Raising ducks like children - please don't

[BackYardChknLvr]

My ducks are spoilt but they know they're ducks my cat on the other hand must need therapy because he wants to be a duck so bad at first I thought he was just scouting them for a later meal but after 9 mon. Of trying to be accepted into the flock he's is currently lowest in pecking order btw they are always supervised but he try's to forage with them go to sleep with and eat whatever they eat his favorite u guessed it peas he's been pecked, chased, and hissed at but still keeps trying he has found he may not be as fond of swimming as they are but not for lack of trying in their kiddie pool that was a hoot to watch. One day he was foraging with them he spotted a hawk he started making these horrible meowing/hissing noises till hawk was gone. Thought I'd share but my point love your pets as much as u want pets they are a privilege to have. Hope Charlie adjusted well to his rehoming.

to cute.. my little male cat would always stock my chickens and ducks every day he would try to catch them but since harrold came in the picture now he stays far away.. my other cat though lilly she will go up and lick them she is i dont know what pecking order with them.. my dog just gets tormented by them cause they all think his tail is a big fat King Worm

 

[duckins]

Funny my dogs a min pin with docked tail my 3 drakes attack every time he gets ready to do his num. 2 business so he runs and poops at same time he just looks at me like why did u get these mean guys my life was so peaceful before.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

It will take some time but hopefully instinct will take over and your duck will make friends with Quacker as a ducks should. Good luck. Have fun.

 

[jak2002003]

This is an interesting discussion.

I find that animals - especially birds - will soon revert back to more natural behaviour once they are put with others of their own species and human contact is decreased.

Its wired in their nature to be what they really are.

The exception would be hand reared imprinted birds like the larger parrots, which many never completely understand they are parrots not people.

I feel its wrong to bring up any animal as if its a human child. I see so many times this turns out bad for the animal and the owner.

I am not saying pets should to be treated badly. I think we need to give and animals we are for respect and understand what they need to have a natural mentally healthy life. We own it to them.

 

[sikes0368]

We raise all of our animals like they are family, any true animal lover would do the same.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

We raise all of our animals like they are family, any true animal lover would do the same.

Any true animal lover would respect their instincts and raise them as what animal they are not as a human.

 

[Frank Phinster]

Any true animal lover would respect their instincts and raise them as what animal they are not as a human.

I totally agree with that. I know that people just have the best in mind when they raise ducks like children - but I think it's still best for the birds when they can live a normal duck life where they can develop their instinct without disturbance.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

I totally agree with that. I know that people just have the best in mind when they raise ducks like children - but I think it's still best for the birds when they can live a normal duck life where they can develop their instinct without disturbance.

Booya thanks for backing me up. We all know it would be nice if you had a little duck follow you around and let you pat it but then people get over it and dump it out in the wild thinking it will be O.K but by that time it has lost it's duck instinct and cant survive.

 

[Frank Phinster]

Booya thanks for backing me up. We all know it would be nice if you had a little duck follow you around and let you pat it but then people get over it and dump it out in the wild thinking it will be O.K but by that time it has lost it's duck instinct and cant survive.

I was glad to read a post that shares my opinion

I actually had little ducks following me, but since I raised them as a pair, put them out into the garden a lot and introduced them to my adult ducks, they developed normally and behaved like ducks should. But I still like it best when mother duck does the work - it is most natural and is most fun to watch.

 

[Senna95]

When I was 10 years old, my parents let me have ONE duck. I excitedly went out to the feedstore and bought myself a mallard duckling. From that day on I had to carry it EVERYWHERE I went. When I didn't, or couldn't it would squeek and peep the whole time until I got back.

It grew up to be a male, didn't fly, and didn't know how to be a duck. It would bite and fight with my dog (who thankfully was very gentile), and try to mate with anything that moved.

I built a beautiful pen for it (we had 1/2 acre with a creek running through it), but it would hang out on our back porch by the sliding door waiting to be let in to be with it's "flock", which was us. But it also had enough instinct to be afraid of us, so even when I went to open the door to invite him in, he wouldn't come in.

In the end we had to move due to financial circumstances. "Donald" went to a friends' farm where they raised sheep, but he kept trying to "attack" the sheep (I think he was trying to mate with them), and the "friend" decided that it was better to let Donald live out his life in the wild, like a wild duck.

In the end, I'm sure he was eaten by a coyote because he wasn't afraid of dogs, and thought of them as family.

I feel bad for the poor duck to this day, and have learned a difficult lesson. Animals should be raised as such. If you raise them as humans, then you'd better be able to make a life-long commitment, which can be up to 10 years or more.

Just my 2 cents worth