Urgent Help Needed! Ducks will not leave frozen pond-unsafe to walk on.

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dlebongort

dlebongort

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6 Years
Jul 20, 2013
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We have been struggling with what to do to convince our crazy 6 ducks to leave the pond once it started to freeze over. It's been over a month now, and they only have a 3 ft diameter circle now that is open. They will not come to us (even though we've been feeding by hand all summer!!!), and will only go to the edge of the hole for food (we have to throw it out there).

The reason this is urgent is that we are now having our first big snowfall, and after the 2 ft of snow comes, we are supposed to get below zero (twenty below overnight) by tomorrow. Yikes! The ice is not safe to walk on, and we only have a kayak, which is not the safest right now either. Any ideas out there? I'm worried they will die with the overnight temps so low.

We have a cozy duck house across the yard all ready for them. Jerks.
 
They are little jerks. They may not be able to get out. Hopefully they can/will come out on there own when it gets that cold. Good luck!
 
At this point, this is a tough one.

Are there treats that they like?

Is there something on the shoreline that they are afraid of? Domestic or otherwise?

How far are they from the shoreline? How large is the pond? How deep?
 
What kind of ducks? some can withstand it(the cold, ice, water etc) , that said i wouldn't want mine out there either. As Amiga said, what are the stats for this pond? anyway somebody can try scaring them off it?
 
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That's one of the possibilities I thought of, Going Quackers. If it's small enough, someone could get behind the ducks. In fact, if they have some temporary fence or netting (I know, caution is needed to avoid injury), and enough people, they might be able to herd the ducks into the temp fence and nab them and haul them up to their shelter, where they would be kept close with fencing for some period of time so they can figure out they belong there at night.

Straw or shavings could be tossed onto the ice to encourage them to walk over it.
 
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They are scared of everything..especially the collie who loves to herd them (but they've come to be fed every night of their lives until the freeze). The pond is big..over an acre, and deep, about 15 feet deep right off the shore. We tried a net, but couldn't safely get it to their opening without us risking falling in.
 
We have 2 Pekins, 2 rouens, and 2 domestic mallards. They're tough, but to go from 32 degrees to negative 20 in less than a day would be tough on them, right? I'd rather not have a duck version of the titanic to look at all winter. Poor jerks.
 
Ducks will stay on iced water during the day, their feathers and down are made for that.. If they can keep the hole open the water that is in the pond will be warmer than the air temperature. If they can not keep the hole then they will not have a choice and maybe they will then come ashore.. If you put the feed on the bank or do not throw it too them they will also have to come to the feed and eat.. Maybe during that time the hole will freeze over..

Do a google search for ducks on and iced pond.. That's just what they do.
 
Hello! We are having this same problem with our 4 ducks right now. I am wondering if and how you resolved the problem? They tried to come out of the water for their food, but seem afraid to walk on the ice, meanwhile, they are just swimming in a circle.

Lisa
 

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