Ducks leaving!! help

[JNC]

So i have 5 ducks and I live right by the lake. The lake is right across the street from me. I always leave the gate open so they can get access under the trampoline for shade. And today I caught them going to the lake by themselves. I caught up with them but after 30 minutes I wanted to walk back home but i decided to leave them since they always refuse to come home. Will they come back? For how long should i leave them?

 

[Stipenvlerk]

So i have 5 ducks and I live right by the lake. The lake is right across the street from me. I always leave the gate open so they can get access under the trampoline for shade. And today I caught them going to the lake by themselves. I caught up with them but after 30 minutes I wanted to walk back home but i decided to leave them since they always refuse to come home. Will they come back? For how long should i leave them?

Ducks are not like dogs, they don’t listen that well.. but if they are used to live with you I expect them to return by themselves,
‘It worries me that they have to cross the road... many casualties happen that way

 

[3bird]

We have established a routine for our ducks. We call it "Soup for Ducks" (NOT to be confused with "Duck Soup"!). Every morning when they return to their fenced pastures after supervised free-ranging, we give them soup. We do the same in the evening after supervised free-ranging. No matter where they are or what they are doing on the property, when they hear "Hey, Ducklings! It's time for Soup for Ducks!" they come running. Soup is peas in water (warm in the winter) with greens and a mealworm crumble. This routine is a lifesaver, I think!

I also was worried about the road.

 

[mcktheman]

I find that ducks are big fans of having a routine. I let my ducks out whenever I wake up then they roam free all day until about 8:30pm which is when they'll go back to their hut and quack till I come over and say "good night!". Once they hear that they go inside and I place a little bit of feed in their hut and lock it up.

 

[JNC]

Ducks are not like dogs, they don’t listen that well.. but if they are used to live with you I expect them to return by themselves,
‘It worries me that they have to cross the road... many casualties happen that way

Didn’t think about the road. Geese and other ducks go there often. I expect people to honk when they see animals coming by but accidents do happen. I might accompany them there and check on them every once in a while and i might get into a routine so i learn what time they start getting back so i can get there before they are walking back. Yesterday i had to bring them home because they were at they lake for 2hrs and 30min! They also should be in the water for so long because they can drown but I notice that they don’t like going really deep half of the time they are deep enough so they can touch the ground but (again) accidents do happen. I also don’t know if I like the idea of them eating all the algae there- don’t know if it’s okay for them to eat it.

 

[mcktheman]

If your ducks are adults/late teens they'll know their limits as far as how long they can swim without tiring out, I wouldn't worry about that at all. Same goes for what they eat, they'll taste and pick at everything a little bit and seem to figure out whats good and whats not. I trust my ducks to know how to duck

 

[416bigbore]

As long as they know where their Biscuits are Buttered you should have no problem with them returning home. I would be more worried about the street, you may have to install a Duck Crossing with flashing lights. Routine is the best, I am still trying to figure out how to get the peas to make a noise in the zip lock bag when I shake it, so they follow me into the coop at night.

 

[JNC]

We have established a routine for our ducks. We call it "Soup for Ducks" (NOT to be confused with "Duck Soup"!). Every morning when they return to their fenced pastures after supervised free-ranging, we give them soup. We do the same in the evening after supervised free-ranging. No matter where they are or what they are doing on the property, when they hear "Hey, Ducklings! It's time for Soup for Ducks!" they come running. Soup is peas in water (warm in the winter) with greens and a mealworm crumble. This routine is a lifesaver, I think!

I also was worried about the road.

That’s something AMAZING that your ducks can do! How did you train them to do that?

 

[3bird]

That’s something AMAZING that your ducks can do! How did you train them to do that?

It started in the depths of winter but soon became a routine. Now they know whenever they return to the duckhouse, they get their soup. It helps that they love peas, and we mix the greens up to keep it interesting. One duck (Mouse) doesn't really like it, but she just gets excited that everyone else is excited, and she comes running too ;-)

 

[DuckyDonna]

Have you thought about snapping turtles being in that lake? That could be a bigger problem than then road.