Duckling has imprinted on us, what do we teach it?

[Brex]

Well now, the dusting seems to have worked in one department...
Charlie isn't itching anymore, but unfortunatley...!

HE'S NOT SLEEPING EITHER!!!

I'm not sure what a normal duck sleeping pattern is, but Charlie usually falls asleep around 9-10pm-ish and wakes up at middnight...
Then the fun starts!

Charlie will chirp and chirp until I pick him up, or play with him, or simply grunt (Which after two days of this behaviour is about all I can muster!)
I find that putting him under a cloth sometimes coaxes him to sleep for a ten or fifteen minutes, but then he's up and we start all over again!
The only other thing that stops his frantic, loud squeeking is to literally hold him in one hand till he dozes off!


I'm getting about 10mins sleep every hour after middnight till dawn... Then it's coffee Coffee COFFEE!!!

Please Help!

As to the technical details...
Charlie sleeps in a box, next to our bed.
He can see me from his box, but after laying still for a while he starts chirping...
I have a strong arm, but not strong enough to hold a duckling whilst I sleep the whole night! (Believe me I've considered it!)
Charlie chirps with growing volume and will not stop!
I love Charlie, lack of sleep won't change that.


I am going to open a new thread for this matter in hopes of finding more people with solutions and also just to be more involved in the forum. Check it out here .

 

[Savannah Howe]

You mentioned that your duckling has problems with his eyes; when we hatched 6 silver appleyards, one duckling required help getting out of the egg. We did it as a last resort, and I'm thankful we did! He was a bit weaker than the others to start with, but overall had no problems except for one eye. We tried everything to try to "fix" it, but nothing worked; like you we were afraid that it had been damaged when we took him out of the shell. Eventually about a week later, we discovered that he had a tiny piece of egg shell stuck in the corner of his eye. It was very hard to see and we never noticed it when examining his eye before. After the lengthy process of removing it, he made a complete recovery. Don't know if this is what your ducklings problem is, but I thought it would be worth sharing. Good luck with the little guy; there are priceless and so much fun!

 

[acriswell4]

So my duckling is 4 weeks old I'm not positive that it's wild but there is a good chance it is. She is extremely imprinted on me to the point she won't eat unless I'm in her sight. I was told I need to take her to a wildlife rehab so she can be released when ready. She is deathly afraid of other ducks. The rehab said she would adjust just fine and integrate with the other ducklings they have. I just feel really guilty just leaving her there and abandoning her. Is it what's best for her or should I just keep her till she is a little older

 

[Cherib603]

The longer you keep her the more difficult it will be on you. She is a duck, and though right now she is depending on you and attached to you, she will be just as happy to become part of a flock and be the duck she is meant to be.

 

[acriswell4]

I know I guess my question is should I wait till she is older and then slowly integrate her or just take her in and let them put her in with 10 other ducklings and get picked on and be scared cause I left her but eventually get back to being a duck

 

[Cherib603]

She may not get picked on and especially if she is integrated so young. If you wait til she's older, she will have a much harder time figuring out how to be in a group of her peers. And she won't be upset with you - she is really JUST a duck, and I know we love them, but she will be very busy learning to fit in and she won't be holding a grudge. Animals don't do that they live in the moment. It's YOU who needs this emotional attachment, not her. She'll be just fine and the younger the better.

 

[acriswell4]

Ok thank you I guess I just needed to hear that she will be ok. People have been telling me that she won't be excepted cause she doesn't know she is a duck.

 

[Cherib603]

She'll be accepted because the FLOCK knows she's a duck.

It's hard for you but it's the best thing for her.