Advice on how to get our runaway duck back home 😭

[Krazy Duck Lady]

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My flock is very invested in the story

..How did you get her back??

 

[RosalieP]

Sorry for not responding sooner @Miss Lydia @Krazy Duck Lady , but this is how I managed to catch her.

She had been on the same body of water for a couple of days, about a kilometer from where we live. Three times a day I went over there to see her and call for her, to see if she would approach and take some food. The day before we caught her, @Stipenvlerk actually drove over to us to help out and we waited for over an hour, landing nets in hand, with one of the other ducks in a crate. They did a good job calling out to each other, but the runaway duck didn’t approach.

That night, we had some strong winds which woke me up and I couldn’t get back to sleep. So I went over to check on the runaway duck. She was swimming very close to the shore, probably because it was quiet at night and there were no people and dogs and cars coming by. I went back home to pick up one of the other ducks and had it with me in a crate. I kneeled down near the crate and scattered some food around and she came closer and closer. She was still cautious, any sudden movement startled her.
The landing net was laying flat on the grass in front of me and at one point, while she was busy eating the food around the net, I just flipped the net over her in one swift movement, like flipping a pancake, and caught her!

At that time, it had been a week since she had flown away. It was probably a combination of hunger for food, the quiet nighttime and the other duck in the crate that made her come close enough to catch.

 

[Miss Lydia]

That worked out perfect. Congratulations on your persistence and your patience it all paid off.

How is she doing? did you clip a wing to keep her home now?

 

[RosalieP]

That worked out perfect. Congratulations on your persistence and your patience it all paid off.

How is she doing? did you clip a wing to keep her home now?

Yes we immediately clipped a wing of all 4 ducks, not making that mistake again!
After catching her I kept her inside for the rest of the night. Later in the morning I reunited her with the other ducks. The first hour several fights broke out between her and the other ducks, our drake in particular. After that, she kept mostly to herself that first day and she was sleeping a lot. The poor thing seemed exhausted. She closed her eyes every chance she got. The next day she already seemed to do a lot better, there was some picking on, but no more fights. I kept them in the yard for 2 full days, dewormed them and after that is was back to their usual ways. They have been fine since then!