My Ducks Seem Nervous

[jjcole13]

Hi, I am new to this forum and to raising ducks. I have 4 ducks, a pekin, magpie, and 2 blue runners. They are All about 6-7weeks old now just got fully feathered and have been outside for about 3 weeks. They seem very nervous around me and other owners. when they were babies we held them everyday probably 3-4 times a day. Now i feed them every morning outside their coop so they will be excited to see me. When I am gardening I would like them to stay around and eat the slugs but they just run back to their coop. Also they quack a lot and run away from me when i pick them up. It is a challenge. I hope they will become more adventurous, but I am not sure:/. any tips?

 

[featherfinder]

Treats!? lol Tempt them with peas and see if they will eat them out of your hand. And runners are naturally skidish. I have 4 lol and they always run no matter what. Maybe they are also just getting use to their new surrundings? How long have they been out in their new pen? I know it took mine a few weeks before they were completly comfortable outside.

 

[jjcole13]

they Have been outside for about 3-4 weeks now and They all just seem to follow each other in groups.

 

[evansacres]

Treats, treats, treats

That is the only way I have gotten mine to come when I call. Peas and romaine lettuce are always good. I go out with a bread bag and shake it when I want to have them come to bed or to just get their attention. They often come now as soon as I step outside and are more apt to follow me while I go about my gardening. The other day when they were free range I wandered to the flower garden to do some weeding. Pulling up the dandelion greens made everyone happy and I think doing it daily would entice them. I have had my ducks for a year now and just had my rouen duck go broody, she's hatched out five little ones as of today...it's still a learning process

 

[featherfinder]

I only have 2 adult ducks right now. 3 are in the brooder

But my first 2 were raised completly inside and had diapers and everything. I decided to build them a pen at a friends becuase she has a pond. I only bring them back home with me on weekends when i have off. But for the first month they were terrified. They didnt want to come out, they didnt want people to touch them or anything. But they were fine after you caught them and i would bring them home again. They went back to being my lovable house ducks. Now when i got over during the week to take care of them they greet me at the gate and follow me around. All i would say is give it more time and bribe them with treats. Thats what i did and everything is great now.

 

[Heiko27]

I have the same problem. I have 5 khakis, 2 golden layer 300s and a runner duck. I raised them inside for two weeks and handled them a lot. They have been outside for three weeks. They are still terrified of me! Not my dog so much as long as she isn't running at them though. She stayed by those ducks every waking second that I would allow. Everyday I work in my garden for a few hours and herd them out to free range. When I go towards them to herd them in with my dog, they run from her, but they really run from me! They're scared out of their wits! You'd think they would know me by now. I have tried treats but they wait til I am gone to eat. So I guess they want to stay shy.

 

[kikidee]

Ducks always seem to chose their own kind over us. That's why I am deciding to keep only one of the 4 eggs that hatch into a duckling, so it will imprint completely on me and love me forever