My first ducky! Meet Gunter

[Bug n Flock]

My sweet boy is about ten months old and is just awesome. I know you guys will probably give me trouble for this, but he is an only duck. And a house duck. Gunter used to sleep in my room with me even(until I realized I was allergic to him!). He is far from the only bird here though. I also have Alex, a 12 year old cockatiel I have had since he was weaned(can't find a picture of him on my phone at the moment that doesn't make him look ridiculous. I try to not have the very first photo of him I post make him look stupid, and he is a very silly boy). Yesterday I adopted a 46 year old Blue Fronted Amazon Parrot named Crayon:

And my mom has a little parakeet named Ajax:

Back to my Gunter tho! I bought him at the agricultural fair last year on a bit of a whim(he was adorable and I immediately fell in love, but waited a few days to research and prepare before I brought him home at nine days old).

Yes. Ducks are messy. Ducks can be jerks sometimes. Ducks poop on, nibble on, and quack at absolutely everything within reach.

but they also are very prompt with email correspondence.

even in the process of him getting clean, he manages to make huuuuge messes!

stretch those baby wings!

playing th the snow last winter. He was not very thuroughly amused.

he can be a jerk bird sometimes, throwing tantrums like a toddler. Sometimes he bites(hard!), and sometimes he knocks over full bowls of water because he is being a brat! But he also puts up with my shenanigans and is very loving.

his favorite is when I turn the heated blanket on. :3

he supervises everything I do, even unplugging my phone in the morning!

I love my Gunter duck! <3 <3 <3

Any suggestions on how to improve his life would be much appreciated, he is my first duck(we had geese and chickens on the farm tho). He loooooves peas and a yogurt dipped papaya treat that is marketed for parakeets. Does not like grapes, watermelon, applesauce... Pretty much anything sweet gets the head shake of disgust. He likes cheese, but I don't give him much of that.

We have a little kiddy pond outside for him and are looking for a local creek or something we can take him to. We have three dogs that he chases around, but I worry some hiker might have a less tolerant dog off leash and it just takes a second for something to go horribly wrong. I also worry about wild geese chasing him at the larger ponds and lakes in the area. And of course, I worry about pollution. Any suggestions? I feel like he needs more time to be a "real duck".

Anyway, sorry for the disjointed rambling, this is being posted from my phone so please forgive any typos.

 

[ryanhodapp]

I love your ramblings. If he is growing, has enrichment, he is fine. The first requirement is a caring owner who provides the necessities for him and you do.

enjoy!
PS: how do you control the poop for an in house duck?

Marlene

 

[Miss Lydia]

Gunter is adorable and sounds like he has a fantastic home and is much loved.

I think your worries are good because like you said it would only take a split second for a dog to get him, and also wild water fowl can carry disease so I would not take him any where public right now the AI{avian influenza] is in the USA and many states have been affected, this means for those of us that have pet water fowl we need to really practice bio security which means we don't take out ducks etc to public parks or lakes and rivers where wild geese of ducks hang out and we are very careful if we go to not wear the shoes or clothes around out beloved ducks when we get home.
Most of us just have kiddie pools for out water fowl and they seem to enjoy it very much. so I would worry Gunter isn't happy in his pool.
All your birds are beautiful and how sweet to adopt Crayon.

Thank you so much for sharing them with us and please continue to post pics we do have a house duck thread too if your interested.

Welcome to BYC!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/632070/show-off-your-house-ducks

 

[Amykins]

Gunther is a total cutie! But you're right, I think he does need a buddy. :/ Wobbles definitely needed one. Even with Bean in the picture I can't leave the house at all, and I mean AT ALL, without them in tow because I waited two years before Wobbles ever even saw another duck up close and personal and so getting them to bond has been a long and painful process. Imprinted ducks are awesome, but unless you're retired or a stay-at-home mom/dad who can spend 24/7 with the guy, it just won't work. I learned this the hard way. The painful, prolonged, aggravating hard way.

But I still wouldn't give up my house duckies for anything, no matter how bad a decision it may have been to get Wobbles in the first place!