Aw thank you @StBob!
Oh but @marcelineduckie, Peep's beak seems to have healed completely. Now that I really think about it, it was almost like the duck equivalent of a person getting a small cut. It scabbed over right away, scab fell off (maybe he scraped it off?), and now all that's left is a barely visible red dot.
I really do want to find peeps a friend, in the worst way, but we don't have too many options. House is too small for dogs (we're allergic anyway), and the closest we got to finding farm birds near us was some bantam chicks in an exotic pet store. (however NYS law says we have to buy at least six, that was a deal killer). And if I ordered duck eggs online I'm scared they would hatch too close to me leaving for college.
Still though, I'd like to think that my family and I are his flock, however substantial that may be. If I'm not around to tend to him, whether it be errands or work, usually whichever parent is home will take care of him. (He's a big fan of my dad) Even so, someone's usually outside in the yard anyway, whether it be my dad weeding or my brother on the trampoline. That's usually enough to soothe Peeps. We give him baths in his kiddie pool to try and give him some more quality time with us. I've also noticed that if I walk away from him, he won't panic unless he can't see me, furthermore, if he's sitting then he seems content enough to just wait for me to come back, whenever that may be. (This is pretty useful for when I try and get him to sit quietly in his hutch at night.)
I've been looking out for any sign of plucking, but so far there's nothing. I was a bit worried when he started shedding down like no tomorrow, but then I saw his feathers coming in and I figured it was just normal. One thing I am wondering though, when do pekins reach sexual maturity? I keep looking for signs of this horny duck mode that I've been hearing about, but so far he's content with nibbling on my flip flops and cuddling. He's seven weeks old and quite feathery.
