Abandoned ducks. Need help on how to catch them.

[Miss Lydia]

 

[Beaglegal]

I do plan on going back. This is going to be a harder mission because this duck won’t trust me. I hope the lure of food is enough for him. I might try today but the weather is supposed to get really really nasty so if I go it’s going to be fun to say the least.

Good work and good luck on getting the last one.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Any update?

 

[FathertoFeathers]

Ok update time. Some of the geese have left but there is still some there. It’s fall break right now so the park is packed every time I’ve been. Hopefully the weary will turn cold or rainy that way I can have the park to myself

 

[Miss Lydia]

How are your others doing?

 

[Anime2lover]

How are they doing now??

 

[hispoptart]

Pics???

 

[pixielauren]

I have an essentially wild muscovy duck that lives on my property -- we have a large pond. We feed him, but he refuses to sleep inside any of our coops. He's big and faster than he looks, and he's hard to catch. Every fall I have to catch him because if I don't, once the pond freezes, the foxes and coyotes can get him (the pond is his safe place when the water's not frozen). Anyway. I use a large poultry net to catch him. It still takes several attempts, but I can't catch him barehanded because he's too fast. I edge closer and closer and then I spring that net on him -- it's important to strike FAST with the net, since you only get one shot -- if you miss, you have to give up and try again the next day.

Anyway after I catch him we put him inside a large sunroom-type porch (it has walls/windows so it's safe from predators), which is where he spends December through February (or until the pond thaws).

So my advice is to get a poultry net!

 

[Weeg]

I hand catch wild ducks and geese. Here is how I do it: I sit down next to the water and start throwing pieces of bread to them. I'll try to get them to come closer to me by starting to throw the bread closer and closer to me. Once they are comfortable with that, I start leaving big pieces of bread rate in front of me with my hands prepared to catch. When one or more comes after it, I snatch them. After that, I try to get them comfortable with me and calm them down. Once I've done that, plus kiss them and sometimes show them off to other people, I gently release them back into the water. I have caught countless wild ducks and two Canadian Geese with this method.
How these ones are starving, they should be very easy to catch. Perhaps letting the park know before hand might be a good idea if they are going to ask any questions. I hope this works for you if you haven't catched them yet.

I wouldn't feed them bread, it is really bad for them and can cause impacted crop. Plus it tends to block out important nutrients and get them full very quickly so the don't want to eat anything else.

 

[Weeg]

So glad you got two! YA! This is so great!