Bored ducks and Mom Nature ain't helping! Any ideas?

[DawnB]

Ugh!, so my muscovy pair have been in the honeymoon suite (aka garage) for well over a month now because my gander thought the drake was giving his girlfriend the eye...and beat the snot out of him. He healed fine, but...

I feel bad to have kept them in there that long, but I don't have a choice. There isn't enough room for the drake to keep out of the gander's way till the snow melts (my run is down to about a 1/3 of it's normal size). And Mom Nature keeps tugging at our Spring heart-strings here. We had a few days of high 40's / low 50's and I was hoping to get the ducks back out into the coop (and be able to free-range my mixed flock again...we could almost see our whole yard!).

But, it was too good to be true. We got 2" last night and we're expecting to get another 3-6" tonight along with freezing rain...yay us!

So, does anyone have any ideas to give the ducks something to do? They get veggie treats and they aren't picking on each other or anything...but I feel bad to keep them bunched up for so long. At least they have each other for company....

What do you all think?

 

[Going Quackers]

I get you with the weather but thankfully the snow has skipped us for today. I find it's harder with ducks, chickens love to scratch and dig about. Ducks like to truffle and that is harder to replicate.

You could toss peas about, that would get them moving around to get them. Is it too cold for a slight bath? it was barely above freezing here and i had bathers today lol

Sorry kinda falling flat with ideas, i have had to keep mine in the odd time this winter because of awful temps, but it would have been only a few days max so didn't have to many issues.

 

[jonhpdx]

Boy am I glad I don't live in Michigan right now!

I have a similar problem. my ducklings just moved into their permanent home/duck coop but they look so terribly bored! My SO and I work all day and aren't able to let them out until we get home, which they always get excited for. But is there anything I can give them to do while they're in their coop??

 

[Deerling]

Let them swim in the bathtub?

 

[BarredRockGirls]

Boy am I glad I don't live in Michigan right now!

I have a similar problem. my ducklings just moved into their permanent home/duck coop but they look so terribly bored! My SO and I work all day and aren't able to let them out until we get home, which they always get excited for. But is there anything I can give them to do while they're in their coop??

cat toys? ive heard of ppl giving those to chicks/ ducklings to entertain them... i only get to see mine 2x a day but its 4 hrs total. theres outside time . walks and swim time. its plenty

 

[GloryGirl]

If the bathtub isn't a good option and you have the space, you could put a big rubbermaid tub in your garage, with a ramp to let them in and out. Our ducklings outgrew their brooder and are in the coop in the garage (we hadn't moved it outside yet as these are our first ducks). We let them swim in a shallow regular sized rubbermaid while we clean the coop and that helps. The size container we used for a brooder is nearly as big as a bathtub and we got it at Walmart.

Another idea is to give them a few bugs to chase. My kids found rolly pollies for ours when the weather was warm. Most pet supply stores sell crickets for feed.

If you're not eating them or the eggs (or if you wouldn't mind the fishy taste), you could put a few feeder goldfish or snails from the pet store in a tub or large bowl in the garage for them to forage.

 

[DawnB]

Ooohhh...all good ideas! Thanks. I do give them some warm water to bathe in, but it hasn't been much above freezing in a while. I didn't think crickets, that might be fun for them...

And keep your fingers crossed...we're supposed to have weather in the mid to high 40's here by Sunday! Hopefully. We had school cancelled today because we got ice storms last night...but at least we didn't get the snow they were calling for...C'mon Spring!

 

[GarDenFarmGirl]

If you haven't seen this chicken toy, you may want to check it out. My ducks figured it out before my chickens and love it. I fill the ball with dried mealworms (or you could fill it with BOSS or other seeds or even feed) and as they roll it around with their bill, the treats slowly come out of the ends. The ducks love it and will play with it, rolling it around until every last morsel is out. They get so excited, they start quacking as soon as they see it! I ordered mine from My Pet Chicken's website.

 

[jonhpdx]

If you haven't seen this chicken toy, you may want to check it out. My ducks figured it out before my chickens and love it. I fill the ball with dried mealworms (or you could fill it with BOSS or other seeds or even feed) and as they roll it around with their bill, the treats slowly come out of the ends. The ducks love it and will play with it, rolling it around until every last morsel is out. They get so excited, they start quacking as soon as they see it! I ordered mine from My Pet Chicken's website.

This is a great idea, thanks!

 

[DawnB]

I'll have to check that ball out...what a great idea...sorta like a Kong for ducks! They've thought of everything!