Show off your house ducks!

[Quackers Mama]

Oh, she's still an absolute sweetheart, she just runs for the hills when I try to A) pick her up or B) change her diaper! I think you're right though, I should try the softly-softly approach, maybe she'll get used to it in time. 

Lol I would use to have to chase Quackers through the house to catch him to pick him up. Then when I caught him he'd wiggle so much I had to hold him with both hands Lol. He's slowly getting use to me picking him up. Now he does a little bobbing in place and now am able to use only one hand to hold him.

 

[AmandaVirus]

Misty used to hate being handled, too. She would be so hard to catch in an open space! I was quite upset about it too, I thought she was going to be like that forever! Once she was maybe 3-4 months old she gave up on running from me and excepted being picked up, she now just stands there and waits for me to pick her up. It's another story if she knows I'm mad at her, though!

When she was going through that phase, she would also go after everyone's feet, Which I think is a dominance thing. Now she only does it to my mom and the dogs. She squats for me on a regular basis now, so I think she finally views me as the boss. Which I didn't think would ever happen!

I almost forgot to mention, she also hated her diaper, harness, and leash. And by hated I mean she was petrified of them! Every time she saw them or I would put them on her, she would act like a snake was after her. I would try and get her used to the leash (she was most afraid of it) by clipping it on her harness and let her run around with it loose, she would run and run, and flap her wings trying to get away from it! Poor thing, it was so funny to watch but sad at the same time! Thankfully, she isn't bothered by any of them anymore.

Misty was pretty stressful for me to raise, my other ducks were much easier! The worst was her neurological problems, but she's fine now and is worth all the stress!

 

[Amykins]

Both of your stories give me hope, but she's so stubborn, I just don't know! She's a call duck, so she's gonna be a handful regardless. Guess even ducks can have a Napoleon complex. And worse, she's gonna start flying aaaany day now, lol! Can't clip her wings cuz there are still some blood feathers left.

I also desperately need some new diapers, Sew Sammi, don't fail me now! <3

 

[Quackers Mama]

Lol another foot fetish duck! Been doing beak taps & beak holds if the taps don't work. So far so good, he hardly ever goes after my feet. My daughters feet are a different story Lol. Been trying to get my daughter to tap his beak, but she'd rather just whine about it haha.

 

[Fenris Lupa]

Incoming rant: I LOVE HAVING A HOUSE DUCK!!

Wobbles is the sweetest, cuddliest, most lovable bird I have ever seen. Even as I type this, she's curled up on my chest with her bill tucked over my shoulder in what I call a "duck hug". <3 I was so scared of keeping her indoors, if she wouldn't adapt, if she'd be difficult, how tough it'd be, how messy or expensive it'd be, etc., but she's honestly easier to keep than a dog. I wonder why house ducks aren't more common as pets, they're pretty terrific. I want to convince all my friends to get one!

Sorry to gush, it's just...man, I love these animals. I can't believe I never thought to get one earlier! YAY FOR HOUSE DUCK OWNERS!

I kno exactly what you are saying.

Everyday my husband and I say the same thing......almost everyday Floki does something new that just cracks us up.

It's amazing that in the beginning, we never imagined how sweet and smart ducks are.

Here is one thing she just started doing...

I'm sure we're not the only ones that have to keep our plates up from our duck when we eat.....if she can...she will grab and run

But I took a vid of her new habit and noise.

 

[Fenris Lupa]

@Amykins

Were did you order your diaper from?

I'm trying to get some input on were is the best for the price place to her Floki hers from.

 

[Amykins]

I got my grow-out diaper from Party Fowl, and I like it. I also wanted to order several from Sew Sammi, who's a user here, but she seems to have vanished so I don't really know what to do. :/

 

[AmandaVirus]

Lol another foot fetish duck! Been doing beak taps & beak holds if the taps don't work. So far so good, he hardly ever goes after my feet. My daughters feet are a different story Lol. Been trying to get my daughter to tap his beak, but she'd rather just whine about it haha.

