Any tips on catching ducks?

[shelleyd2008]

I have 10 that are on the pond. No biggie, right? Well, the pond froze last night, it usually doesn't til like January, but it has been so dry this year that the water level is low. I have no problem leaving them out there when they have water to escape to, but if it is frozen that makes them (excuse the expression) sitting ducks to predators!! We haven't had any problems with predators, other than hawks, but winter is coming, and we only have one dog

Well one that is loose and will keep predators away.

Anyway, the ducks are pretty wild, and I don't have a net or anything. I was thinking of trying to 'bribe' them up by the house and putting them in the barn. Any suggestions??

 

[ChickenToes]

Get a few people together and 'herd' them into the barn. Herding them is the only way I can get mine into their coop, I refuse to try and catch them anymore after being scratched so many times by their little nails.

 

[Cottage Rose]

Do you feed them?
Try feeding them closer and closer to your barn, then in your barn. Only offer them food before nightfall near and eventually in your barn.
Waterfowl are not safe on ponds at night.
I have heard from many people who have lost birds on a pond to dogs and varmints.
Once you get them inside clip their wings and teach them to be herded with a stick. Walk slowly. You will gain control over them this way. If you do it enough eventually it will become seconmd nature to them.

 

[pips&peeps]

I put my ducks and geese in a run every night now since the owl attack.

My ducks knew in two days which pen to go into and did it without being herded. The geese, on the other hand took about 10 days and begrudgingly go in now.

I feed them at night now and what is left over in the morning they can have during the day, but no more.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Yeah I always feed mine in the late afternoon, but lately they haven't been eating as much. I was thinking if I let them go for a day or so without feeding them, maybe it would be easier to get them? Or is that just cruel?

They obviously aren't that hungry. My dad has fish in the pond that he feeds in the winter, and he just fed them the other day, so that's probably why they aren't eating as much right now. I haven't had any problems with predators on my ducks. I did lose 2 earlier this fall, one most likely from my dog, and the other from a turtle I think. But with the pond freezing over they will have no escape.

 

[Cottage Rose]

It wouldn't hurt them to go without food for a day or two in order to catch them.

 

[jacklinz2]

teach them to come to food. do you feed them? i feed mine daily and most animals will come to food. if you want to train them, you need to make a habbit of feeding them daily. they will come. i would do it in one spot until you get them coming consistantly, then you feed them in a different place closer to where you want them to be.

i have a dog run that is made of 6' high 10foot panels and in a 20x40 configuration that i keep them in then i let them out to swim, to eat bugs and grass etc. then at night i feed them in the pen and in they go. but i have taught them that this is their safety zone and this is where they go. it is great also because they lay eggs that i collect daily and they are all inone spot.

animals are a creature of habbit. they can be herded but give them distance and let them think. do not pressure them too close.

mine get onery every now and then and decide they are going to swim for the night or hide under the porch or just plain get the dummies and when the rest go in the pen, the others miss the door and go beside the pen. but pressuring them to go a direction works.

what i mean by pressure is that you get on the opposite side of them you want them to go. sometimes it only requires putting your arm out behind them. then let them move. low ke,y low stress, move slowly (peacefully) or you will have them scattered everywhere. i am usually 10-20 feet from them. too close and they panic and get hurt. If you put your arm out and they move that is good, when they stop you can flutter your hand to get them going or move a step towards them. if you see them panic then slow down, give them distance and give them time. if they move the direction you want, then you are doing right. in the open, you can also use a long stick. a fishing pole works good then you can "close the door" and get ahead of them without having to move yourself to that spot.

 

[jacklinz2]

one more thing to mention. it is ALWAYS a more positive thing to let the animal you want to go someplace think it is their idea. if it is stressful everytime you go out to them (like you are putting them up in the barn when they don't want to) then they will not be happy.

if you make it their idea, then everyone will be happy, they will come easier and you will be less stressed.

if you feed regularly and let them roam, and no other critters are around to destroy it, there is a game block with different grains in it the farm supply has. it is for deer and such but the ducks think they are so smart when i put it out for the deer and they find it and start on it. i have seen them actually chase the deer away to get the block.

so if you leave food in the barn when you start the feeding to get them towards the barn, they might just find it and then half your problem is over. especially if you use the same bag, scoop etc so they know you have food. then you would just put the food in the barn at night so they know what time to look for it and go to get it.

i have ducks follow me all over the place for food. almost too much. when i go the the feed barrel and get it, i have ducks pecking at my feet and pulling on mypants. what a fun time. they are pretty easy to train if you watch them and see how they react to things.

oh and my cat loves to help feed. i have about 55 ducks and she islaying in the middle of them as they scurry around the place after they eat and while i am filling pools and such.

anyone who has chickens, if you like the eggs, you can get egg laying ducks at metzerfarms.com. ducks are cleaner, happier, are smart and so enjoyable to be around. they do not get so many diseases and parasites as chickens so either.

 

[DuckCommander]

I had the same problem last year. I pumped up a rubber dingy and went boating to catch them. They were not faster then me because of the ice! I am thinking I might have to do the same this year but I have put a heat lamp in their summer house and put the food in the wire cage part of it, hoping I can sneak up and close the door while they are eating!

Good luck!