Ducks scared of water?!

[Johnson5326]

So my ducks are almost 4 weeks old now. They have their space in the pen and take daily walks around the yard with me. We have a small pond we made ourselves (they're in it on my profile pic) that they have gotten in every few days since they were about 4 days old. But this week every time I've taken them to it they just ran in the opposite direction. There's nothing in it to hurt them and I'd like them to keep eating the algae that isn't being taken care of by the filter and clarifier. I'm going to get some crickets for them to "chase" into the water but why would they suddenly run like that?

 

[Kevin565]

Sometimes younger ducklings aren't as comfortable swimming as others. They may grow out of it

 

[ChristineR]

Did something scare them while they were in the water that they may now associate with the pond?

 

[Kevin565]

How long has the pond been there? A turtle could have snuck in which would scare the ducklings

 

[Johnson5326]

I spend a lot of time at the pond and haven't seen anything in there like a turtle and the goldfish try to stay on the opposite end when they're around. They're also only in the pond when I'm close (I don't want any bigger birds to swoop down and take them away) and I didn't see anything that would bother them. The pond has been there for a few months but we live on a main highway and its pretty close to the road and about a mile or so from the nearest "real" pond or lake.