Will my ducks ever “un”imprint?

[fatty and friends]

This is a good example of the variability each individual owner will encounter when trying to "wean" their ducks from their presence. Judging from your profile picture, I presume you spend lots of hours with your ducks; this being the reason you still are seeing this type of behavior at 3 years.

For owners, such as myself, who do not spend excess amounts of time outside with the flock, weaning time is going to be dramatically earlier on in age.

yeah my ducks are pets so i spend a lot of time with them, i also have 5 compared to having a large flock so they are more comfortable around people

 

[KaleIAm]

I don't have imprinted ducks, but mine, 6 and 7 years old, still quack their heads off when they want me!! Haha! So you might want to be careful about teaching them that quacking means you will come out and dote on them.

 

[TundraFang]

Where on earth did you find that?! Apparently I am googling the wrong wording because I assure you I have reasearched multiple times . Thanks so much!

Idk lol I just looked up "Will human imprinted ducks wean themselves?" I also looked at some older BYC threads that were similar.

 

[CoriM]

I think Isaac's idea is a great one of giving them a more contained space outside where they feel safe. Going from the bathtub to the big wide world is scary, without you, probably why they're hiding under the deck. My three ducklings have been in my kitchen and with me pretty much non-stop the first few weeks, but I've been putting them outside the last few weeks for several hours in I guess what you would call a chicken-tractor. It's made with PVC and bird netting and chicken wire. They like it in there now and spend hours without me and I think they feel safe.

 

[ibarbidahl]

Sexual maturity will often dictate when they will stop being quite so imprinted on you.

I have a crew now that when they hear me they get REALLY loud. The loudest ducks I've ever hatched, and because like you I live in a neighborhood I respond to them every time. HUGE catch 22.

But so far (I've been doing this for about 10 years) once they hit that magical age they tend to calm down about wanting me outside. Don't get me wrong - you'll 100% always be the food and treats dispenser and that will get you attention, but they won't "need" you as much and are likely to shout until they get something and then go about their own business.