Skittery Runners - helping them calm down

[Amiga]

My question is this: how can I help my six week old ducklings calm down when I am changing their brooder bedding or doing other things in the brooder? They have begun to panic, even when I move things around in the room the brooder is in.

Here is some background:

My eleven female (as far as we know) runners, are nearly six weeks old today. Over the last two or three weeks, they have been getting more skittery - to downright panicky.

The brooder is about 4' x 4', three foot high coated wire puppy playpen with 6 mil plastic underneath, plastic poultry fence lining the interior (so they won't hurt themselves by getting their heads stuck).

Temperatures have been between 75 and 65 the last few weeks, per Storey's Guide recommendations, behavior regarding heat seems normal.

Changed to shavings for bedding at about four weeks, which was just before they started acting nervous when I changed bedding or waterer or food bowl.

Our routine was that I would come into the brooder, change half the bedding, they would move to the clean half, I would change out the other half, then sit with them for at least half an hour. They would sit next to me or on my legs and preen or nap.

I switched back to towels because of (a) allergies and (b) dust. For (a), we went to hardwood shavings for a week or so. Then the dust, causing sneezing and coughing, sent me back to the labor-intensive but much healthier seeming towels.

All still seem healthy, developing normally. I change the bedding three times a day at this point.

Because we have cats, we pick the ducklings up, put them in a tall sturdy cardboard box and carry them (now half at a time) to the tub for a swim once or twice a week.

We live in New England, so getting them outside during the day is just beginning to be okay - they are not ready for the nighttime temperatures in the lower 40s, in my opinion, and I don't have their setup ready yet, either. It is on its way, but I want to have the electric fence up before leaving them out (in a little duck house) for the night, as well as night time temperatures near 50.

So we are looking at a few more weeks indoors in the brooder. The room is well ventilated - I leave the door open but have heavy wooden panels with open slats in place. The cats cannot get in, but there is good air exchange in the room. Now that they can be comfortable at 60 to 65 degrees, that works well.

Last night, just to check, I did turn the heat lamps on again to warm it up a five to ten degrees in one part of the brooder. That seemed to make no difference.

Yes, runners are a high-strung breed. I just want to do as well as I can with them.

 

[tia]

Mine seem to startle easily with quick movement. If I use a broom or have anything big moving around they really get excited. I do the same clean one side and then the other. I use a dustpan to scoop out the soiled bedding as it is low to the ground. I walk slowly. I feed them lots of peas and other treats, and they seem to associate me with food. Some of them come over and nibble on me when I am cleaning their pen. I have two runners that I got from Holderread as adult birds and they are more skittish. They are a lot better though than when I first got them. Now that I have built a larger pen for them, I'm able to do cleaning in other parts of the garage with a broom. The walls of their pen are 4 feet high, the front wall has hardware cloth on the top two feet, so they can see out. They feel pretty secure in there and come up to the door when they see me coming. I think a lot of it is the nature of the breed. When I pick them up they are real cuddly> I have one that just had surgery and it lays in my arms in the evening when I watch TV and if I stroke it on the side of the head it closes its eyes and goes to sleep. The are very sweet.

 

[feather leg farms]

Where are the pictures!!! I bet their sooo cute!!

 

[duckyfromoz]

I have my ducklings in a box with 2 foot high sides. I often walk past the box at nomal standing height and often they get up and run to the other side of the brooder. When feeding or freshening water I always approach the box from lower- Yes I get down on my knees as this frightens then less and instead of suddenly appearing overhead I approach more from the side. They are always happier and less skittish when I appear fom a lower angle. If you imagine how the ducklings will feel to see you approach - you can understand why suddenly seeing a figure so tall could be seen as a pedatory bird swooping in even if they do normally see you as their mother.

 

[chickboss]

I don't have runners, but my Kahki's can get a bit jumpy sometimes. Also, a lot of baby animals go through several periods in their development where they experience heighten fear responses.

 

[tia]

Hope they calm down for you. Lots of time spent handling them, and plenty of peas will probably bring them around.

 

[tia]

Amiga do you have pictures of your ducks? I would like to see them too.

 

[Amiga]

All,

First may I say I appreciate your kind responses. I have tried to do everything right and well, and I am a SAP when it comes to animals, so I am flustered with this turn of events. I have had Pekins and mallards before, and they could be standoffish, but you would think we were filming a duckie slasher movie here sometimes!

duckyfromoz, I will try entering the room on all fours - I have no pride.

I took a couple of quick pics today when we were outside, but right now I need to scoot and do duck laundry and (shudder) pick out a couple of chocolates who (surprise, surprise) appear to have been scratched up just a little bit during one of the panic attacks. I plan to apply some triple antibiotic ointment to the scratches, which are on their backs, and give them ankle bracelets (velcro straps) so I can more easily pick them out. Eventually all but two or three will be getting ankle bracelets. The smallest chocolate, elf, is pretty easy to pick out, as is the largest black, eins.

So, with your gracious forgiveness, I will post pictures either later tonight or some time tomorrow.

Wish me well - prayers appreciated.

sigh.

 

[tia]

It will be great to see your pictures! I had trouble telling my black runners apart. I was wondering the same thing what do you do, it looks like you got some good suggestions. People told me when they get older you will be able to tell them apart by their personalities and that is true. I was able to tell tell them apart when they were full grown. It kind of makes it hard to name them when they are little guys though.

 

[Amiga]

Well, I can tell it has been a long six weeks. I took one picture today, and it was from a little distance. But you get the idea of my little flock, anyway.

(My beloved is the good photographer in the family . . . perhaps soon he will have opportunity to take some better photo's.)

Here is what we have:

They are beautiful - still not in full feather yet, but in the sunlight I can see some green iridescence on the blacks. The chocolates are just as lovely, if not as complex in color.