FUN with ducks
Yes, you can train a duck. Spend quality time with your pets and watch how well they respond.
FEATHERED FRIENDS
Many people compare ducks to dogs, and they’re not totally off-base. While no one will bat an eye at you walking your Labrador Retriever down the street, you might get strange glances if you trot by with your duck on a leash.
That shouldn’t stop you, though. While instrumental for food production, ducks also make great entertainment sources and companions. You can have hours of fun with your feathered friend. You just need to figure out how.
Spending quality time with your ducks might be as simple as hanging out with them in your yard. Many owners enjoy unwinding in lounge chairs while watching their ducks waddle through the yard, wagging their tail feathers, foraging for slugs and splashing in a kiddie pool.
“If I need to relax, I go sit in the pasture and watch them dig for bugs, pick at the grass and sleep in the warm sun,” says Alison
Leary, owner and operator of Al’s Quackery in Arundel, Maine. “They always have fun in water, even if it’s a small rubber tub instead of a pond. It’s fun to watch how they dip and bob in the water and dunk their heads so water runs down their backs.”
Ducks are very social animals; they enjoy being around others. If you raise ducks from infancy, it’s easier for them to bond with you and interact with people, owners say. It takes time, though, regardless of how old the duck is. Spending quality time with your ducks is a great way to ensure that bonding happens.
“You can do a lot with ducks, including hand-feeding them corn and oats as well as handling them,” says Alexandria Brown, a 13-year-old duck owner from Lucas, Ohio.
She has raised ducks for almost two years and now has 40. “My birds [are] imprinted on me. I love them more every day.”
DUCKS AND KIDS
Brown got involved raising ducks for her local 4-H and says that’s a great way for children to start participating in duck ownership. Everyday chores provide a way for children of all ages to spend quality time with the family flock.
“Raising ducks is easier than I first thought it would be,” Brown says. “‘Duck duty’ [is] just a quick check that the water is fresh and clean, feeders filled, the ducks let out, plus the occasional cleaning of the coop. I don’t mind duck chores; they are fun, and I don’t think of them as work.”
Children can help change the ducks’ water, distribute food and give treats. “Ducks are a great way to teach kids responsibility,” Leary says. “It’s a great way to get them to take care of a pet, especially if there is a reward [like] collecting eggs. [That] is always fun for kids.”
In fact, you can use duck chores to convey some life lessons to your flock of young humans. Feeding ducks teaches children how to nurture others. Cleaning up shows that we take care of things we own and love. Giving out treats showcases the act of sharing and taking turns. You can even weave in some math lessons, too. (“How many ducks are there?” or “You had three pieces of lettuce. You let Lucy eat one. How many are left?”)
Stricter supervision remains necessary with young children, especially when handling tiny ducklings or eggs. This teaches them a life lesson: Respect life, and be gentle with fragile things like animals.
DUCK TRAINING
Don’t forget about this life lesson: Find something fun to do every day. Ducks definitely teach us that. While ducks might not make great candidates for agility courses or partners for 10-mile jogs through the woods, they still can learn to do some fun tricks. A few owners are rumored to have taught their ducks how to fetch, and many will teach them to respond to certain words, such as their names or basic commands, like “come here.”
“While all my ducks have names, it would take forever to say them all, so I just yell
‘babies’ and they come running from wherever they are,” says duck owner Felicia Farrell of Malone, N.Y. “The best way to teach them is by repetition. Repeat, repeat, repeat! It can’t be stressed enough. Soon, they will know exactly what you want them to do.”
It’s also not unheard of for owners to use a favored dog-training technique known as “clicker training,” where an audible clicking signal is used, to teach their ducks new tricks. Treat-motivated training also works like a charm, say duck owners, and it’s a fun way for everyone to bond. Giving your ducks goodies, such as worms (pleasant as pie for your duck, although a bit gross for you), peas or lettuce, can be absolutely entertaining. This also helps socialize your ducks, Farrell says.
“Lots of people will swear by thawed peas, but I find that every duck I’ve had prefers mealworms,” she says. “If you feed treats to them out of the same bowl or container, they will begin to recognize the item and associate it with good things, which is the best way to make them super friendly toward people. Soon after that, you will literally have them eating right out of your hands.”
Just make sure they have water nearby to drink, as ducks require liquid to help them swallow their food. Giving a small treat is fine, but if you are going to be feeding a lot of goodies over the course of a training session, be sure to do it near a water source.
Another fun activity to do with your ducks is work in your garden. Ducks make amazing gardeners; they have a voracious appetite for all of the garden pests that can ruin your crop. Take your ducks into the garden with you and let them feast on all of the grubs you unearth as you go about your business. Do this a few times, and your ducks will wait excitedly as soon as you begin digging for those critters.
On hot days, fill a kiddie pool, and let your ducks splash around. Toss lettuce into their water bowl, and let them “bob for produce.” You also can get a specialized duck harness (from online stores that sell products for waterfowl), and acclimate your duck to a daily walk. Some breeds, including Indian Runners, are better suited for walking than other breeds, so make sure your duck enjoys this before you set out.
If leashing up your Buff isn’t in the cards, take a stroll with the ducks around your yard. Many socialized ducks love to follow around their owners — perhaps even allowing for some quick cuddles or “kisses.” The more you handle and socialize ducks from a young age, the friendlier they can become as they grow.
There are scores of ways to spend quality time with your ducks, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes just digging up worms can be the best way to show how much your web-footed friends mean to you. ■