puddled duck Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 Hi. I have two minature silver appleyards which are nearly 10 weeks old. In the last few days they are madly flapping their wings, rather than just stretching as they were doing at first. Neither of them have got of the floor but are flapping really fast! I am worried that they may fly away, any advice on whether i need to clip their wings? Thanks for help, I am a duck newbie. Hamish Puddles Smokey the Chinchilla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 Hi - welcome to the forum.... I think they are likely to stay where they know they will be fed. Are they just free ranging in your garden or do you have any sort of run? We keep ours in a large run area and have never had to clip their wings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puddled duck Posted July 2, 2009 Author Share Posted July 2, 2009 Hi - welcome to the forum.... I think they are likely to stay where they know they will be fed. Are they just free ranging in your garden or do you have any sort of run? We keep ours in a large run area and have never had to clip their wings. Thanks for reply. Mine are in a ducklu with run and extension when we are not at home and then spend time free ranging when we are at home which is at least 3 days a week. I am just a little worried as they seem to be tilting their heads on the side and look towards the sky. Also as i previously mentioned they flap madly sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lesley Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Ours run up and down the run flapping but never take off - but they are heavier than yours so perhaps that plays a part in it. It won't hurt to clip one wing the same as you would for a hen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Hi My ducks although a slender size when young did the flapping etc but always stayed grounded ..they were so well fed(never jumped as high as the chickens I now have). Agree with Lesley about them coming for food as the tons of wild mallards I now have(costing me a smal fortune) come down for feeding and peck on our kitchen doors patio doors for food(AND prior to dog ownership been in the house...I have old pics of them under our kitchen table as they just turned up & came inside what a mess) My kids use to love hand feeding them when they were younger...every year they come back to breed. So am sure like most animals food will prevail The Appleyards are pretty let us know how you get on..trying not to be tempted back to duck world again! indie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ems123 Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 appleyards can't fly can they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...