Pet Ducks Dumped in Neighborhood Pond, Help?

[SansDuck]

1) By picture alone, can you see anything wrong with the ducks heathly wise, like feathers, bill, feet? We think they are pretty healthy but I'm not an expert.
They look perfectly healthy to me.

2) can you tell the age? We're thinking they might be young, when they first arrived they all looked and sound the same. Now that they been here for a few months, one is loud and the other one has curly drake feathers.

Not sure on the age, but I agree they look young.

3) what are the genders? We are 99% positive that we have one male, one female. Besides the one having a loud quack with no curly feathers, the other one has curly feathers and a soft raspy quack.
The fact that every time we bring them water, the duck with the soft quack will hop onto the others back, grabs their neck, tells me they are not celebrating over having clean water.
And durning one these celebrations, its was very obvious the one on top had a penis.

It sounds like you have a drake and a hen.

4) if they are dating, when should we expect eggs? They have done this celebration a number of times (almost everytime we bring fresh water) but we cant tell if they were successful? They both get really happy after the one on top falls off and after they will usually shake their tails or take a swim in their water dish lol.

If they buried the fake egg you put in there you could already have eggs hidden. I would check. If not they will usually start to lay once you have 12 hours or more of daylight. The trauma of the other duck being attacked could keep your female from laying for awhile though.

5) Also we recently put a fake egg in the ark, they moved it to the back and buried it some in the straw. Does that mean anything? We didnt think putting a egg in there would do anything but it almost seems like they adopted it?

They like to hide their eggs.

6a) this is a three part question. Now that they have a nice house(with straw and cedar bedding), plenty of food, treats including bugs and a good size pen and a moat. Should we eventually allow them to go to the pond durning the day or is it encouraging them to stay in the pond the whole night? Would they learn to come home at night on their own? Or is this just asking for trouble?

First off get rid of the cedar bedding. Use pine or aspen. Cedar can cause respiratory issues.
Personally I would keep them in their ark for a few months atleast. They sound happy and healthy. You could give them a day or two a week of pond time.
I would keep them off the pond during winter months, since predators will be looking for an easy meal.


(Also again I want to clarify, this pond does not get clean and people have fish in it including us in the past.)
Also the ducks would have to cross the street to get to the pond each day, it's not that big of a concern considering we are the last house on a dead end street but accident can still happen.

6b) Would I need to worry about snaped fishing lines or hooks that have fallen off into the water hurting them?

The ducks will be at the mercy of anything neighbors have dumped in there.

6c) opinions on keeping ducks in a backyard with pool/pen vs free range at day and coop at night.

Personally I would keep them in their pool/pen area.

And reading about ducks and bacteria from a pond doesnt make me feel safe letting them take a dip either.

7) after a major event or even maturing, do ducks personalities change?
When they first arrived, they were all friendly. Right before the death of the third duck all of them kinda become spooked and weary of humans.
And after the death, they would run away from people if approached to closely.

A trauma like that will definitely have them scared for awhile. With mating season coming up your drake might become more aggressive. Keep an eye on them to make sure he is not overmating your female.

8)Could a human or something that resembles it killed the third duck and now they're scared of humans? I know we have young kids and teens that hang around the pond occasionally.

Unless you have a budding serial killer around I suspect it was a raccoon.

9) like mentioned we are pretty sure they are pekins, but we could be wrong too. They dont fly but the one that appears female knows how to jump quite high off the ground. Can anyone tell from the provided pictures that they are 100% pekin?

They could be Pekins or white egg layers. I can't really tell the difference between the two breeds.

10) what are the most important things i should know as a new duck owner? Suggestions, tips, tricks, and other helpful information you cant easily find online would be greatly appreciated.

If you want them to become friendlier with you, you can sit with them for some time each day and quietly talk to them. You can also feed them treats from your hand. (Alot of ducks like mealworms, but mine like tomatoes better.)
Dog food is bad for anything, but dogs. I have given mine cat food during molting, but not alot.
They need water that is deep enough for them to get their nares (nostrils) in.[/QUOTE]


Thank so much for reading and, taking the time to answer every question I had!

I recently uploaded a few videos on YouTube, including a 13 min video where the ducks mate twice or at least attempt too.

I'm not sure if you are willing to check out the videos, and tell me if the drake is acting to aggressive towards her.
Here is a link to my Youtube;
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgylx9Cv9AK9kzmLtbsfPfQ

Also I'm so sorry, but I wrote a mistake and it wont let go back and edit it.
You see snice the post was so long and took forever to write out, I didnt actually check what bedding we were using.