We call it her foot fetish, too! I did the beak holds as well, or sometimes a gentle push with my foot.

Quackers might be a bit more of a problem once he hits puberty!

 

[Amykins]

Wobs doesn't go after feet per se, but she loves my shoes because all of mine are either bejewled sandals or leather boots with tassels or studs or something else eye-catching. XD

 

[kukupecpec]

Guys, I need your help! Misty is driving me nuts, when I first built her nest for her to lay her eggs in she loved it, used it several times. But she now refuses to use it and found my rabbits hay bin behind her nest to lay in, but now, not even that is good enough. She now almost insists on laying her eggs outside in the flower beds. I don't give in to her wants because during the dead of winter when it's cold, wet, and rainy out, It's just not gonna work! My parents insist on having the door wide open when it's nice out, so she was able to come and go as she pleased, now I don't know how to stop her spoiled habit! It's sounds terrible writing this because I know ducks are normally outside animals, and there is a reason for that, but it's so frustrating.

And now, she is ripping paint/drywall of the walls and eating it! I've tried blocking off the spots, but I have splattered walls, so she can pretty much get ahold of it anywhere! She has just become obsessed with it in the past few days, I'm thinking it's boredom. I was thinking of making/buying toys that she can rip and tear at to try and get her to stop, but I can't really think of anything along those lines.

Any toy or stimuli suggestions would be awesome! I know I need to mimic foraging behavior!

If you don't mind a little clean up, toilet paper rolls are a FAVORITE of ChaCha's! She will shred them and occasionally have a little TP snack. It's a good inside toy, not "dirty" but it can get a little messy, especially if you have carpet. ChaCha also likes anything paper-y. Sometimes just some wadded up newspaper will do the trick! It's like so she can chase it around or toss it in the air and if it gets gross and wet I just toss it in the compost pile and make her another. Paper fast food bags or paper grocery bags are also great. She loves the plastic shopping bags too (must be the "crinkle" thing all your duckies seem to like! I'll have to try making her a chew toy with some fabric scraps and a plastic crinkle-y bag inside!!) but we don't actually LET her play with those. If you are REALLY having trouble finding a good toy though, try just leading her away with a green treat. Greens that they can also play with are great dual purpose. ChaCha doesn't like lettuce/cabbage type greens like the other ducks, she's too spoiled for that haha, but a little chunk of nice fresh green fodder or a handful of fresh cilantro will entertain her for a bit. Littlemore clean-up there too, but with tile I don't really mind.
I don't know that I can help you with the nest thing. ChaCha has zero nesting instincts. She just lays her egg in her diaper and could care less where she is when it happens! She really does think she's human!

I got my grow-out diaper from Party Fowl, and I like it. I also wanted to order several from Sew Sammi, who's a user here, but she seems to have vanished so I don't really know what to do. :/

Sorry for the disappearance! I actually JUST got a job! I wasn't expecting to go back to work but this really amazing teaching position kind of just fell into my lap. They read my ad to be a nanny, asked me in for an interview and hired me in just a couple hours. It's full time at an episcopal special education private school and they hired me partly because they would like me to start an animal program that we can mold into an animal assisted therapy program for the students who struggle with social skills. I'm super excited, it's really an incredible position! I'm only two weeks in but the kids are amazing, the other teachers are a joy to work with, and I've already started an "animal sciences" class with the 6th graders. They are designing and building their own chicken coop and their hatching eggs just arrived in the mail - we set eggs on Thursday! They love ChaCha, I'm hoping to set up a second home for her in my office so she can spend most days with me at school. But anywhoodles, THAT is where I have been. Super duper busy and completely exhausted when I get home at night I can hardly keep my eyes open, let alone focus on my computer screen haha. I'll still hop on whenever I can after I finish all my diaper orders for the week. I need to get into a good routine. I love all the cute ducky pictures! I need to get new photos of ChaCha in her tutu to add too.