortable and see what happens next. Thank you.

 

[Quatie]

I agree they are going through that teenage stage where their parents are just so uncool. My youngest ducks are starting to go through that stage and newest adult ducks are starting to take more interest in us again. My older older ducks are happy to come sit with us, while our teens want to just do their own thing. Be patient and give them time. Keep spending time with and giving them treats. They will come around with time.

Also some individual ducks are just less trusting. One of my welshes gets picked on more and is just less trusting because of that. She goes in waves though. So some will be more difficult than others.

 

[4ducksinapond]

I agree they are going through that teenage stage where their parents are just so uncool. My youngest ducks are starting to go through that stage and newest adult ducks are starting to take more interest in us again. My older older ducks are happy to come sit with us, while our teens want to just do their own thing. Be patient and give them time. Keep spending time with and giving them treats. They will come around with time.

Also some individual ducks are just less trusting. One of my welshes gets picked on more and is just less trusting because of that. She goes in waves though. So some will be more difficult than others.

Yeah, that's understandable. I'll stay patient and wait for them to get out of their so called "teenager stage". If they're just happiest left alone while still being cared for, we can do that. Thank you for your time and reply!

 

[fatty and friends]

just spend lots of time with them! my ducks are the friendliest ducks you will ever meet just because i have spent time with them since we got them, socialized them with many people, cuddled them daily, and took them on walks/adventures with me as much as possible