Free ranging 4 month old duck pair

[Harley8181]

I rescued 2 ducks when they were 8 weeks old. They have been in a nice pen with a run and kiddy pool for a month now. I want to let them free range in the yard which is fenced in but they can scoot under the house like my hens do and go to the front yard which isn't fenced. Are they too young to free range? They are quite large now but not as friendly as my hens. I don't want them to wander off.

 

[ruthhope]

My boys freeranged from 16 weeks old but in a fened back y ard that they cannot get out of on foot [they could fly over the gate but only one has ever gotten up onto the gate and he was attention seeking--he did it three times--rather than trying to escape.

What sort of ducks are yours? Can they fly? If they might fly, then you should clip their wings to stop them leaving home by mistake [getting into the air and not knowing where they came up from]

I would block their escape route under the house as ducks are likely to wander further than chickens. My son left his side gate open once and I arrived int he evening to find his ducks down the street. My sister in the UK has had a whole flock of domestic ducks up on her porch -- they came from a farm quite a way down the road and had to be herded back down there.

 

[Harley8181]

My boys freeranged from 16 weeks old but in a fened back y ard that they cannot get out of on foot [they could fly over the gate but only one has ever gotten up onto the gate and he was attention seeking--he did it three times--rather than trying to escape.

What sort of ducks are yours? Can they fly? If they might fly, then you should clip their wings to stop them leaving home by mistake [getting into the air and not knowing where they came up from]

I would block their escape route under the house as ducks are likely to wander further than chickens. My son left his side gate open once and I arrived int he evening to find his ducks down the street. My sister in the UK has had a whole flock of domestic ducks up on her porch -- they came from a farm quite a way down the road and had to be herded back down there.

They are white Muscovy ducks. I'll try to block the space under the house.

 

[ruthhope]

They are white Muscovy ducks. I'll try to block the space under the house.

Wise to block under the house. In my experience, muscovy juveniles both male and female can fly. Older drakes may get to fat [My Daffy couldn't fly to save his life although he could fly down hill from the top step when he was a juvenile. ] In the wild, the drakes fly but they are not as well fed and heavy as domestic muscovy.

 

[Canadian Wind]

I don't have mine fenced in and they haven't wandered off (knocks on wood). They know where home is and where food is. But it all depends on individual birds.

I'm always very careful when introducing new birds to make sure they know this is now home.

That being said, I like having mine free-range as early as possible, especially if they are being raised by an adult. At four months, they are more than old enough.

 

[Miss Lydia]

chicken wire, and hardware cloth both can be used to secure an escape route. I've had to do it here.