Ducks gone over to the wild side

[kokoro]

Hi all! New memeber here and duck mom of three 4-5 week old mallards/rouens (we're new to this and got the ducks at tractor supply so we're a little fuzzy on age and breed). We have a decent sized property with a small shallow pond and of course have alway enjoyed observing the comical camaraderie of ducks and decided a few would be a nice addition to our family. We bought them with the intention of allowing them to be free range during the day and in a coop overnight. As the weather has been warm and their feathers are coming in we decided to introduce them to the outdoors. The first week went well, they would mostly stick close to the house and or me during the day and would come when called. They enjoyed the little shallow pond and freely spent time there during the day. This week however has been a challenge. Some migratory ducks have started to frequent our little pond, more than we had observed last year, and now our 3 seem to be wandering off with these new found friends. At this point I'm worried my dh won't be able to coax them in tonight while I am at work. Is there anything we can do to encourage them to return home at the end of the day, or have we lost them to the wild side

. I had enjoy these last weeks of watching them grow and having them part of my life and am sad to think they may be gone. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[QuackSpeak]

If it's them wandering off with their friends and not coming back, then I would clip their wings. This way, if they're Mallards, they can't fly off with the wild ducks. But I'm not sure what else there is to do.. Maybe you could lure them back into their pen with some kind of treat?

 

[chickens really]

My Ducks are a year old and have always stayed close to the house and the kiddie pool....The wild Ducks have returned to the pond up the road from me...My Drake has started following the sound of the Wild Ducks and was caught by me heading with the Hens down to the road and through the Trees to possibly introduce himself?......I called him back...He listened....He was imprinted to me as a Duckling....Not sure if he would ever come back if I never caught him leaving?............

Cheers!

 

[kokoro]

Well it's been a couple days and we seem to have agreed on a routine so far. I let them out in the morning and immediately want to go down to the pond. I check on them throughout the day, they still respond and come look for me when I call them. Then at night I call for them and bring their favorite treat, peas, cause of course they are motivated by their stomachs

They get treats as they follow me back to the house and their pen. I'm not sure what will happen when they start to be able to fly...but I've decided not to clip their wings at this time. Depending on how much rain we have, their little playground might dry up as it is and the other ducks will seek food elsewhere. It was completely gone most of last summer. We'll see how the summer goes and maybe next spring we'll look into a different breed of duck to add to our flock. But we're having fun learning from these little guys so far

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[kokoro]

 

[QuackSpeak]

They're so cute! Glad you guys established a routine. I really hope they stay with you