Show off your house ducks!

[Scovy Momma]

Seriously considering a house duck,weighing up the pros and cons and was hoping for some tips.

How do you keep meal time mess to a minimum?
How do you house them over night?
Has anyone got experience raising a single duckling as a house duck?
Any advice you wish you'd been given before you went down the crazy path if house ducks?

For meals I have gotten to feeding the baby in the tub like I did with Daisy if it's messy soft food like squishy veggies & stuff. Other than that, I mopped & vacuumed the wood flooring often.

Daisy was kept either on my bed sleeping with a deep diaper overnight or in her house that was in the animals' room. Dahlia (the foster I have now) likes that house or in the baby play pen in my room with a diaper on. The baby sleeps in an overnight box or her temp cage (hamster cage) on my night stand. When she's bigger, I'm just doing like I did with Daisy.

Both my first house duck Daisy & the newest baby Dandelion is a singleton. My foster duck Dahlia has been by herself also. They hadn't had any issues that I notice but I spend a lot of attention on all my kids & they mostly are all in the one big bedroom by themselves with a TV & doggy DVD playing when I'm not home. When I go run errands I try to take at least one of them with me.

I wish I'd known just how addictive it was to have one around.

I wish I had trained Daisy to ride in the backpack sooner when she was way smaller because then I would have had her more used to it by the time I was carrying her around in the pack more often but she took to it pretty well. She wanted to always pop her head out & look around. I did end up buying a pet stroller for her which turned out easier on her when we were on longer visits.

I highly recommend a house duck, but I'm a tad bit biased.

Daisy was my best friend & I think she knew it

 

[Julie Birb]

So has mine. We went from "Amy, we can't incubate these eggs" to "Careful taking her diaper off! Okay...no, I just don't want her to be uncomfortable...here, let me go get a pea!"

Also guys, I'm nervous. I leave next week to fly down to visit family, and I'm boarding the ducks. It'll be the first time I've ever left them alone, and the first time they'll be without me or my fiance. They'll be in excellent hands, it's an exotic clinic exclusively so no cats or dogs, and they even have it so employees take shifts sleeping up there with the birdies at night since they know birds get separation anxiety like nobody's business. I just worry so much that Bean and Wobs will think I abandoned them, or that they'll be so upset or that they just cry and cry for the entire five days I'll be gone!

I know they have a macaw that belongs to an opera singer who boards there frequently (pretty much whenever there's a show), maybe she and Bean will get into a screaming match. Apparently she likes to sing arpeggios and hit high E over C.

Heehee. He is so cute getting all protective like that.

Bean and the macaw in a screaming match. That is hilarious.

I know how you feel leaving your babies behind and now it is the first time. I hate leaving my birds when I go. As finches they are not bonded with me at all like your sweeties but it is still hard and makes me sad leaving them.

I hope Bean and Wobs adjust ok for the time being. Could they be placed in sleeping pens or whatever in close proximity to each other?

 

[Julie Birb]

I could try it I guess, but I dunno. We're taking Bean's favorite stuffed duckie she sleeps with, and I think perhaps the photo might help with Wobs since he's a mama's boy. They'll both get mirrors, too. I'm just so worried that they think I've abandoned them! Ugh, I'm such a helicopter mom. Help.

Awe, that should help the little girl. You're going thru perfectly normal emotions. Could or would the staff be willing to text you pictures of your duo and give you updates on them?

 

[Amykins]

Awe, that should help the little girl. You're going thru perfectly normal emotions. Could or would the staff be willing to text you pictures of your duo and give you updates on them?

Oh I'm sure they will, everyone there ADORES Wobs n' Bean! Beables? Still working on that portmanteau...(fun fact: According to the proofreader, "beables" is a real word. Who knew.)

I'm sure everything will be fine, I just hate the thought of leaving them behind. They're so attached, I really do worry they'll think I've abandoned them. Ducks hate change, so I don't want to stress the poor things out to the point of it being unhealthy for them. At least the place is air-conditioned, so they got a leg up on me for that. Poor things keep panting, and I just can't stay downstairs with them all day!

 

[drumstick diva]

I don't know if ducks have much of a "sniffer," would sending them with small articles of your clothing , comfort them? Do they get to have supervised swims?

 

[mommaducksweet]

I have questions about feeding and bath times for you more experienced mommas out there.

First of all, feeding. We only feed Peep once a day with dry food and once with veggies, and we fill his toy with meal worms about twice a day (maybe a little more if my nieces and nephew are over playing with him. We leave his food bowl down all the time regardless of whether there is food in it or not. But as he gets older, I'm wondering if we need to have a more set feeding schedule and let the food bowl indicate food only, not have it as a constant part of his environment? Sometimes I just throw it in there all at once and other times I'll give him his dry food in the morning or when I'm home at lunch and his wet food when I get home from work in the evenings. If he is on a schedule, how much should I be feeding him at a time and how many times a day. I tried taking the food out a couple of weeks ago. it stayed out for the night and until I came home for lunch, but he ate really aggressively when I set it down so I worried it was too long. He will be 7 weeks old on Tuesday.

Baths. Maybe this is a stupid question, but do you guys bathe your ducks with any sort of soap? We don't. We generally just put Peep in his pool and let him play until he is done. Not knowing really anything about ducks, I have considered it but have ultimately been concerned about the affect any type of soap might have on his natural oils. However, as an experienced dog owner, I just know my dogs would be quite miserable (and quite smelly) if I didn't bathe them with shampoo. Is duck shampoo even a thing?

 

[mommaducksweet]

Also, Peep likes to help type. Is it possible to stop/correct bad behaviors with ducks?

 

[Amykins]

Nope nope, no soap! Bad for their feathers, bad for their eyes, bad if they swallow any, just all around bad. Also, you only feed twice a day? I'd increase that to at least three smaller meals, especially when they're still so young. Ducks have insane metabolisms; because of what they eat and their need to fly, they're constantly eating and pooping. By denying Peep food most of the day he's gonna get hungry and is likely to try and get his lil bill on things that are not-food, and that could get him in trouble. Mealworms are awesome as a treat, but when they're little, they don't need that much fat and protein each day. Feeding schedules are bread and butter to a duck, they LOVE routine, and hate deviating from it! So you're doing good, I just think you should tweak his feeding regimen a tiny bit IMO.

Also Diva, no, ducks generally don't have much of a sense of smell. Which explains about half of the gross stuff they eat.

 

[szabina]

Hi my name is Szabina!
These beautiful baby ducks are so cute!
These mine!

Watch this video:

 

[Mamaduck2]

Hey guys, The Internet has been down at the house the last few days and it sucks. Awhhh ..... Definitely... Work on routine.. They are terribly good at keeping with schedules.. My husband works early so we get up at 5am to make him breakfast and help get ready.. A schedule the ducks got very used to.. Especially the morning treat treat. Screaming ducks at 5 am on a Sunday morning reminding you its time to wake up is not the most comforting alarm clock.. There is no snooze button. Llol. Anyways,

My last post I shows a pic Thor them in their new cage, and I loveee it... Sooo much easier to clean!!!!! Here is the link to get it.. This reall cheap.. Only $25 I think, fits both 6week old Ancona ducks great and did I mention super easy to clean? And since it's partially enclosed they can't poop out the sides..(thier favorite game while in the dog crate) anyways were at McDonald's for the wifi and gotta go, I'll be back soon!!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/391161602352?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Good luck everyone and your adorable ducky adventures!!