How to Make Friends with Ducks

[sweetshoplady]

Many moons ago, I have been up north to ponds and out west to ponds where they had ducks and you could feed them and they'd actually come up and eat. Do ducks just take longer than chicks to make friends? Is it easier if you hatch them, rather than get ducklings? Will they ever make friends? The 5 I have that are big, 3 Cayuga, 1 Black Swedish, and a tan duck run away from me all the time, even when I am there to fill feed dishes.

My pheasants didn't take too long to figure out that I usually brought good treats and food. A tasty sweet persimmon made friends with my male Silver. Is there something they particularly like that will help me in making friends?

Granted, most of the big ducks are destined for the table, but my little ducks, are going to be pets. And I would like to keep some of my ducks as ones that I could get eggs from. I've heard that duck eggs are super to bake with.

 

[barnwife]

with those ducks, they have HERDS of people year after year after year, day after day all day long, bringing them bread to eat.

I would imagine, if you did the same, they would take to you that well

Then again...mine run to greet me when I go out in the yard most of the time (if theyre not to busy napping or swimming int heir water dish).

I hated the way my hatchery ducklings did this. I tried hatching my own, and it worked! I made sure to imprint each and every one of them, and held them for 5 minutes several times a day. I also hatched out a few geese, and stuck them in with the ducklings (they are only 1 weeks apart). The geese are WAY more friedly, and the ducks follow them everywhere.

the ducks do NOT like to be touched, but are really content to sit at my feet, especially if I have some tasties for them.

I highly recommend hatching your own for friendship ducks, and if not that, then putting some hatched and imprinted geese with them....

or feed them bread every couple hours all day year round lol. They can have my crusts! lol

I hope that helps!

 

[ChickenToes]

Give them treats, lots and lots of treats. I've never had friendly ducklings, but as they get older they've all gotten friendlier toward me. When they see me coming across the yard with lettuce in my hands they run to the gate and quack to beat the band. One of my females will even eat out of my hand.