I have a group of ducks in my barn, but I do not know the best way to deal with them so that they respond to me as my chickens do, since I am still a beginner in raising ducks, as I did not have ducks in my barn before.
When I signal for them to follow me into their shelter, if the weather is bad, if I want to lock them at night, or if I want to leave, they do not respond to me.
Since I am a beginner in breeding ducks, I try to find a way to make them more obedient to me and to make them respond to me quickly when I want them to follow me anywhere.
In fact, ducks are social beings, and we find that many take them as reliable sitter who entertains them and is friendly with them, except that they have some fear at first, but it soon fades and is replaced by friendliness and kindness.
if they feel that you are a source of safety for them and that you will not cause them any harm.
So we have to do some things so that you can enjoy raising them and getting the best behavior out of them. Therefore, we have gathered for you the most important tips that help you to adapt your duck and make it respond to you to follow you wherever you want.
How To Get Ducks To Follow You?
There are some steps that you should talk in order to get your ducks to follow you. Here are 6 of them that we think will help you:
- Entice Them With A Handful Of Treats
- Pamper Your Ducks.
- Have Them In A Group.
- Reduce Stressors.
- Name Your Duck.
- Choose A Friendly Breed.
Let’s talk abut each one of them:
Entice Them With A Handful Of Treats
Use some treats as your duck’s favorite treats, such as some live mealworms, which ducks love, or fresh foods, such as a few pieces of fruit such as berries, vegetables, and herbs.
You can also use whole grains such as corn and beans, and leafy greens such as lettuce, as these are duck’s favorite foods. Put a handful of these treats in the palm of your hand to entice your ducks to come near you and follow you.
Do not try to innovate much in the foods that you offer to the ducks by offering them biscuits, candy, nuts, or other human foods, in the belief that they will be good rewards for them.
In fact, they will be very harmful to them because they contain large amounts of sugar or salt that the ducks cannot get rid of Which causes them serious health damage.
Be satisfied with the healthy food options suitable for ducks, which we mentioned above, as they will attract and cheer the ducks, and at the same time, they will not harm them.
Pamper Your Ducks
You can tame your duck and make it a loyal friend by being friendly and gentle. You have to start this from a young age, as it is easier and makes them grow up.
For them, you are a beloved person who represents a source of safety for them, which makes them voluntarily for you when you ask them for anything.
Pamper your ducks by calling them and making them eat from the palm of your hand and take advantage of the opportunity to pet or tickle their heads or any of the light petting.
This will make them attached to you and love the time you call them and you will find them rushing to you when you call them to follow you.
Have Them In A Group
Ducks love to walk in groups, they are very social birds that do not like to be alone, as this makes them feel nervous and anxious. But rather like to have birds walking behind them. So you should not keep just one or two ducks, but keep them in groups.
So when you call them and entice them with food or rewards, as soon as any of the ducks are attracted to you, the rest of the duck flock will follow quickly to you.
Reduce Stressors
Various breeds of ducks vary in terms of behavior, some of them have a peaceful nature, and some of them have a quarrelsome and aggressive nature.
But did you know that the environmental conditions in which ducks are raised have a significant influence on their behavior equal to or perhaps greater than the genetic influences on their behavior?
Therefore, raising ducks in a suitable, comfortable environment free of stress factors will certainly make them more obedient to you and respond to you when you call them. All ducks’ basic needs must be met all the time.
In other words, create a comfortable enclosure for your ducks by covering the floor with a thick layer of straw or grass, to give them a comfortable place to live in, taking into account that it is spacious enough to accommodate your ducks. As overcrowding increases their anxiety and makes them act aggressively.
You also have to give them enough food and provide them with containers of high-quality feed for the ducks. Also, ducks love water very much, so provide them with fresh and clean water constantly.
Make sure that the barn is constantly cleaned of any messes that happen to them during the day so that they are not harmed by dirt. In the event that the weather is cold, newborn chicks and growing ducks will benefit from having a source of warmth such as a heater or heat lamp.
Name Your Duck
Did you know that ducks are smart and can be trained to interact with you in a smarter way? You can give the ducks names and then train them how to react to their own name.
Use the duck’s name whenever you interact with it, whether it’s when you’re feeding it, petting it, or putting it back in its enclosure at the end of the day. Call out to him clearly and make sure you speak in a clear tone of voice and wave his nose so he knows you are talking to him.
Do not worry, ducks are quick to learn. So whenever you refer to them with a specific name, they will associate this name with your interaction with them while you call them.
Don’t get tired of repeating your duck’s name until she responds to you. Even if the ducks don’t understand what you’re saying, your voice is comforting and pleasing to them.
Stand close to your duck every now and then and say its name in a clear voice. This will be a good opportunity for the ducks to recognize the sound and come to you.
This may not happen the first time, as the ducks may need more conditioning, but with training, your duck will gradually begin to respond to you when you call her by name.
Even if you have several ducks, you will succeed in teaching them to respond to their names individually when you interact with them and train them individually.
Choose a name for your duck based on its gender or physical characteristics. It is important that it be a clear name, preferably short and with a strong tone such as Mother Goose or Quack Nicholson, and so on as you see fit.
Choose A Friendly Breed
If you are thinking of adding ducks to your flock, or you are thinking of creating a new flock from the beginning, and you like that they interact with you in a friendly way and follow you when you call them, then you should choose a breed that is distinguished by its nature, friendliness, and gentleness.
There are dozens of breeds of domesticated ducks, which are characterized by a wide variety of colors, shapes, sizes, and prints. As you might wonder, each duck breed also has its own different temperament.
So it would be unreasonable to bring a breed of quarrelsome ducks and ask them to be obedient to you as that would be against their nature.
But you have to choose a breed characterized by a good temperament to be easy to docile. The friendliest and best-tempered duck breeds include Saxony – 9.0, Muscovy – 9.0, Silver Appleyard – 8.8, Welsh Harlequin – 8.7, and Black Swedish – 7.7.
