2 week old duckling imprint

[ducko]

Hi there! I have one duckling that just turned 2 weeks old today. I was wondering if it can still imprint on me as I adopted it when it was 1 and a half weeks old. It's still a bit scared of me but it lets me hand feed it now.

Thank you

 

[Hossdog]

In my experience, Every hour that passes from the time they are hatched makes it harder to imprint. I have gotten ducklings from Metzger Farms and held them within 2 days of hatching and they still were afraid. Imprinting is difficult unless they see your first when they hatch.
What you are doing is correct though, hand feed them and gently hold them as much as you can. Also just spend time with them and they will get more used to you. My older ducks are still getting used to me, and they get more comfortable every day.
Good Luck! Raising ducks is very rewarding!

 

[ducko]

Do ducks still follow you around if they're not imprinted on you? I want it to get more comfortable with us but I'm unsure the difference between comfortable and imprinted!

 

[fatty and friends]

Do ducks still follow you around if they're not imprinted on you? I want it to get more comfortable with us but I'm unsure the difference between comfortable and imprinted!

is he your only duck? you need atleast two

no only imprinted ducks will follow you. my 4 imprinted “babies” (oldest will be 3 soon!) will follow me all around but my only none imprinted duck has never followed me unless i’m holding his brother

 

[ducko]

Yes sadly it's my only duck! Will they still react to you if you call it's name and stuff as I'm scared it's too old to even imprint on me

 

[Hossdog]

Do ducks still follow you around if they're not imprinted on you? I want it to get more comfortable with us but I'm unsure the difference between comfortable and imprinted!

The fact that you just have a single duckling, means that it will form a stronger bond with you out of their social nature,
The definition I have read of imprinting is basically when the duck sees you as their "mother". This is good if you want them to follow you, but if you won't be with them more than at least half the time, they will miss you and may cry and act out.
My ducks are not imprinted on me, but if i have a bag of mealworms, they would follow me off a cliff.
Again, the more time you spend with the duck, the more it will get used to you. It is rare to get a duck that will actively want to be picked up and blindly follow you.
Sounds like you are on the right track, just be patient and spend time around the duckling. Hand feeding is great.

 

[ducko]

The fact that you just have a single duckling, means that it will form a stronger bond with you out of their social nature,
The definition I have read of imprinting is basically when the duck sees you as their "mother". This is good if you want them to follow you, but if you won't be with them more than at least half the time, they will miss you and may cry and act out.
My ducks are not imprinted on me, but if i have a bag of mealworms, they would follow me off a cliff.
Again, the more time you spend with the duck, the more it will get used to you. It is rare to get a duck that will actively want to be picked up and blindly follow you.
Sounds like you are on the right track, just be patient and spend time around the duckling. Hand feeding is great.

Thank you so much this makes me feel much better about my duckling!

 

[fatty and friends]

Again, the more time you spend with the duck, the more it will get used to you. It is rare to get a duck that will actively want to be picked up and blindly follow you.

just need to spend time with them me and most of the people i know with ducks have extremely friendly ducks who love to be held and cuddled. also having one duck doesn’t mean it’ll be friendlier, it just means the duck will be lonelier since it won’t have another duck like it needs.

 

[ducko]

Hi everyone, thanks for all the tips and tricks. I decided to get another call duck for my current one right now (2 weeks old). I'm going to get the new one once it's hatched so it can imprint on me. Will my 2 week old one and this one get along? The other duckling will hatch in 2 weeks so the one I currently have will be 1 month old already.

 

[KaleIAm]

All ducks are individuals. I got six very young (couple days old) ducklings, they imprinted on each other despite my spending almost every moment with them. Later I adopted 4 adults who were initially very scared of me and I tamed them. All of my ducks have followed me around and came when called. None of my ducks have enjoyed being touched - but I've had wonderful relationships with all of them.