I have 7 runner ducks. Soon to be five so that I will only be working with one color. They are allowed to waddle free in my yard, which is nearly an acre all fenced in. They sleep in their house locked up at night for safety and this is working out very well for us. The neighborhood enjoys them too! We still find people stopping to stare wondering "Is that a duck in that yard?"
So I had a silkie go broody, I gave her 3 duck eggs, 2 developed, 1 was killed by another chicken as it was hatching (lesson learned ALWAYS seperate your broody!) So now I have 1 duckling. She was lucky enough to hatch as we were hatching some chicks so she is not lonely. She hatched the day after Christmas. So Chris Duck has been living a happy spoiled life in my living room, swiming in the bath tub and snuggling on the kids laps while they watch TV at night. But Chris is growing up and the time will be here soon that she must go out and join the flock. How do I accomplish this? I have taken her out for some visits and she is scared to death. If they were all penned it would be easy. But its a pretty big yard and she could easily get lost. She is not fully feathered yet, so I have at least another week or two to work this out. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
So I had a silkie go broody, I gave her 3 duck eggs, 2 developed, 1 was killed by another chicken as it was hatching (lesson learned ALWAYS seperate your broody!) So now I have 1 duckling. She was lucky enough to hatch as we were hatching some chicks so she is not lonely. She hatched the day after Christmas. So Chris Duck has been living a happy spoiled life in my living room, swiming in the bath tub and snuggling on the kids laps while they watch TV at night. But Chris is growing up and the time will be here soon that she must go out and join the flock. How do I accomplish this? I have taken her out for some visits and she is scared to death. If they were all penned it would be easy. But its a pretty big yard and she could easily get lost. She is not fully feathered yet, so I have at least another week or two to work this out. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.