Brought 3 ducks home 48 hours later we only have one.

[Wannabeduckmom]

Hello
So this past weekend we brought ho e 3 Muscovy ducks (1 drake 2 female)
We have a net enclosure with duck house.
within ten minutes the two females found a way out on part of the fence we missed weighing down. We hadn’t clipped their wings yet and they were used to free ranging. We were going to let them free range as well after getting used to this being ‘home’. One flew off into the woods and the other onto the roof.
I tried unsuccessfully to get the one in the woods to come back all evening but had to give up once it was dark. I saw it the next day on the driveway but couldn’t catch it and it’s since AWOL.
The other is still hanging out our balcony and we’ve gave it water and food.

We checked like 5 times and made sure there was no way the remaining drake could escape.

Then today, my partner went out in the yard and the drake was in the garden with our dog… once he shouted our dog grabbed the duck and dragged it under the house. We don’t think he meant to kill it but he did.
There was a hole clean through the fence so we’re not sure what happened but best guess is the duck stuck his head out and our dog pulled it through.

So now, we have one duck.

I’m so embarrassed and feel awful, we severely underestimated the ducks and our dog.

We’re going to get metal fencing to do the side that’s against the garden and make other improvements in hopes we can ever get the duck on the balcony (she’s been up there 48 hours now)

I just.. don’t know how to tell the girl I got them from because it’s literally only been two days! She does need to rehome
more but I feel awful. I know ducks need others so I don’t know what to do with this one duck and feel so bad for her.

All around what was supposed to be a fun new venture has just been stressful and sad

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I'm so sorry this has turned out to be such a difficult and unfortunate experience for you. Hopefully things will get better from here on out. I don't know what you mean by a net enclosure. Many of us have learned to enclose our fowl wiith half-inch hardware cloth to protect them from predators, and some also use electric netting as well. Better luck going forward.

 

[Debbie292d]

Awe, so sorry this was a bad experience, but learn as we go and sometimes our hearts get broken in the process. There's still hope that the one that flew off will come back. It almost did as it showed up in your driveway. Maybe you'll find where it's going and can get it at night. Are you able to put out food for it?

It doesn't sound like you can let them free range though if your dog doesn't understand that they are off-limits.

You could reinforce around the netting with 1/2" hardware cloth as not much can get through that.

 

[Wannabeduckmom]

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Thank you for your reply we have acerage around our garden which the dog is fenced into so we were hoping to be able to let them out… not with him :/ but for now he’s on a tether until we can catch our balcony duck! (Edit: in case it lands inside the garden)

I'm so sorry this has turned out to be such a difficult and unfortunate experience for you. Hopefully things will get better from here on out. I don't know what you mean by a net enclosure. Many of us have learned to enclose our fowl wiith half-inch hardware cloth to protect them from predators, and some also use electric netting as well. Better luck going forward.

sorry I should clarify! The duck ‘yard’ is made out of fishnet fence,(sides and top) as well as our garden to keep deer out and dog in.
There is a fully predator proof duck house in the duck yard with hardware cloth and doors we were going to put them in at night.
We are really lucky and live on an island which has few predators, pretty much eagles, mink and possums, so theoretically the net fence and the house in combination would have kept them safe, so we thought.

Thank you for your empathy it means a lot

 

[OneEggToRuleThemAll]

Oh this is so sad! I can imagine how heartbroken you must feel right now. I wouldn't give up. Get another couple ducks from the girl who needs to rehome them--they might encourage your balcony duck to come on down, and maybe the one who flew away will also come back once they hear their siblings. You know what to do now to keep them safe, but accidents happen, and the best thing we can do is learn from the experience and just keep swimming. <3

 

[Papaye]

Ouch... you have no luck. Sad... I'm sorry for you...
I hope for you you will overcome this ordeal without too much guilt...?

...Is your dog not used to ducks?
Your dog did probably catch the duck because he understood she was HIS duck, and so, he wanted to play with her...

You will need to separate your outdoor space in two parts : one part for the dog, one part for the ducks... knowing the dog and the ducks will need to be able to see each other in spite of the separation! (That's important!!)
I would recommend that for at least two months...

I had a problem with the relationship between my dog and my birds - some years ago -, because I was being stupid...
I took home my first chickens ever, and since my dog never did try to catch birds from other houses and farms when I walked him (no leash), I thought - of course - he would not try to catch OUR birds...
I was mistaken. (I really felt so stupid...!!)
I had, in fact, separated my dog from the chickens the first days after I took them home, but... not long enough. Because when I let the chickens free-range for the first time, my dog badly hurt one of them : since they were his chickens, he wanted to play with them, but he was sadly too rough... (and he was so HAPPY to play with his chickens...!!)
(Today again, I feel terribly guilty for the hen...)

So, what did I do after that?
I separated the dog from the chickens, again; but I did so for TWO months! (They could see each other during this period, but not touch!)
And when they could physically meet after these two months...? My dog did not try to catch the chickens again... nor did he try for the ducks I adopted next!! He just did not care anymore...

Separation time = see each other but NOT touch each other = 2 months.

Good luck with your dog AND your ducks!
Don't feel too guilty. You will know better for the next time...

 

[Jenbirdee]

my geese and dog are separate and see each other for 3.5 years and geese still want to kill my dog.
but my dog is wonderful with my ducks and chickens she was a puppy when they were ducklings

 

[crystalrox]

Not sure if this helps for your future ducks but... I've trained my dogs from puppies (all the normal commands plus hurdles, see-saws, etc.) but am unsure of the ducks because of my cattle dogs prey drive. I came up with a training plan and went over with my dog and avian vet.

Our ducklings are currently in their tub and I have a grate on top. I let the dogs in a few times a day to see the ducks and reward them when they act uninterested. Once they are completely uninterested in the ducks, we'll take the grate off the top and continue the process until they are uninterested again, then I'll take the ducks out and hold them, again until the dogs are uninterested. It takes about 3 months to train the dogs but hopefully it works. I'm concerned I can't train them past the prey drive, but we'll see.