I check today and it turns out we are you using large pine shavings, again, sorry for the mistake I assumed it was cedar and didnt check before posting.

We think it's a raccoon or owl too, it just seems so weird.
It was the winter when the duck was killed, and just seem so odd the body wasnt eaten and the head wadnt taken.

It seems a lot people think we shouldn't let them back to the pond, witch we 100% agree with.
I just wanted to make sure we weren't being overprotective, snice one of the neighbors mentioned if they were getting enough excercise in their pin.

I mean if they were wild ducks, I would feel horrible about pining them up but dominated pet ducks I think, need extra protection.

I definitely think they were traumatized right after the incident, at first they would run to the back of their house when filling up their water. In the fast few days they have been coming right up to the door when we have the water pitcher out.

Evertime we clean we look for eggs, nothing yet but I'm honestly not expecting any right now.
Where we live, the time this year the sunrise is at 7 am and sundown is right around 5:20-5:40 PM.
I'm not sure if that is enough light to lay eggs, and they dont have a night light in their coop. Should we add one?

I never consider they could be white layers, after looking them up on the internet I couldn't believe how similar they look!
That is really a thinker to consider, because oh boy, that's a lot of eggs if they are lol.

We should try tomatoes, so far we given them cabbage, corn of the cob, peas, mashed potatoes, organic plain oat meal, broccoli and some other veggies.
We bought folk party crickets and quacker snackers at the feed store. Next time we go, we will pick up some folk party meal worms. I bet they will love that! And fir the poultry pellets they are on 16 % layer feed. Is that alright for them?
I know it's not a lot of protein in the feed but the quacker snackers and crickets both have a lot of protein listed on the bags.

Also I would love to sit and talk with them but I dont want to force an animal to stay in my lap, I would feel horrible if they got hurt.

If they try to wiggle away when holding them, should I let them go?

I really do want to bond with them but not force them to love me either.

Also, snice we built the pin we have their door open the whole day but some days they will stay in their duck ark.
Is that normal?
Do they have lazy days, should we force them to come out of their duck ark?

It makes cleaning harder but we are willing to work around them lol

Thank you again for taking the time to answer all my questions, and I hope you have a great day!

 

[SansDuck]

You say you have built a pen around the ark? That would be awesome then they can stay in it along with the ark for protection from predators even domestic dogs are a big threat. Not even bringing in the wild predators. Just always put them up at night because predators can climb fencing, dig under fencing.

What you have done is such a wonderful thing, You have truly blessed us with your story and rescue of the 2 ducks that are left. They are precious too. What are their names?

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment, I feel so blessed to have these beautiful creatures in my life!

You can say I feel like the lucky duck here lol

I'm not sure if we are being overprotective now but we only let the ducks out at noonish and they go back in the ark right before sundown.
The duck ark is always locked tight with a key, and a large heavy brick on their ramp blocks the door just in case.

And of course if they come out for the day, I'm always usually outside or close too a window to watch them.

Also I really should post a new picture soon, but the pin got updated with chicken wire all around it.

Right now its completely duck escape proof but not predator proof, so it will need future updates on it.

Snice they dont go out at night anymore I'm not worried about owls anymore but I never consider a stray cat jumping over the pin or a hawk durning the day.
All the neibour dogs are kept leach or inside but I have seen a stray cat or two around the neighborhood.

All of our cats and dogs are kept inside (witch I guess explains why I want the ducks to stay close to our house)

Oh yes, the names!
I will have to say they aren't the most orginal or creative, but it might bring back nostalgia for some!

The one we think is a girl (the one with the light colored bill) is name; Downy

And the one we think is a boy is name is; Fergus

For anyone familiar with Duck Tales and Donald's Duck family tree, they are the parents of Scrooge Mcduck, the grandparents of Donald Duck and the great grandparents of Huey, Dewey, and, Louie!

We think it was just two cute and plus if they do have a family, we already have some future names lol

 

[SansDuck]

I’m not sure if any of my answers are repeat answers, but they do look like pekins. I had two pekins (drake and hen), sadly my hen passed away this year. My pekins absolutely loved to have their pool anytime they could. There would be lots of “celebrating”. You could count on it every morning. So more than likely if you have witnessed it, then you probably have a male and female. My female LOVED to hide her eggs, that may be why they swept the fake egg under the straw. My pekins also LOVE treats. I have been accused of spoiling them, because I give them treats quite often. I’m sure these babies are so happy to have been taken in by you and your family! They will slowly get used to you and your set up and be some happy, lucky ducks!

