Have I made a permanent mistake?

[addctd2plnts]

Have I made a permanent mistake with my ducklings? I'm devastated with what I may have done... I got 11 Indian Runner Ducklings via hatchery by mail. We used a huge 45 gallon tote the first 3 weeks on a counter. Ducklings have been friendly. Weather has been one of those years you see about every 50 years. St. Louis is ALWAYS in the 70's in April and even days in the 80s, but not this year. We have had an unusually cold, rainy, windy and cloudy year. We've swam the ducklings in the tub and they seemed fine. Since it's way too cold for them outside, and we don't have house/pen finished yet, I decided to use a huge extra bathroom shower, covered with pee pads (Yes I used heating light, but hubby shut off the water to that bathroom LOL) Ducklings went from happy to utterly terrified at the perspective of our whole bodies. They are so terrified, it now makes sense what people say about ducklings reaching puberty "and not being so friendly". I think this is because they imprinted on only our upper half and that perspective, but never saw the terrifying legs and feet till their 3rd week when all of us were forced to put them into a space on the ground! I'm a doctor, so not given to reacting but my gut says this is a permanent flaw. I've tried sitting in there with them but in an hour, all they did was trample each other in the corner. Have I ruined this batch? I should have kept them in a huge aquarium on the floor, where they could see my whole body to imprint! Any advice or words of wisdom?

 

[Everose]

Holding more than one at a time (separating completely will terrify them more) and giving treats, talking, touching gently, letting them fall asleep in your lap will be a good way of bonding. It'll be like starting from scratch but they have been accustomed to you before so there is at least that foundation. I don't think it's a permanent thing, they can become friendly again. Keep making every experience with you a good one and don't give up, it will be a bit tiresome but when it's all said and done they won't remember ever having been scared of you. Hope this helps.

@fatty and friends @SolarDuck @RosemaryDuck, how do y'all get ducks to be friendly?

 

[addctd2plnts]

Hubby, also a doctor, just tried an experiment. I had them back in plastic tub for the night, since they were panicking so much, but the tub was on the shower floor. If we get down on our knees, where our head is only a few feet above the tub, they switch demenours like a light switch! They are not making any connection between our voice and whole body being us! Looks like I'll be spending the day sitting in the shower..... LOL Next batch, I'm raising in a huge aquarium on the floor from the beginning.

 

[fatty and friends]

Holding more than one at a time (separating completely will terrify them more) and giving treats, talking, touching gently, letting them fall asleep in your lap will be a good way of bonding. It'll be like starting from scratch but they have been accustomed to you before so there is at least that foundation. I don't think it's a permanent thing, they can become friendly again. Keep making every experience with you a good one and don't give up, it will be a bit tiresome but when it's all said and done they won't remember ever having been scared of you. Hope this helps.

@fatty and friends @SolarDuck @RosemaryDuck, how do y'all get ducks to be friendly?

spend a lot of time with them, holding them and just walking around with them. hand feed treats and talk to them so they get used to your voice. they may just be scared because they are getting used to their new setup, and not actually be scared of you specifically (my ducks love to go on adventures, but i have heard a lot of people say their ducks hate change)

 

[fatty and friends]

also it may be because of how many you have, my ducks are just pets (i have 5) and i give them all individual attention every day. they are 100% bonded to me because of this but with so many ducks i don’t know if you’d be able to do this?

 

[KaleIAm]

Ducks/ducklings tend to be afraid of things towering over them until they learn that the towering thing is safe. So that could be contributing to their fear. I have used the following method with great success to tame terrified ducks into friendly pets that follow me around, and even hop into my lap.

I avoid anything scary. I pay attention to what scares them and I don't do it. I don't make direct eye contact - that's what a predator does before attacking. Instead I look near them. If they are afraid of me being tall I crawl anytime I'm near them and stand up further away. If they don't like being startled I talk as I approach. (These things are mostly temporary)

I make every experience positive. I give them their favorite treat everytime they see me. For my ducks that meant I threw them mealworms when I passed their aviary. This also meant I didn't force them to cuddle/accept physical affection. I still don't. If they sit next to me or hop into my lap, cool. But I don't hold them there.

