A call for help for dumped domestic ducks. Looking for stories, links, and general advice/support.

[Kimmyh51]

Hi guys

Firstly, this post is aimed at those who are already aware of the reasons domestic ducks should not be ‘released’ if that is not you, my apologies, but right now I don’t have the time to post info and links to educate you on this topic (as I am overwhelmed by local ignorance that I need to deal with first), but please do google it and feel free to post any compelling links from reputable sites that you find in your own research.

I have a small local duck rescue in NZ, and recently coming into winter, I have had a number of reports of dumped domestic ducks. More than in the last 5 years prior where I was running the rescue.

Anyway in NZ ducks are not yet a popular pet, and there are very few people who keep ducks and even less who know much about them, or the difference between wild and domestic ducks let alone anything about the consequences about dumping domestic ducks into public rivers and lakes.

So I have two problems right now

One is a number of ducks dumped into a local lake, which is quite large, and has a large island which is basically impenetrable due to dense bush and so on. Because of the reasonably large water area we have found it very difficult to get any of the ducks onto land to catch them. When we do get them on land, they are very cautious and ready to run at a moments notice, the first attempt we couldn’t get them close enough to even try to net them, and the second, I thought I was close enough to net one but didn’t get that one and scared the rest off to where they wouldnt come close to land. We had one person on a kayak, but would need lots more than I have been able to source to be able to herd or fence them in while they are on the water... unless someone has some tips or tricks on how to capture ducks on large bodies of water?

As well as all the reasons that domestic ducks don’t survive long when dumped, and the reasons that domestic ducks can impact negatively on wild/and or endangered birds in the area they are dumped, there is also a possibility that the local council may do a cull of them if they remain there much longer.

So I am NOT wanting to open up a debate on the stupidity of dumping domestic ducks or debate with anyone who thinks that dumped domestic ducks are happy in the places they get ‘released’ if that is you please go do your own research - there is plenty of evidence out there and I already have a heap of posts from people local to me who I have to keep repeating myself to ad infinitum.

What I am asking the community for is two things:

1. Any tips and hints on how to catch ducks on larger bodies of water, any ideas on how to get them onto the land where we are and also keep them off the large bush clad island in the middle of this lake where they tend to go if spooked. That area is completely impenetrable, so as well as trying to herd them towards the opposite side we are also finding it very hard to stop them just going off into the bush. It’s very thick and within 1/2 to one metre (1-3foot) from the bank they can disappear into thick undergrowth and bush we cannot get through.

2. Any links to really compelling online content on why dumping domestic ducks is bad...ideally these posts will be either:

• Containing graphic photos of the harm caused to wild ducks, ie wild mallards with torn up heads, necks and backs from over mating by dumped domestic drakes - it’s not that I want to see or post such horrible photos but somemof these people on my page are so resistant to any scientific evidence and so fixated on their god given right to feed bread to suffering ducks till it kills the, that to be honest they just need to see the real harsh reality of what the dumping causes, as nothing else is going to get through...
• Containing graphic photos of domestic ducks who have suffered injury or illness after being dumped in lakes or rivers which appear to be idyllic and where lots of locals think they are taking good care of these dumped ducks by feeding them bread or grain.
• Containing scientific evidence obtained from studies carried out by reputable universities, etc. containing graphic evidence of harm caused to endangered wildlife by dumped domestic ducks

PLEASE NOTE: In NZ we don’t have coyotes, wolves, any large cats, crocodiles, snakes, badgers, and most of the predators you have in the us and elsewhere so pages which contain info on the harm done to dumped domestic ducks by the above predators while just give the naysayers a chance to say... “Well we don’t have wolves/coyotes/snakes/badgers etc here in Nz so therefore dumped ducks must be safe and happy here!”

Anyway if anyone out there has any experience with the plight of dumped domestic ducks and a story or link showingnthe harm caused either to the ducks or to others in the environment, please I would appreciate your post.

I can also send anyone with a personal story to tell the link of my fb page if they would like to comment there (please give me an overview of your story here or pm me first thanks)

I also work sometimes with a lady who runs a chicken rescue locally, and they deal with loads of dumped laying hens and roosters (the roosters don’t lay, lol) so any stories or studies or other evidence on that topic I would also appreciate and will pass on to her.

We are hoping to put together something to start to try and educTe people here in Nz. It’s nto as bad as it appears to be in the us yet, but there is a massive amount of ignorance on the harm caused here... even supposed experts and animal welfare organisations are still telling people that dumped domestic ducks are doing just fine where they are dumped.

It’s me, and others who are picking up the traumatised ducks, or finding the gory remains of the ducks who didn’t survive long enough to be rescued...

