My duck is terrified of me, what do i do?

[theduck man]

I just bought about a 4 week old female rouen duck and i built a 16x6 pen with a 4x3 house about 2 feet off the ground and a little kiddie pool and i plan to buy another one soon. Each time I go to get her to hold her she runs all over the place and hollars and when i finally get her she just squirms around and hollars even louder but after a while she calms down but when someone goes to pet her she squirms around more and then calms down again after a while......then i let her go again in the cage......i heard someone say if i hold her everyday for a while she will get used to people......i dont know if that is completely true or not but I need some more advice, i'm new to owning ducks........it might be that she's lonely and needs more ducks to play with.

 

[astalwawen]

It takes quite awhile to tame a duck down, but it is best if you can start when they are just hatched.
Hold her everyday, not too long, and also maybe just spend time in her pen, just sitting and watching her, so she knows you aren't going to hurt her.
You should also learn to hold her right. If she is a big Rouen, then it might be hard. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_hold_a_chicken
I know it says chicken, but it the same thing for a duck.

 

[RileyB]

I've had my rouen for almost a month now. He's still terrified of me. I try to hold him everyday and he just squirms and squirms. I also have two runners that do not mind being held as much, and my chickens all like to be held for the most part. But I cannot get the rouen to like me. Of course he's the one I wish liked me the most! I try to hold him all the time. I'm sure in time he will get used to it. But...since you mention it's your rouen, I wonder if they are notoriously more difficult to tame than other ducks.....?

 

[Mikanik]

Our Rouen, Pickles (RIP), was just like that. Very *not* a cuddle ducky. It took a year for our Cayuga to get tame to the point where she'd wait for me by the gate at breakfast and bedtime and wait for a little snuggle. Cayugas aren't the most calm ducks and Rouens generally aren't either. I started out by just being in the duck yard with them...sitting there drinking my coffee and just enjoying their presence. It's still so calming. I then introduced treats...peas, corn, chopped up greens....and they got to the point where they'd eat from my hand. Pickles never did get to the "hold me" stage, but I just changed my thinking to "At least I have them to love and take care of". We have two drakes that are about 3 months old now and we're slowly working with them. One is a Blue Swede and he's coming along MUCH faster than our Khaki Campbell. At the same time, we have two Muscovy ducklings that are just over a month old and they're already hopping in our hands to be held! I think some has to do with the duck breed and a lot to do with their individual personalities.

 

[new2ducks]

My ducks come to me but don't like to be held. I can get a pet or 2 when they are eating out of my hand but that's about it. I can manage to pick them up only if I corner them but I don't really want to do that because I don't want them to think I'm attacking them. It's funny though when I have them go into their kennel in the evening. They can't seem to understand to make that"turn" into the gate for it so sometimes we sort of make a few trips around it...lol And sometimes one get in and the other is still outside and they both are yelling for each other and can't figure out how one is in and one is out. Needless to say, I don't wait til the last minute to put them in for the night...lol

 

[new2ducks]

I do that every morning! It's very calming to just sit in the yard with them and feed them out of my hand while I drink my coffee! My dog is starting to be a little quieter around them. I make sure I have some stuff for her too when I sit out there. (she's on the other side of the fence of course) I have a lounge chair that I leave there so I can sit. They sometimes go under it for shade during the day.

 

[theduck man]

thank you guys for the ideas......i will try these things out and see if she does any better......hopefully when I get another 1 she will behave better

 

[ducky219502]

yeah it does take awhile, i have 5 week old ducklings. they arent terrified of me but dont exactly like me either! i have 2 pekin, 1 black swedish, 1 rouen, and 1 rouen mix. The rouen does squirm the most. but maybe try sitting in her pen, and hold out some small pieces of bread or peas or mealworms. then wait for her to come to you, and let her eat. then she will most likely walk away if you go to touch her. just keep doing that till she warms up to you, then slowly try to pet her. hope it works! they are usaully more used to people if they worked with her a lot or even had her when she was a little duckling. good luck!

 

[twinmama]

My ducks come to me but don't like to be held. I can get a pet or 2 when they are eating out of my hand but that's about it. I can manage to pick them up only if I corner them but I don't really want to do that because I don't want them to think I'm attacking them. It's funny though when I have them go into their kennel in the evening. They can't seem to understand to make that"turn" into the gate for it so sometimes we sort of make a few trips around it...lol And sometimes one get in and the other is still outside and they both are yelling for each other and can't figure out how one is in and one is out. Needless to say, I don't wait til the last minute to put them in for the night...lol

Ok, this sounds so much like putting my ducks up at night that I'm sitting here laughing. Around...missed the turn, around again...missed again...and repeat. Finally, I backed their house up against the fence so there's no more space to go around. Oh, and my ducks won't let me within 3 feet unless I have treats, and they still won't let me touch them. They're 13 weeks old today.

 

[Amiga]

Ducklings around that age go through a "scared of things taller than I" stage that can last for weeks. It is good advice to take some time, sit with the duckling, bring something quiet to do if you get easily bored, and bring treats. Loads of treats. My ducks like thawed frozen peas and lettuce.

Talk quietly, sing, and be patient. Of my eleven ducks, three or four are huggers, no one likes being picked up but most tolerate it pretty well, all are friendly.