Hey all! I finally found a forum were I can share my love for my duck! Her name is sunny and she just turned 6 months old, I hatched her June 9th. She's a pet, and laid her first egg 2 days ago! Her personaility...erm, loving, yet a brat. I mostly raised her, so she loves me...just not anyone else. lol. She's ok with my family...just ok...but any strangers, SHE ATTACKS. Several people came up to her a few weeks ago and kind of swarmed her, I warned them but they didn't listen! Sunny ended up chasing everyone of them. They got really mad...and blamed me! I do kind of blame myself for not exposing her to lots of people when she was just a hatchling. But I had no idea ducks were so smart!!! Whenever I approach her she actually looks at my face, and recognizes me! My family, she just kind of shrugs them off and walks away. If she doesn't know them, she'll lower her head, make grunting noises, vibrate, and charge! Is there anyway to curb this behavior? She does it to litterally anything that's alive...whether it be my dog, a squirrel, or another bird! Another question, she laid her first egg 2 days ago, as stated above. But it was very small. She also stays in the patio a lot. Doesn't get much sunlight, even though our patio is open. She just doesn't care too much for our backyard. Is there any supplements I can give her to help with egg laying? I feed her layer crumble, mixed with cracked corn. I also just started to grind up a little cuttle bone and add that to her food. Is this nessacary? Thanks, I'm in a hurry, so just remind me if I left out anything!
Anyone have an opinion? Also...why is she so aggressive? I've been reading around about people's pet ducks. And most of them are afraid of people. Sunny on the other hand, probably thinks she's a human. Too much kind of, she wants to "dominate" everyone, but me. She did have a brother/sister. I originally had 10 eggs, saved from a nest being destroyed. Most ended up cracked or broken when my dad droped the incubatior. But 2 hatched out, the first one. Named Lucky, (not so lucky after all) hatched a strange way. In stead of pecking along the egg in a circular motion, he just punched on big hole in the egg. And was stuck for several hours. We misted him often to keep him from drying out in there, but he did anyways when he hatched. Well, to make a long story short, He only lived for 2 weeks. The point is, Sunny is beyond the point of having another duck buddy.
Glad you made it!! You'll enjoy this forum. Lots of great info and advice. As far as your aggressive duck goes, it sounds to me like she is being protective of you. She probably sees you as one of her flock mates and she considers herself the boss of the flock. It can take some time to introduce a buddy, whether it is another duck or in this case another person. She may also be protective of her eggs. For suppliments if she is on a good laying mash that should be fine. I also have oyster shell available free choice in the event one of my birds needs the extra calcium for good egg shells. With some good protein treats added for this time of year and fresh water available daily, my ducks have done well. Keep in mind, they are social critters and do like other birds around to play with. If you visit this forum enough I'm sure we'll convince you to get more birds. It's happened to all of us sooner or later. Good luck and enjoy!!! By the way, what kind of duck is she?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=135658 Here is a really good list of duck treats. Welcome to BYC. I have 12 ducks and just adore every one of them. Good luck with your baby!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBfNo7GJ8eI Here's a video of her eating a fish! This was several months back, she has all her feathers now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftuUlco7pac&feature=channel When they were just ducklings...and poor lucky.
She's absolutely adorable!! I would watch feeding her wild fish like bass or crayfish though. If you're going to feed her fish, get some feeder goldfish from a pet store. She'll love them! We get them for my ducks all the time. I have 6 Pekins and they devour the feeders I buy them! You're doing a great job with her!! Way to go. As far as her attacking your friends. I think she's looking at you as her mate. She wants to protect you. I have parrots who do the same thing to my husband! Try exposing her to people a few at a time. If she sees that they're not a threat, especially if they offer her healthy treats, she might become more accostomed to them! Good luck! Laurie
Thanks, I don't feed her wild caught fish anymore. I feed her rosey reds that breed in my pond. Does anyone know any treats that pekins LOVE? I want to gain more trust from her, not that she doesn't trust me. She just hates to be picked up. She loves her food, but I want to give her treats...food that she will REALLY adore, more than her chicken layer. Anyone know? Thanks...I'm only 13, so I try my best.
