terrified ducks!!!???

[Duck mommy 2019]

my ducks are super friendly. they love cuddles and always follow me around. it’s warm today so they are spending the whole day outside, and playing in their pool. i went out and they were all under a tree, keep quacking, and won’t let me pick them up???

 

[sourland]

It sounds as if they may have experienced an attack from an aerial predator. Be on the lookout.

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

It sounds as if they may have experienced an attack from an aerial predator. Be on the lookout.

would that make them scared of me? they never ran from me before.

 

[LT71689]

You're taller than them - anything coming at them from above/taller than them is scary, even though they know you. It's a hard-wired instinct as prey animals. I could sit on the ground with mine climbing all over me happy as anything but the minute I got on my knees or squatted or stood up I was a demon about to murder them. Hell they were afraid of butterflies for a while because they were flying over their heads.

If there was a hawk or something above then they're just on edge, even of things they know not to be dangerous. If they're normally not skittish of you being upright around them/picking them up they should warm back up when the threat lessens

 

[LT71689]

also, do you have ducklings or older ducks? They go through a teenager phase where they're just pissy about being handled even if they want to be around you

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

also, do you have ducklings or older ducks? They go through a teenager phase where they're just pissy about being handled even if they want to be around you

they are all between almost 5 months to almost 2 years. so all adults, which is why i was confused (especially because they think i’m mom and chase me everywhere usually)

 

[Maddog_photog]

would that make them scared of me? they never ran from me before.

I usually work around my ducks in a T-shirt, shorts, and baseball cap. Every day. Every. Single. One. Usually they run away from me, mostly in avoidance, no emergency here. Just wanna be left the duck alone. But just the other day, I showered and went out in a button up shirt, bow tie and clean combed hair. Suddenly there is a feathery blob of 4 different ducks absolutely terrified of me. They’re running as fast as their little ducky feet will take them away from me. Puzzled me for a moment until I realized I probably look nothing like what they’re used to seeing. So from here out: it’s baseball cap and shirt all the way.