Tips for raising a single duckling?

[cheese17]

Thank you for all the encouragement guys and all the lovely pictures of your indoor ducks, but I'm afriad our house is too small for an indoor duck, and my parents won't always be around to acompany it.
Trust me Amykins, I'm no less pleased than you are. If I could I would give my teacher a good piece of my mind for what Peeps is going through. My duck does the same thing that Cob's duck does. She'll listen for me at night (she sleeps next to my bed now) and in the morning it's immediately cuddle time otherwise she'll squawk and attempt to jump out of her box (the sides are too high for him though). By the time I go off to college though, I'll either have found someone to adopt Peeps (the place where I'm from Is famous for pekin ducks so there's gotta be someone here that'll adopt) or there's an animal sanctuary not too far away where peeps will have proper flockmates and 24/7 attention from the staff. I really do love my little Peeps but I want her to be happy and healthy too.
One thing I'm worried about now though is that he's getting quite nippy. I don't mean like the usual little nibbles or love bites, she's trying to engulf nealy my whole finger and she's biting down a bit harder now. Otherwise though, she still loves cuddling with me and my family. Could this be a sign of stress? It did increase the more I left her alone after all...

 

[marcelineduckie]

Aweh I'm so sorry. My pekin would start to do that too. Sometimes it was after I'd left her for an hour or two and came back to cuddle it seemed like she was mad haha but I always pet her beak and when she bites hard I pet her beak gently and say be nice and she loves her chest and neck rubbed she's now very big and does not try to bite anymore

 

[Amykins]

It's normal for a teenage duck to test their boundaries, so to speak. Both Wobs and Bean did it, you just have to either hold their beak shut or tap it nightly with your fingernail and say "NO" firmly. Mama ducks peck their babies when they get out of line, so I guess us mama ducks gotta do the same, hehe!

It's so cute how she sleeps with you on the bed. There's nothing like waking up to see a duck looking at you expectantly, waiting for food and'or cuddles <3

 

[cheese17]

You know I tried the whole grabbing the beak thing but then she begins to flail and I'm scared that I might hurt her. Usually I just move my hand out of his reach and pet her on her neck and back. Perhaps I should try the lightly tapping thing though. Oh and peeps is only a little more than a week old, she's still a little baby, I think.

Oh goodness no, I'm the most paranoid duck mother ever, Peeps doesn't sleep with me in bed. I'm a restless sleeper so I can easily imagine myself rolling over and crushing the poor thing. Peeps sleeps in box, on a little stool next to my bed so that he can see me, and if he's scared of the dark that night I just quietly play some music and leave my iPhone flashlight on.
Oh I have a funny story about ducklings giving me cute looks though. So yesterday Peeps had her first playtime in the bathtub, except when I first placed him in there he kept looking at me as if to say "What, aren't you going to come in with me?" He stands up and looks directly at me with her head titled to the side and sometimes he'll even quietly peep.

 

[marcelineduckie]

That's so cute I love that look

 

[cobb4861]

She is officially quacking and has all her tail feathers and no curl. So I'm pretty sure she is in fact a she duck. Will just play it by ear. If I feel she needs another duck around I'll get her one. But so far she has been more than happy with the kids and myself. She doesn't panic when she is by herself, she usually just stays close by but not necessarily involved with us 100% of the time.

I find when I leave the house that she will follow the sound of voices. If I leave the bedroom TV on then when I come home she is laying down in there. She always waddles to the door to greet us when we come home. Kids come in and give her a hug first thing.

The feeding station is based on one I found on Pinterest (love that site). I had to modify a little. But the idea was brilliant. The pan underneath catches and contains the spilt food and water dribbles, the box holds everything in place and protects the walls. I put a puppy pad underneath but really that doesn't get wet anymore. And the whole thing is so easy to clean. Just rinse it out in the sink and its ready to go again.

A fun update. I've got a vacation coming up and will be gone for 2 weeks. I was concerned about my little Plucky being okay on this type of vacation and about the house sitter not giving her enough attention. So we asked and a neighbor is taking her. She had her first play date with them over the weekend and they absolutely love her and the idea of a duck for a pet. Their son is extremely allergic to dogs and cats (well any fur covered critter because he even reacted to his sisters hamster). They have had to rehome the family dog and the hamster because his allergy is so bad (hives and throat swelling and he is only 18 months old). So we did a practice run with the duck to see if he had a reaction. Amazingly he had no reaction and the whole family LOVED the duck.

 

[marcelineduckie]

That is so awesome! Aweh maybe your duck will get a neighbor friend . Please post a picture of your feeding station, it sounds interesting

 

[Amykins]

If they get a couple ducks, I'm sure that your neighbors wouldn't mind ducksitting whenever you're away at school.

 

[cheese17]

Well I'm sure they wouldn't mind watching the duck, asking them to actually get ducks is a bit much to ask though...
My duck is a bit similar to yours Cobb, she just loves noise in general. Whether it's me singing, the iPod, or someone using the blender. She's one hell of a social duck. There's almost always someone home in my house even when I'm not home, and everyone loves Peeps. I was thinking maybe I could invest in a duck diaper of some sort for Peeps. She'd be able to say hello to everyone and I wouldn't have to go through the hassle of bringing a towel everywhere and coaxing her onto it.

 

[cheese17]

Well I'm sure they wouldn't mind watching the duck, asking them to actually get ducks is a bit much to ask though...
My duck is a bit similar to yours Cobb, she just loves noise in general. Whether it's me singing, the iPod, or someone using the blender. She's one hell of a social duck. There's almost always someone home in my house even when I'm not home, and everyone loves Peeps. I was thinking maybe I could invest in a duck diaper of some sort for Peeps. She'd be able to say hello to everyone and I wouldn't have to go through the hassle of bringing a towel everywhere and coaxing her onto it.