I’ve attached a couple of photos of domestic dumped ducks reported recently local to me

 

[PippinTheChicken]

This is terrible! If anyone cannot keep their ducks for any reason- DO NOT JUST DUMP THEM! Find a good home for them or give them to a shelter

 

[SolarDuck]

I can suggest using a powerful laser pointer at night time to scare the ducks off the pond, birds are usually terrified of them, you need to get one powerful enough that you can see the beam at night time like this
https://youtube.com/shorts/qZp1tv1IZrA?feature=share

 

[Miss Lydia]

Many years ago on BYC I remember a group of folks wanting to rescue not just domestic ducks but geese too. They had quite a few people that went and set up fencing like a shoot so once they got them up on land they had to walk into the shoot before loaded into crates for transport. They used kyacks to herd the ducks to shore and people to keep them from getting split up. It would take some planning and many helping hands but can be done.
I only have rescued 2 drakes from our Mountain river to do that I began feeding them for about a week before I got them. I set up a dog x pen and after a few days of getting them use to me coming with feed I set up the feed at the back of the pen so they had to walk all the way inside to eat. After a total of 5 days I went down brought the food placed it in back of pen and once they went inside to eat closed the open part went in picked them up placed them in dog crates and brought them home. Not so easy with open water but hopefully you can figure out some way to rescue these poor things before winter sets in.

@CrystaBub has resued ducks before too. Not sure how often she comes on BYC but hopefully she'll see this tag.

Reading back again on your post when I first saw these domestic ducks there were 3 sadly one was killed before I could get them all. I would rather see someone use a duck for food [humanely] Than dumped them off where they really don't stand much of a chance of survival.

 

[Kimmyh51]

I can suggest using a powerful laser pointer at night time to scare the ducks off the pond, birds are usually terrified of them, you need to get one powerful enough that you can see the beam at night time like this
https://youtube.com/shorts/qZp1tv1IZrA?feature=share

not sure how i would use that to get them out on the right side, the lakehad a large island in the middle and the ducks go there at night so they would be most likely to flee a laser onto the island not the other side. the island is inaccessible, both due to no walkway/bridge and there being extremely thick dense bush that means you if you got to the island on a canoe or similar you literally could not walk even a meter (1-3 ft) from the banks of the island before the dense bush would make it impossible to go further. it would take a large team of people e with chainsaws a month of Sundays to make this area accessible. and even if i had such a team the land is local government land and closed to the public since the ChCh earthquakes in 2011.

if you have used laser pointers successfully to get ducks not just off water but off a large body of water in the direction/onto the bank you want them on (as opposed to just getting them onto any land ) I am interested to hear tips and techniques. having said that laser pointers have to be ordered online pretty sure there is no where in nz that sells them, so id have to wait around a month for them to arrive from the likes of aliexpress.

but if they could be usrful to get ducks off water AND onto the specific bank we need them on to catch them then i would love to hear how you have used them or any links to videos etc?

thanks

 

[Miss Lydia]

Here is a bit of info from one of our members.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/why-you-shouldn’t-dump-ducks.76002/

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Someone should make a petition for this kind of thing

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

This thread has some posts about injured dumped domestic ducks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/disfigured-female-ducks-at-the-park.1454401/.

 

[SolarDuck]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/disfigured-female-ducks-at-the-park.1454401/

I'll definitely be going back to that lake at some point in the next few weeks to check on the one particularly beaten up female. I sent a message to the city about her and they said they forwarded it to the parks department but I never heard back. There were more dumped domestic ducks there than I have ever seen before. There was probably somewhere between 50-70 of them. There were also 5 dumped domestic geese.

 

[Palomabunny]

Hi guys

Firstly, this post is aimed at those who are already aware of the reasons domestic ducks should not be ‘released’ if that is not you, my apologies, but right now I don’t have the time to post info and links to educate you on this topic (as I am overwhelmed by local ignorance that I need to deal with first), but please do google it and feel free to post any compelling links from reputable sites that you find in your own research.

I have a small local duck rescue in NZ, and recently coming into winter, I have had a number of reports of dumped domestic ducks. More than in the last 5 years prior where I was running the rescue.

Anyway in NZ ducks are not yet a popular pet, and there are very few people who keep ducks and even less who know much about them, or the difference between wild and domestic ducks let alone anything about the consequences about dumping domestic ducks into public rivers and lakes.