Thank you for taking the time to read and comment!

I'm so sorry your girl passed away, I sobbed the whole day when I found out about the ducks death and we hadn't even adopted them yet.

I hope your baby passed away peacefully and I hope your boy idnt too lonely without her.

When we found out there was orginally four ducks, I wonder if they were all paired off and was lonely or felt like a third wheel after the fourth one passed.

It makes me want to cry to think the third one was alone when it passed, it honestly breaks my heart.

These two babies are going to be so spoiled, they wont know what to do.
I just want to give these two the best lives I can, snice I couldn't do that for the other two ducks.

The celebrating of fresh water is so interesting, I never realized ducks mates by climbing onto one anothers back.

Its honestly kinda cute and humors to see the one on top fall off, and afterwards both of them will get super excited and wag their tails lol.

Also a update on the fake egg, they have moved from the back of the ark to the front door of the ark.

Does that mean anything?

Do they want it out of their ark?

Also I need to take pictures but we ended building them a moat on the side of their house, but they haven't checked it out very much.
I hope it's okay, we thought they would prefer that over climbing into a kiddie pool.

But it seems they would rather take a swim in their big rubber bowl.
We dont mind cleaning out their water dish more often, but I would assume they rather have something bigger to swim in or be able to swim together lol

Also dont worry about repeat replies!

I love reading everyones comments, opinions, and, suggestions because they are always going to be different in some way!

 

[SansDuck]

You've got 2 pretty ducks. Now the trick will be to keep them safe. Sounds like you've got great supportive neighbors that actually want to help out with the care of them which is awesome too!

Your ark is great for the two of them and looks very secure and safe. I like how you overlapped the chicken wire. That was smart! Your little wood fence around the ark is really cute but I would get a fence around it that would keep dogs and who knows what else is around out and the ducks in. That will keep them safe and perhaps, since it's a small area, get a net for over the top so owls and hawks can't swoop down and grab them.

Get rid of the cedar shavings. They are supposed to be really bad for ducks. I use hay, mainly because it's free plus it's working just fine.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and comment!

And thank you for the compliment, they are very pretty!

The neighbours have been awesome, one neighbour even donated wood in case of future updates on the ark or pin.

Also thank you, that was my SO idea to overlap the chicken wire on their windows for extra strength and protection.

Speaking of the pin, it got a little update, we added chicken wire to the inside to keep it a little more duck proof.
You are right, we should invest in a net for the top, that is a genius idea!
Thank you so much for the suggestion!

And I never consider hawks durning the day, so again thank you for your comment.

Also, sorry, the cedar was a typo. It took me forever to write out the orginal post and I never checked what bedding we were using before writing it out.

I checked today and it turns our we are using large pine shavings, I'm so sorry for the typing mistake.

I would go back and edit the original post but it's being difficult right now lol

 

[SansDuck]

Yes names are the fun part also all my ducks and geese know their name(makes training easier)

I didnt know they could recognize their own names!
Thank you for commenting as that is very helpful to know.

The girl name is Downy and the boy is Fergus, our own little Duck Tales lol.

 

[SansDuck]

Good for you. I hope you get plenty of responses from our plentyful duck expert population here on BYC. Unfortunately i only have chickens, so i dont know much about ducks. But i do live directly next to one of the only overflow ponds in my area and i can relate to this, as i am nervous that ill wake up and find someone dumping ducks in our pond too! I hope it never happens!

Good Luck!!

Thank you for the reply!

My SO raised chickens growing up, hes pretty inform on chickens but not ducks lol

We have gotten so many great replies, we feel so lucky to have you all here to help us in this poultry journey of ours.

I know right! I never expected pet ducks to ever show up in our pond, never happen in the 11 years I lived here until last year.

Its makes me wonder if pet ducks are becoming more popular with kids because of the recent reboot of Duck Tales.

Ironically enough, I never watch Duck Tales as a kid but when they rebooted it in 2017, I've watched every episode that's come out.

Not to mention Easter time is a popular time to buy baby chicks and ducklings.

 

[Cayuga momma]

I'm not sure if you are willing to check out the videos, and tell me if the drake is acting to aggressive towards her.
Here is a link to my Youtube;
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgylx9Cv9AK9kzmLtbsfPfQ

Looks normal too me. The bright orange bill duck looks and sounds like a male and the pale bill one looks and sounds like a female.
She will lay flat to tell him she is ready and he will bob his head at her and then hop on and do his thing.
Here is a video of mine.

