Im afraid my ducks will run away if I allow them to free range,,, HELP!!

[DuckMomNewbie]

So back in February of this year I got 2 Blue Indian Runner ducks as ducklings. My husband made them a pretty nice pen out of chicken wire and metal posts. Anyway, I know that their breed is a very nervous breed and they haven't ever really wanted to "snuggle". They recognize when I am refilling their food dish and water jugs, but they hide in the far corner of the pen and wait for me to leave or back up before coming to eat or drink. SOOO... my problem is that I want to be able to let them roam my 2.5 acre yard so that they can get some more bugs and goodies, but my yard is not fenced in. I live just outside town and my closest neighbor is across the street, which I don't think they would even attempt to cross. I'm afraid that with them being so nervous that they wont come back to me or to their pen. Is there a way to ensure that they will return to their pen? What can I do to aid in the process?

 

[Venevee]

More then likely, your ducks will come back to their coop or stay near your property. I've heard of ducks and chickens wondering into their neighbors yards, but they won't run away permanently. There's always a risk of predators picking off your flock, but that's the chance you take with free-ranging. I have a flock of about 30 chickens, who free range everyday. I live next to a highway, which they never go near. Chickens will never wonder too far away from their coop. They know where their food and water and shelter is and it's natural instinct for them to come back to it. Ducks, however....I use to have a pair of rouens, and they would come up to the house at the end of the day and bed down next to the porch instead of going inside of the house. Sometimes they would go in the coop, and other times they would come up to the house and I would have to carry them up to the coop.