New duck momma

[DrakeMom]

My drakes are what I would call pets and and our chickens are also tamer than normal chickens. My trick is hand feed, hand feed, hand feed. Even for someone who's not keeping them inside but still wants them tame. I hand feed my ducks, peas, dried minnows, and dried River shrimp alot. Then I hand feed the chickens the same. Start out from the first day you get them. The chickens wait by the door on the chickens pen all day for scraps. And my ducks know my voice. The duck's fence in made out of old privacy fence panels so they don't know I'm there unless I'm close enough that they hear my footsteps. I can be on the backyard porch and barely within hearing distance from them and I yell "DUCKS!" They get SO excited and start quacking like crazy! And they love nuzzling my hand. Also if I have my back towards them the chase after me sneakily and try to chew on my boots!

 

[DuckyDonna]

Pretend "the same page" isn't there in my post!

you can delete the post is you want to

 

[MarlyMonster]

Hi fellow duck lover!!

You’re very brave for attempting to have house ducks lol. First thing you need to know is they’re MESSY!! Like to the point where you think something so small can’t possibly create such a mess.

Like this is how I’ve been finding her pen the last few mornings. And this is mild lol.

Poop will be everywhere, all the time (cuz diapers aren’t for 24/7 wear so when they’re not chilling with you and in their pen you don’t want a diaper on them)

You’ll want to find the bedding that’s right for you. I used puppy pads for the longest time because when they’re little poop is all over the place. Some people use towels instead. Right now, since Penny is bigger, I use a painters cloth from the dollar store and pee pads for her food spot. Though she’s obviously playing with those so I have to figure out something else.

Now the MOST IMPORTANT THING is to NOT LET THEM IMPRINT ON YOU!!!!!!!!

I can not stress this enough!!!

It is NOT recommended to allow ducks to imprint on you. They live to 20 years and if at any point you want to rehome them you can’t because they’re imprinted on a human.

Human imprinting means they won’t understand basic duck behaviors, they won’t understand how to function in a flock, so they could never go with other ducks. They won’t mate with ducks either because they think they’re human and won’t know what to do with another duck. Also, males will get aggressive once their hormones kick in and attack you to mate with you.

You’re better off letting them do their thing the first week, and minimize interactions. That way they’ll bond to each other first. The first 5 days are crucial for imprinting. I know it’ll be hard but it’ll make your life easier if they just imprint on each other. They’ll still be just as cuddly when you start hanging out with them
But it’ll prevent some problems in the future.

Diaper wise, I wouldn’t bother with anyone but PartyFowl but they’re not very reliable so it’s annoying... however they do by far have the best product. You can try other companies but bottom line is PartyFowl had the best design. There’s a Pinterest DIY for a duckling diaper made from a sock, that might be easiest for when they’re still little.

Also keep in mind that it’s not recommended to allow ducklings to swim during their first week. Very high risk of getting too cooled off! It’s best to wait till they’re at least a week old, preferably two weeks

I’m sure you’re already aware but ducks are flock animals so it’s best to get two. My girl ended up by herself when her brother passed away a few weeks ago and I have to work very hard to make sure she isn’t lonely. The only reason I’m not adding another duck is because I wasn’t even supposed to have one and my family barely tolerated this one lol.

They’re needy, they’re messy, and they’re high maintenance. However, if you have the time to put into them ducks make wonderful companions! Just don’t underestimate the amount of work they are LOL