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Ducks are potentially at the bottom of the food chain. And they instinctively know it - fearing and fleeing from anything
that resembles a predator. If you remember this fear and act accordingly to calm them, you will have much happier ducks. Since
birds are so sensitive to stress, that means better health . And that equates to longer lives and better production. Not to
mention better close-up viewing of their beautiful feathers. And an appreciation of their individual personalities. This means
you must move slowly and quietly around them at all times. That includes any children - no matter how excited they may be
to see the birds. It can take a long time to gain the trust of some ducks. One good scare by reckless humans can put you back
to square one or beyond.
So where do you start? Watch their body language. It’s really not hard. If they look scared - they probably are.
If they look relaxed and happy - they probably are - and whatever you are doing isn’t scaring them. It’s that
simple. If they are piled in a corner attempting to escape or running frantically across the yard away from you, they are
terrified of you. If they are standing at attention, they are worried, but have not yet decided to flee - stop where you stand
and give them a chance to realize you mean them no harm and you may be able to take another step or two in a few minutes.
Squatting down at this point will help make you look less threatening since you will appear smaller. If they are out grazing
or lounging around or cleaning themselves or running around with an atmosphere of foolish joy, they are relaxed and happy.
I have had the advantage of acquiring all my birds as ducklings, so few of them have ever worried about me.
Handling animals while “reading” their reactions comes naturally to me so it is hard for me to describe it.
Runners aren’t dogs. They don’t want to be cuddled. They want to run around and search for tasty things to eat.
And great places to swim. And a shady spot to rest. If you watch them as a group for a while, you will see that they don’t
intentionally touch each other unless they are mating or they want to push a lower ranking bird out of their chosen spot.
Or if they want to run off a rival. So why anyone would think they would tolerate being cuddled is beyond me. Think about
it from the duck‘s point of view. A larger creature grabbing and holding them must surely want to eat them. Just because
you know you mean them no harm doesn‘t mean they know it. (I’m sure there are exceptions out there. And those
birds are a true gift to the person lucky enough to have one.) Sometimes you have to catch them for their own good - like
nail trimming or inspecting them for injuries if they don‘t look quite right. So it is important to tame your birds.
My birds literally crawl all over me, so much so that I can often reach out and grab them. But more often, they see me look
at them with that thought in mind and move just out of reach. Then they come around and nibble on my belt loops or my shoes
and pants legs. They come over and talk to me - asking for treats or just to see what I am. Or they may gather around and
settle in for a nap. It is soooo cool to have 20+ birds sleeping peacefully all around me. That’s how I got a lot of
the close-ups that are or will be on this site. But that didn’t come free. I spent 2 to 6 hours a day for the first
six weeks with the ducks and geese that I bought from Holderreads in 2005. They were my buddies almost immediately, but I
wasn’t going to take any chances that the geese didn’t believe I was a friend. Geese aren’t as forgiving
as ducks when it comes to remembering who has scared them. They can live 20+ years and that’s a long time to put up
with a bird who was scared at a young age and never forgave you. But as a result, the time spent with the ducks has paid off
in spades. I even had one walk right up and kiss me while I was squatting down saying good morning to him. Duck bill between
the lips was pretty gross, but pretty neat too! Patrick is one neat bird.
So what do I do on a daily basis? First, I always remember to talk to my birds if I am approaching them from around the
corner of a building or doorway and my sudden appearance may startle them. I spend a lot of time quacking for this reason.
(I’ve even found myself about to quack at my father’s horse so as not to startle her!) After that, it depends
on my purpose at the time. If I need to catch them, I find a corner that they cannot escape from - 90 degrees or less - with
no obstacles to trip over. (The smaller the space , the less likely they are to be able to move fast enough to hurt themselves
if they panic.) Then I slowly herd them into it. Once in the corner, I let them settle down before I attempt to grab the one
I want. I visually identify the one I’m after and only look at the others enough to avoid stepping on them as they flee
the corner. If they trust you as one of their own, it is unbelievably easy to catch them. In fact, I have caught any number
of the 2005 Holderreads birds right out in the field by just using their fellow ducks as my back stop. Since they really aren’t
afraid of me and I was moving slowly, none of them were moving fast enough to escape my grasp. So cool! But if they fear you
as a predator because you have not invested the time in gaining their trust, it can be unbelievably hard to catch them, even
when cornered. Some will leap flapping into the air. I have a couple that do that anyway, but we both know what to expect
now and I’ve gotten good at catching them by their BODY in mid-air - wings and feet flailing in all directions. Then
I calmly fold their wings inside my grasp and give them time to settle down. Whatever happens, you must remain calm and quiet
if you want to have success. Ducks should be caught by their neck or their body - NEVER by the legs. If you miss, give them
a chance to settle and slowly try again. Patience is a virtue. And it will pay off. I had a couple adult hens this spring
that needed to be caught and treated atleast twice a day for what turned out to be more than 5 months. One of them, Gabby,
had been the most skittish bird I had ever seen. Just the fact that I was looking at her could send her blindly slamming into
the wall to escape. But with time and patient persistence - and a whole lot of practice! - she has realized that I am not
going to eat her. I can herd her into the corner of my night pen and calmly grab her. If she can learn to trust that much,
any duck can!
