Pekin thinks she's a Chicken!! Help!

[sab]

Here's the scenario - my niece got her daughter 3 chicks and a duckling shortly after Easter. Now the duck is totally attached to those chickens. I took the birds a couple of weeks ago since my niece lives in the city. I have a pond. I have the 4 of them together in a chicken tractor. The 3 chickens go up the ladder to the top level to roost at night and the duck stays on ground level at night but is safe. My problem is that the duck won't go in the pond. I toss her out into the water and she comes right back to the bank and comes out. I toss her in again and again and again. She finally started to root around along the bottom of the pond as she swims to the bank. But she comes out. Has yet to go in alone. She looks for her flock and runs to treasure hunt with them.

HOW CAN I GET THAT BIRD TO STAY IN THE WATER??!!! I would love to let the duck out all day to pond play. That would give the chickens more room in the chicken tractor. They are still young - don't cluck yet. I let them out every evening to do their hunt and pick thing. The duck doesn't 'get it'.... she's a DUCK not a chicken!!

Any ideas???
Thanks in advance!
Sally in WV

 

[katharinad]

Either get another duck or live with it.

I think in time it will resolve itself, it is still a good idea to get another duck.

 

[sunflowerenvy]

get a duck about her/his age.

 

[sab]

Where can I get another duck her age? Anyone with a duck less than 3 months old has bought them for a purpose. Maybe I can check some rescues. Am I chancing getting a bird with bad habits that will be passed along my duck - then I'd have 2 with bad behavior. This duck is well behaved... at least so far....

 

[StormyMoon]

i had that situation only reversed, my chickens 4 of them had grown up since a week old with our pekin who is male and very much a leader, and my chickens were quacking.
not a real QUACk but more like mumble sound aw aw aw aw ........any way as soon as I got a yr old chicken and rooster they stopped quacking and started clucking.
Some time feed stores that breed ducks and chicks will have an adult or 2 around that they are willing to let go you could try there.

My ducks the pekin and rouen didnt start trying to get into the pool until they was about 3 months old which is recently maybe you could try something smaller and then work it up to something much larger like a pond. Maybe just put a tiny baby pool out and slowly drag it every day closer to the pond and see if it will switch over as it grows.

Just an idea I know it seems like a lot of work but in the end it will be worth it.

they like puddles mostly here is a picture of them in a small puddle

 

[Snakeman]

The three oldest birds in my current flock are a pair of Muscovy and a mixed drake(Silver Appleyard/khaki Campbell). My duck thinks he is a Muscovy and at a year old, with plenty of other ducks now in the mix, he still tries to hang with the Muscovy. The Muscovy don't want anything to do with him and he won't have anything to do with the ducks, except for occasionally chasing a drake, so he appears as an outcast. This has been going on for months now and he doesn't seem to be getting it yet.

Just relating a similar story. I obviously don't have any helpful advice.
He even tries to breed with the Muscovy hens on dry land which gets him chased by my big boy.

 

[waterfowlrescue]

we get in a lot fo ducks that are raised singly with chickens. They follow the chickens around for a few days then figure out they are ducks. The sooner they get in with ducks the quicker they learn.

 

[sab]

Are you guys telling me that a lone Pekin in a pond with her chick flock close by will never be a happy duck or willing to go the pond alone? Are you saying I have to get another duck for her to be happy? And if I find a duck locally that's say... just a duckling and maybe not even a Pekin, will my present duck accept it and pal around with it? Boy, it took talking and talking to get my husband to agree to the one because he is so set in thinking about the poop and not the pleasure. Maybe I should put her into the rescue system..... Is that the best solution? I'd really like to keep her but getting another duck means .... well.... more poop in my husband's eyes and making a separate shelter from the chickens.

 

[Myra]

I'd just give her a small kid's pool and/or a large water dish (they sell them for horse's - black rubberized thing) - as my pekins love sitting in their water dishes more than the kid's pool!

 

[sab]

This duck has everything. She has a black tub (like for mixing up concrete) in her shelter at all times. She has a kid's wading pool. And she has a full sized fish infested, lilypadded pond --- all at her disposal. I have tried putting the kids pool down into the pond in hopes she would be more comfortable with that association and from there would move into the larger body of water. That was useless. Hubby really doesn't want a 2nd duck so I think I'll just keep tossing her into the pond everyday until she decides to stay. She actually seems to like that toss and splash action - almost like a game to her. She doesn't really try to avoid it and comes around me to tempt me to grab and toss her. She's a sweet duck. She just can't keep away from her chicks. One chick in particular seems to be right by her side most of the time. Birds! Go figure....