tayjamieson
Songster
Hi there,
So I'm in a tricky situation. I have these two ducklings that were born on January 17 and 19 so they are a little over a month old now and my boyfriend and I are very well bonded with these two. They LOVE to be held, cuddled, they will sit in our laps while we watch tv, etc. but unfortunately they also cry out if they aren't able to visually see us. I have to turn on a movie if we leave the house so they hear the sound of people talking and it gives us an opportunity to slip out unnoticed.
We currently have their pen in our bedroom and we can't fit something much larger than what we have. We originally put their pen in our bedroom because we do rent out a couple bedrooms to some younger kids who sometimes harass the ducklings (roommates have been given notice to vacate) and then we kept them in there because the ducks became so attached and would cry if they didn't see us. We have raised ducks before so we have a big pen we can set up down below us in the basement that is attached to our shop. It never falls below 50 degrees down there so we know with heat lamps the ducks at a certain age are safe. It gives them ample space to run around and have more independence, plus we see it as the middle ground in transition to the outdoor pen with the rest of the flock (10 pekin ducks, 12 chickens). Based on the current behavior of the ducklings when they are apart from us, I'm worried that they won't like being apart from us and will miss seeing us as much as they do now staying in our bedroom. I feel so guilty seeing them in their pen in our bedroom, I'm always moving them around and taking them everywhere I go in the house to make them feel like they aren't just cooped up. They seem very happy but I want them to be able to play around, does anyone have experience with something similar to this and how did you get them to transition into a more independent pen set-up? I don't want to stress them out or ruin the close bond we have with them! It's very important that I preserve the relationship I have with these ducklings, they mean so much to me.
Thank You so much for reading my post and taking time out of your day to help me out. I hope everyone is having a great day! It's almost the weekend
So I'm in a tricky situation. I have these two ducklings that were born on January 17 and 19 so they are a little over a month old now and my boyfriend and I are very well bonded with these two. They LOVE to be held, cuddled, they will sit in our laps while we watch tv, etc. but unfortunately they also cry out if they aren't able to visually see us. I have to turn on a movie if we leave the house so they hear the sound of people talking and it gives us an opportunity to slip out unnoticed.
We currently have their pen in our bedroom and we can't fit something much larger than what we have. We originally put their pen in our bedroom because we do rent out a couple bedrooms to some younger kids who sometimes harass the ducklings (roommates have been given notice to vacate) and then we kept them in there because the ducks became so attached and would cry if they didn't see us. We have raised ducks before so we have a big pen we can set up down below us in the basement that is attached to our shop. It never falls below 50 degrees down there so we know with heat lamps the ducks at a certain age are safe. It gives them ample space to run around and have more independence, plus we see it as the middle ground in transition to the outdoor pen with the rest of the flock (10 pekin ducks, 12 chickens). Based on the current behavior of the ducklings when they are apart from us, I'm worried that they won't like being apart from us and will miss seeing us as much as they do now staying in our bedroom. I feel so guilty seeing them in their pen in our bedroom, I'm always moving them around and taking them everywhere I go in the house to make them feel like they aren't just cooped up. They seem very happy but I want them to be able to play around, does anyone have experience with something similar to this and how did you get them to transition into a more independent pen set-up? I don't want to stress them out or ruin the close bond we have with them! It's very important that I preserve the relationship I have with these ducklings, they mean so much to me.
Thank You so much for reading my post and taking time out of your day to help me out. I hope everyone is having a great day! It's almost the weekend
Last year I transitioned my 2 bonded ducklings outside with no issues when they were 2 months old. Once they saw their new pool in their own space, they forgot all about me 
Good luck! Like 