OK, so what did I do to gain the trust of the 2005 Holderreads gang? From the first moment they arrived, I sat in their
pen with them as often as possible. There were 17 ducks and 6 geese so I had to put them out in the night pen with heat lamps
rather than raising them in a brooder box in the house. But that was to my advantage. With no mother to compete with me as
had been the case with Gabby, I became the center of attention. You don’t need food at that age. Just sit there and
they will come. (And for a few days, you even have clean bedding to sit on if you park just outside the range of the heat
lamp. After that, if gets a bit more challenging to avoid sitting in fresh poop.) So they crawl up on you because they’re
curious and perhaps because they instinctively know that mom means warmth. Before you know it, you’re covered in birds
because you are warm and because they realize you mean them no harm. It’s really that simple. Atleast it has been for
me. Had the Holderreads gang arrived the week that my goose hatched her own batch of ducks, I would have given them to her
to raise. And they probably would not be as friendly. But they would most assuredly have been as bold. Her “children”
learn that they can chase everyone because she chases everyone away from her babies when they are old enough to mix with the
adults at about 8 weeks old. So her kids are a different challenge to tame. While they don’t get as close, most of them
quickly learn that we are “good guys” because their mother goose is such a pig for treats. It doesn’t take
long before they learn that humans often have goodies. And the closer they get, the more special food they get. Darcy, one
of this year’s batch of goose-raised kids will jump against my leg to get treats before anyone else can. She also happens
to be the one that was always first at the pen door in the morning and would stand and squeak at me while making direct eye
contact with me when she was a tiny duckling. Darcy is a real comedian and I was required to hear her morning joke. Then she
and the rest could come out the door. Her sister, Charlotte, on the other hand, won’t get closer than about 4 feet.
It’s nice to have a mother bird to raise babies for me, but I don’t seem to get quite the bond with them as I
do the ones that don’t have the distraction of mom telling them what to do. To be fair, I didn’t make the extended
effort with them that I did with the Holderreads birds. But they still are very acceptably calm. They have even come right
up to total strangers to ask for treats.
Also, all is not lost if you acquire your birds as juveniles (and probably even as adults). I sold my first pair of Holderreads
pencileds to an accomplished poultry keeper named Annie. I believe they were 2 to 3 months old at the time. She does a lot
of gardening so it didn’t take long for the ducks to figure out she was a great source of worms. She told me that it
got to the point that the hen would literally sit in her lap while she dug up worms for her! And she had so convinced the
birds that humans are wonderful, that they would walk right up to strangers as they got out of their cars! That’s the
kind of home I hope for when I have to sell ducks.
So, what would I do if I bought juvenile or adult ducks that were supposed to be tame, but instead seemed to be terrified
of me? I would start by giving them a few days to get used to their new home. During that time, I would keep things around
them as quiet and calm as possible. And I would spend as much time as possible sitting nearby and talking to them. And, no
doubt, softly quacking at them. You might feel like an idiot, but ours seem to respond to that and calm down if something
has frightened them. I squat down so that I look smaller and less threatening. Better yet, sit on the ground. I would also
toss them some treats each day while quacking or saying whatever you want your treat call to be. After the first few days,
if I weren’t making progress, I would arrange a small pen with a water bucket where they would have no choice but to
be near me. And that is where I would park. With treats. (I have found bread makes the best bribe and a tiny bit of bread
won’t hurt them for a few days, but it is not nutritionally sound so it should be discontinued as soon as you can get
them to eat something healthier like tomatoes or greens.) I would begin with just a few minutes at a time since being trapped
by a large creature is stressful to the birds. I would do that every couple hours as often during the day as possible. Then
increase my time in the pen until they figured it out. You can’t force yourself on them. But you can show them that
you are nothing to be feared by quietly joining them and being the food source. Remember to enter and exit the pen as slowly
and quietly as possible while talking to them in some way. You will actually be training yourself at the same time and will
soon discover that you move slowly and talk from around corners without even thinking about it. If you hang in there long
enough, you will win them over.
Mornings at my house are hilarious. I quack and talk to the birds as I approach their pen to release them and am greeted
by excited quacking and honking. When I open the door, there is a rush of birds as they all run out into the biggest yard
- flapping and running with reckless abandon. After a couple of passes, they join me to see if I have any treats. It’s
just a matter of training them to expect great things from you.
Good luck and I hope this helps!
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