Ducks Wandering the Yard - Advice Please!

[Quackpot]

My two rather crazy ducks are wanting to wander about the yard. The problem is that I have Chihuahuas, and one rather large black rescue dog. I worry that letting them roam could be a problem.

Secondly: how the heck do you corral them back into their enclosure????

One is a Rouen and the other is a female Mallard.

 

[Amiga]

Put something they adore in the enclosure. Peas works for us.

Get behind them, stretch your arms out.

You may need to put some temporary fence up to help direct them.

You are right to keep the dogs away from the ducks. Put the dogs up (please make sure everyone in the house will keep the dogs in - I have lost ducks to clueless relatives), let the ducks in the yard, or give them their own larger space to explore.

 

[needlessjunk]

I lock my dogs inside when Iet mine in the yard. No way am I willing to chance it with my dogs. I have 3 hounds, coon, basset and beagle. The bigger ones don't care about the ducks but my beagle does. Anyway I don't trust any of them. Period. I do have a lock that I also put on the bottom of my door so the kids can't open it and accidentally let them out. Extra security measure.

To get them back I get my kids to help and we walk slowly to get them in the area we want them. If it's just me I spread my arms and walk towards them. I put peas going into their house and tell them to go home. It has been pretty this far.

 

[Quackpot]

What is it about peas? My two LOVE them! I throw them into their little kids paddle pool and they go nuts for them! They also love spinach and dandelions. But when I get the mealworms out, they go insane with delight. Ducks are an endless fascination to me

 

[Quackpot]

More questions for you guys:

1. How much food should these guys get?
I have been feeding them every time Bert (the big guy) calls out to me.

2. How often should water be changed?
I change it every day, but it never seems often enough!

3. I am building a coop for them, how well should it be insulated? (Winter is on its way!)
I have been lining the heck out of the coop I have been building. It's still being built.


The duck house weighs a ton already, and will look like an old time western store front with a covered porch. The porch will be made to be like a boardwalk. The little room to the side is intended for the female Mallard to lay her eggs. I read that it's a good idea to allow light in, so I have been making little windows. Windows will go on either side of the door as well, and the entire roof (corrugated steel) will lift off with handles attached.

 

[SerenityRachel]

Agreed with what everyone else has said - we just alternate who gets to wander, either the ducks or the dog. As far as getting them back in the coop, I have pekins and they have the opposite problem - they love their home so much we have to herd them in order to get them to go out and play. I have found that if they are giving you problems with just one person trying to herd them, and you don't have a second person, you can get a long stick and use that to extend one of your arms. Then walk behind them and off to one side, with the stick on the other side, and herd them that way. Obviously the stick is for HERDING, not for TOUCHING LOL. I probably didn't have to add that clarification.

 

[SerenityRachel]

Oh, and super cute duck house! We change the pool water every couple of days (yes, it gets disgusting) but we keep a separate drinker for them that stays a lot cleaner with their food in the coop itself.

 

[needlessjunk]

Awesome house! It looks great. As for winter... I'm in TX and have one side open because we have a problem with it being too hot. From what I understand ducks can tolerate colder weather better than chickens so as long as they have bedding and it's draft free you should be pretty well set. I change my water everyday but it's smaller and I just water my lawn with it in different places.

 

[Quackpot]

NEW QUESTION!!!

My Mallard is a female, and was rescued on June 28 this year. She was only a day or two old when she came running into our yard.

QUESTION: She is desperately trying to get out of the pen and has been trying to fly inside the pen, and even dig her way out.

I am not a cruel person, and worry that keeping er penned up is doing her harm. There is NO water anywhere near here, and I have NEVER seen a wild duck even close to here. I am tempted to go and find ducks and release her, but she still cannot fly, so I worry she will be harmed or killed if I do.

ADVICE PLEASE!!!!!!

 

[SerenityRachel]

I used to volunteer at a wildlife clinic, and this is where my advice is coming from - any time you take a wild animal and raise her yourself, you run a very high risk of that animal becoming "imprinted" on humans. What that means is, she won't have the proper fear of people that normal wild animals have, and since she wasn't raised by a mother duck, she won't really understand what it means to be a wild duck, and therefore might not be able to take care of herself.
Also, if she can't fly, DO NOT release her. She will not make it. If you decide to try letting her go, at least make sure she has a fighting chance by being able to fly away from predators. But really at this point she's probably better off staying with you where it's nice and safe...

You may also want to try to check with any sort of wildlife clinic in the area for their advice if you decide you want to release her. Also keep in mind in some places it is not legal to keep wildlife as pets. So just be aware of that (I don't know how many places would really care about a mallard duck that you rescued, but you might not want to broadcast it around either).