Ducks Jumping In Lagoon. Help!!

[Caeley McCarty]

I have 4 ducks. Everyday they get let out of their cage and get to explore my backyard. Today they wandered to the part of my yard where they can jump into the lagoon. I haven't had a problem with them being interested in the water so I didn't think anything of it. I happened to look over and one of my ducks jumped in. It was a very stressful and a scary situation. We ended up catching the duck but now I have to figure out what to do. I don't know how to prevent them from going over there. Any ideas?

 

[gal5150]

Only suggestion would be to fence off that area.

 

[chickens really]

Fence it and provide kiddie pools ....

 

[allz28]

What are the dangers that worry you about the lagoon? Perhaps we can mitigate them.

 

[Caeley McCarty]

What are the dangers that worry you about the lagoon? Perhaps we can mitigate them.

The lagoon can lead out to the bay and it has a bunch of different roads to go down they can get lost quickly. Also my ducks can't fly so if they were in danger they couldn't fly away.

 

[Caeley McCarty]

To everyone thanks and I will get some fencing to prevent them from jumping in.

 

[allz28]

I see. My ducks are not very brave. We live on a lake and they've never swam more than 50 feet or so from our dock. They always want to keep an eye on their house and the moment something scares them, like a boat or a turtle, they paddle like crazy for home. I wonder if you might want to just observe them for a few days and see if the lagoon is actually a problem or not.

 

[Caeley McCarty]

I see. My ducks are not very brave. We live on a lake and they've never swam more than 50 feet or so from our dock. They always want to keep an eye on their house and the moment something scares them, like a boat or a turtle, they paddle like crazy for home. I wonder if you might want to just observe them for a few days and see if the lagoon is actually a problem or not.

Yeah I would have to make a ramp since the dock is farther up from the water and at low tide it would be impossible to get up. The only thing is that catching my other one was a struggle and if they wander far and don't come back then I will to try to catch them. They might freak out and go farther. Is there way to train them to know where there house is almost like a outdoor cat??

 

[allz28]

I had built a floating duck house that I had hoped my ducks would learn to sleep in every night. I attempted to "train" them to use it for nearly a month by only feeding them in it and catching them and putting them in it every night. Long story short, my ducks were not very trainable. But they do seem to naturally know that our backyard is their "home" and they go to their old pen very easily. I wonder if yours will just naturally know where their home is like mine do.

 

[Caeley McCarty]

I had built a floating duck house that I had hoped my ducks would learn to sleep in every night. I attempted to "train" them to use it for nearly a month by only feeding them in it and catching them and putting them in it every night. Long story short, my ducks were not very trainable. But they do seem to naturally know that our backyard is their "home" and they go to their old pen very easily. I wonder if yours will just naturally know where their home is like mine do.

I don't know but I will try. I'm going to Atlantic City in an hour so in two days I will try it. Im already a little nervous but I hope it works. I really don't want fence that area off.