So I have two problems right now

One is a number of ducks dumped into a local lake, which is quite large, and has a large island which is basically impenetrable due to dense bush and so on. Because of the reasonably large water area we have found it very difficult to get any of the ducks onto land to catch them. When we do get them on land, they are very cautious and ready to run at a moments notice, the first attempt we couldn’t get them close enough to even try to net them, and the second, I thought I was close enough to net one but didn’t get that one and scared the rest off to where they wouldnt come close to land. We had one person on a kayak, but would need lots more than I have been able to source to be able to herd or fence them in while they are on the water... unless someone has some tips or tricks on how to capture ducks on large bodies of water?

As well as all the reasons that domestic ducks don’t survive long when dumped, and the reasons that domestic ducks can impact negatively on wild/and or endangered birds in the area they are dumped, there is also a possibility that the local council may do a cull of them if they remain there much longer.

So I am NOT wanting to open up a debate on the stupidity of dumping domestic ducks or debate with anyone who thinks that dumped domestic ducks are happy in the places they get ‘released’ if that is you please go do your own research - there is plenty of evidence out there and I already have a heap of posts from people local to me who I have to keep repeating myself to ad infinitum.

What I am asking the community for is two things:

1. Any tips and hints on how to catch ducks on larger bodies of water, any ideas on how to get them onto the land where we are and also keep them off the large bush clad island in the middle of this lake where they tend to go if spooked. That area is completely impenetrable, so as well as trying to herd them towards the opposite side we are also finding it very hard to stop them just going off into the bush. It’s very thick and within 1/2 to one metre (1-3foot) from the bank they can disappear into thick undergrowth and bush we cannot get through.

2. Any links to really compelling online content on why dumping domestic ducks is bad...ideally these posts will be either:

• Containing graphic photos of the harm caused to wild ducks, ie wild mallards with torn up heads, necks and backs from over mating by dumped domestic drakes - it’s not that I want to see or post such horrible photos but somemof these people on my page are so resistant to any scientific evidence and so fixated on their god given right to feed bread to suffering ducks till it kills the, that to be honest they just need to see the real harsh reality of what the dumping causes, as nothing else is going to get through...
• Containing graphic photos of domestic ducks who have suffered injury or illness after being dumped in lakes or rivers which appear to be idyllic and where lots of locals think they are taking good care of these dumped ducks by feeding them bread or grain.
• Containing scientific evidence obtained from studies carried out by reputable universities, etc. containing graphic evidence of harm caused to endangered wildlife by dumped domestic ducks

PLEASE NOTE: In NZ we don’t have coyotes, wolves, any large cats, crocodiles, snakes, badgers, and most of the predators you have in the us and elsewhere so pages which contain info on the harm done to dumped domestic ducks by the above predators while just give the naysayers a chance to say... “Well we don’t have wolves/coyotes/snakes/badgers etc here in Nz so therefore dumped ducks must be safe and happy here!”

Anyway if anyone out there has any experience with the plight of dumped domestic ducks and a story or link showingnthe harm caused either to the ducks or to others in the environment, please I would appreciate your post.

I can also send anyone with a personal story to tell the link of my fb page if they would like to comment there (please give me an overview of your story here or pm me first thanks)

I also work sometimes with a lady who runs a chicken rescue locally, and they deal with loads of dumped laying hens and roosters (the roosters don’t lay, lol) so any stories or studies or other evidence on that topic I would also appreciate and will pass on to her.

We are hoping to put together something to start to try and educTe people here in Nz. It’s nto as bad as it appears to be in the us yet, but there is a massive amount of ignorance on the harm caused here... even supposed experts and animal welfare organisations are still telling people that dumped domestic ducks are doing just fine where they are dumped.

It’s me, and others who are picking up the traumatised ducks, or finding the gory remains of the ducks who didn’t survive long enough to be rescued...

I’ve attached a couple of photos of domestic dumped ducks reported recently local to me

View attachment 2645515
View attachment 2645514

Hi, Here's how I successfully rescue dumped domestic ducks: it is several person job, using collapsible fencing I set up a semi-circle on land & coax them with food. Once they are on land I make the people keep them there with their arms outstretched so they don't go back in the water & herd them in. Once in, quickly close up the fencing. Use aviary netting or a sheet quickly to cover the top in case they can fly. One person goes inside to grab the duck & another has a carrier ready. Another method is to use a 2 person kayak to either get them on land or use a big, big fishing net to catch them by scooping them up. Danger here is the can get tangled in the netting. Floating foods like Mazuri Waterfowl pellets, dry cat food help coax them over & of course bread. I also post signs at any pond from where I have taken ducks & write letters to store managers that sell ducklings, & to teachers who do school hatching projects, letters to the editor, post on social networks why dumping is cruel. BTW, I was in NZ a few years back, North & South Island & loved it. I hope this helps. Thank you for caring about domestics.