I spent lots of time hanging out being still. I sat near them, being not scary or noisy, doing calm things. I knitted, read books, took naps, ate dinner, ect.

My ducks used to run in the other direction when they saw me. After a few months they ran to me. I became the bringer of good things. When they see a scary hawk they run to me and lay on my feet. They aren't imprinted, and never will be, so they don't like to be petted. I have a cat for that.

 

[SolarDuck]

It sounds like they are just a little stressed out at their new situation. When my ducks are ducklings I always give individual snuggles every day for at least least hour per duck per day. Mealworms always help too.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

I work with my ducklings a lot when they're little. I handle them often, take them for swims & try to always be around. Ducks do tend to go through that 'teenager' phase where everything is terrifying, but if you've been working with them they get over it pretty fast.

With Raspberry & Blackberry, they're very used to me picking them up/touching them because of all the handling when they were little. They run over when I come out and will even wait for me at night to pick them up to put them in their hutch/coop.

Everyone else has given great advice! Just have patience and don't worry so much about 'ruining' them. You have to remember ducks are a prey animal. Right now they're little and everything is 'out to kill them', even you. Give them time and work with them.

 

[addctd2plnts]

It's really funny. I can go in and down on my knees. Once I make myself smaller, to a certain level, it's the light switch goes off in their brain that it's me, and they come right up to me. They are imprinted but it's like a young infant. They aren't making the connection that it's the same person. I'm good with body language because I rehab terrified and feral dogs and have horses too. Talking to them helps because they recognize my voice. I think it will get better. My daughter and I are both blonde, and they seem equally imprinted on us. So, we're taking turns for an hour each with them and hand feeding, but not pushing it too much. With dogs, they can bite if you force a terrorized dog, so I move them in baby steps to where I need them. Looks like I have to break this down. I'm surprised more people haven't put together that the ducks would be better served in a huge aquarium on the floor, from the very beginning. I could kick myself that I didn't think of this, because I've always been around animals and understood imprinting. It just didn't occur to me that they wouldn't understand it's me, when they see me and long legs LOL Well, we'll see how it turns out. Looks like I'm going to be reading and living in the shower for the next few weeks LMBO Since the weather this week is STILL unseasonably cold, I can't garden anyway.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

It's really funny. I can go in and down on my knees. Once I make myself smaller, to a certain level, it's the light switch goes off in their brain that it's me, and they come right up to me. They are imprinted but it's like a young infant. They aren't making the connection that it's the same person. I'm good with body language because I rehab terrified and feral dogs and have horses too. Talking to them helps because they recognize my voice. I think it will get better. My daughter and I are both blonde, and they seem equally imprinted on us. So, we're taking turns for an hour each with them and hand feeding, but not pushing it too much. With dogs, they can bite if you force a terrorized dog, so I move them in baby steps to where I need them. Looks like I have to break this down. I'm surprised more people haven't put together that the ducks would be better served in a huge aquarium on the floor, from the very beginning. I could kick myself that I didn't think of this, because I've always been around animals and understood imprinting. It just didn't occur to me that they wouldn't understand it's me, when they see me and long legs LOL Well, we'll see how it turns out. Looks like I'm going to be reading and living in the shower for the next few weeks LMBO Since the weather this week is STILL unseasonably cold, I can't garden anyway.

Just another tip, aquariums are kind of iffy as brooders. They're good for the first few days/week when ducklings and chicks are little but can cause issues (upper respiratory) later as they get bigger and make more of a mess. Aquariums/glass tanks hold a lot of humidity.

But also good job taking the time to work with them! I hope everything goes well for you and your little ones.