Also I'm so sorry, but I wrote a mistake and it wont let go back and edit it.
You see snice the post was so long and took forever to write out, I didnt actually check what bedding we were using.

I check today and it turns out we are you using large pine shavings, again, sorry for the mistake I assumed it was cedar and didnt check before posting.

We think it's a raccoon or owl too, it just seems so weird.
It was the winter when the duck was killed, and just seem so odd the body wasnt eaten and the head wadnt taken.

It seems a lot people think we shouldn't let them back to the pond, witch we 100% agree with.
I just wanted to make sure we weren't being overprotective, snice one of the neighbors mentioned if they were getting enough excercise in their pin.

Pekins do need more exercise, because they can have leg problems, but if you make them a larger run, like Miss lydia said, it will help.
Also you can get them a niacin supplement.

I mean if they were wild ducks, I would feel horrible about pining them up but dominated pet ducks I think, need extra protection.

I definitely think they were traumatized right after the incident, at first they would run to the back of their house when filling up their water. In the fast few days they have been coming right up to the door when we have the water pitcher out.

Evertime we clean we look for eggs, nothing yet but I'm honestly not expecting any right now.
Where we live, the time this year the sunrise is at 7 am and sundown is right around 5:20-5:40 PM.
I'm not sure if that is enough light to lay eggs, and they dont have a night light in their coop. Should we add one?

That's up to you. Personally I don't. Yes extra light means more eggs, but I feel that it puts more strain on their little bodies to lay out of season and they won't live as long.

I never consider they could be white layers, after looking them up on the internet I couldn't believe how similar they look!
That is really a thinker to consider, because oh boy, that's a lot of eggs if they are lol.

We should try tomatoes, so far we given them cabbage, corn of the cob, peas, mashed potatoes, organic plain oat meal, broccoli and some other veggies.
We bought folk party crickets and quacker snackers at the feed store. Next time we go, we will pick up some folk party meal worms. I bet they will love that! And fir the poultry pellets they are on 16 % layer feed. Is that alright for them?
I know it's not a lot of protein in the feed but the quacker snackers and crickets both have a lot of protein listed on the bags.

I like to give 20% in the winter time, but 16% is just fine, especially if they are getting a lot of treats high in protein.

Also I would love to sit and talk with them but I dont want to force an animal to stay in my lap, I would feel horrible if they got hurt.

I don't put mine in my lap. I just sit near mine and talk to them. They have gotten alot more comfortable with me.

If they try to wiggle away when holding them, should I let them go?

I really do want to bond with them but not force them to love me either.

Also, snice we built the pin we have their door open the whole day but some days they will stay in their duck ark.
Is that normal?
Do they have lazy days, should we force them to come out of their duck ark?

I wouldn't force them to come out unless you are worried that they are sick. Depending on weather they will stay in their ark. Yesterday was a nice day here, but my duckies only came out for food and water and then went back into their coop.
I guess somedays they just feel like staying in.

 

[crazy4ChickensNducks]

Owls also kill by removing the head. I had 3 ducks get killed by an owl in the same way. The head was gone or next to them. He got one each night until I put the netting up

 

[SansDuck]

The fencing around the ark, its cute but a loose dog could make a snack out of them fast.

I might have missed this, it once they go inside, make sure you give treats. You want them to associate their ark with treats, safety and comfort.

Thanks for taking these duckies on. I know you didn't plan on becoming a duck owner, but I'm glad you took them on, they're lucky ducks!

Thank you for reading and commenting! We feel like the lucky ducks here lol

Yes, the fence is cute but you are right not very predator proof. We recently added chicken wire to the inside to keep it a little bit more duck proof but that wouldn't stop anything from jumping over or swooping down.

Someone mentioned a net over the top, I think it's great idea.

What are your suggestions for predators that can jump high or swoop down?

I know a full enclosed pin with a gate, would be 100% idea but it might take us a while to get around to building that.

And they always get food, water, and treats inside their duck ark.

Even though we didnt plan on having duckies, I'm so glad it happen. I never knew what amazing creatures they are!

I hope you have a great day!

 

[Cayuga momma]

You can get some posts and chicken wire to put around their area and then some netting over top.
As long as they are locked up tight at night they should be ok until you can secure them better.