Show off your house ducks!

[Julie Birb]

My babies...Sophie & Duckie
8 weeks old

awe, so cute.

 

[Amykins]

I sure hope you find a fix... Sadly for me, each time I imprint one, whether it's male or female, this is what happens,

-Kathy

Really? That's so odd...Wobbles is a total sweetie, I can pick him up and pet him no problem. Bean isn't imprinted on people, although she IS bonded to me and Hils, so we always thought that had a large part of it. Another thought is because her first weeks of life were marred by 24/7 vet care, handling, tube feedings and so on, she just thinks hands are bad news bears.

BUT, at least I have this one tool to help, and maaaaaaybe, just maybe, I can retrain her. Fingers crossed.

 

[quackerswoo]

My ducks have just started to spend the day out in the garden in their run.
They always come in the house at night for cuddles & bed time

 

[SamSimone]

My lovely duck Guus, dressed up as Donald, and rocking it

 

[Amykins]

HAAAAA! Oh my god! How'd you get him to tolerate that little hat?

 

[Julie Birb]

My ducks have just started to spend the day out in the garden in their run.
They always come in the house at night for cuddles & bed time

in love with their cuteness, however, they are gorgeous.

 

[Julie Birb]

My lovely duck Guus, dressed up as Donald, and rocking it

what a.precious soft web feeted well dressed duck bird with a bill and really cute face.

 

[Amykins]

Speaking of well-dressed, I can't think up a good halloween costume for Bean! Wobbles is going as sushi, but I can't think of a single thing to dress her up as.

 

[Peeko]

Have any of you raised a brood indoors? ChaCha is DETERMINED to hatch SOMETHING. It's cute, she's not a mean broody (of course she also thinks I'm her drake so that probably helps). But I can't decide what to do! I have nothing against letting her hatch and raise babies (or one... maybe just one lol) I'm just not sure if I want to let her do it indoors. I can have everybody diapered no problem, but I'm trying to figure out a food and water set up and how to set up a living area. ChaCha usually just goes wherever I am when I'm home (except right now, she's glued to her "nest") and either outside to her ducky run or in her crate when I'm not home. But I'm not sure I'm comfortable letting babies just wander the house with momma, especially with the dogs who are aggressive with ChaCha and could very possibly eat baby ducks.
Has anyone let their house duck raise a brood indoors? What was your experience?

We did a hatch of 4 call ducks with mama duck indoors. It definitely requires 24/7 attention.


We fenced them off in a corner of the room, where they would stay for a couple hours at a time. Then they'd go outside for 30 minutes of supervised play, then back inside. Once they were put to bed at dusk they would be quiet all night until the crack of dawn. They got used to being herded down the hall and out the door, and mama helped us by leading and calling them. She knew how to get outside already so she was a big help, but the little ones would still need help finding their way sometimes. You may find it easier just to put everyone in a carrier to take them outside, but we had too much fun watching them figure it out.

For their pen, if there is an inch to squeeze through, ducklings will make it out and then stand there peeping for mama. Definitely make it a very tight enclosure, with at least 2 feet tall walls. I had to change the bedding daily. Several layers of newspaper with straw on top made quick work of that. Just fold up the paper, toss, and replace with new.

For their food, I used a large flower pot saucer and put a shallow bowl in the middle. Their food went into the saucer and the bowl in the middle had water along with some rocks in it so they couldn't tip it over, (and they did try). I would refill the water and let extra spill out to moisten their feed. I had to top up their feeder every couple hours. The set up worked well being circular, so they could all find a spot to eat (though the best spot apparently was to be standing in the water bowl).

After the first week, we even had daddy in with them for a few nights (he got so lonely and after watching his behavior around the little ones, we trusted him). They would all snuggle down for the night and be up bright and early, quacking to be let out.

At week 3 we put them outside in the big pen for good. The weather was warm and they did just fine.

 

[Peeko]

I forgot to add that I didn't bring them inside until the night they started hatching. If you keep her inside while sitting, make sure you are very regular with her off-nest times. Once in the morning and once at night is all she'll want for a quick bath and to relieve herself. If she's a good mama, she'll want to cover her eggs before she's ready. You'll hear her start talking to her eggs and fussing with the straw. This is your countdown- 5 minutes to extreme poo time! And you don't want that coming out inside! You may want to carry her if the way outside is a long trip.