Found 4 geese and 2 ducks dumped at the forest preserve, what to do??

[tielcrazazy]

Good news everyone, i left a note on a farmers door who has ducks and geese and he says he will be glad to take them in,,,, IF i can catch them and bring them to him!!

So now the question is....how do you catch a goose or a duck? I dont want to hurt the poor things...or scare them. and i drive a tiny little car haha so I cant bring a big cage or anything like that... Should we do this ASAP or wait till it gets cold and keep feeding them at the preserve

thanks so much

 

[zzGypsy]

good news you've got a home!
have you talked to the preserve folks yet?

catching them, now that may be a trick. is there anything you can use for corraling them? a pen or a fence with a corner you can push them towards?
some thoughts:

1) you have to get them out of the water, and far enough away that you can keep them from scurrying back in. which they will want to do once they figure out you are trying to catch them.

2) if they'll eat out of your hand, you can tempt them away with food, and perhaps into a temporary enclosure where you can shut a gate to keep them in. if they're really tame, you may just be able to pick them up, but I'm going to guess that won't be the case with most of them.

3) a long-handled net can be helpful in catching the ducks... freaks them out a bit but they're fast and mobile and can be very hard to catch once they're alarmed.

4) consider what you have available for temporary enclosures - maybe you can pound in some temporary T-posts and string some square grid mesh arround it. pallets can be set on edge to make an enclosure or plywood can be propped up with Tposts. wire mesh is better because if it looks like a trap, they may be hard to get to go in. all that requires the preserve's permission of course.

5) ducks and geese herd well, so that's helpful. they may be used to being herded so that could help also.

6) once you catch them, you'll need a large dog crate or something similar to put them in to hold some while you catch the others. besides, you do NOT want ducks and geese loose and pooping in your car!

the preserve folks may be able to help you with this, they may have to deal with catching animals from time to time.

good luck!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Maybe some of your friends have a pickup truck? I used a dog Xpen when we caught some ducks that got dumped at our river. I set it up with one end open so they could walk out of the water and walk into eat. then I just kept waiting till I could sit closer and closer so i could get up and close off the open end while they were eating. It took so time but they were starving so that always helps. try to gain their trust, since there home security has now been upset they need to learn to trust again.

 

[tbitt]

I bet we can gather a few people to help herd the ducks/geese into a smaller pen and then catch them to transport.

I live (kinda) in the area and I bet we can get them rounded up.

Call the forest preserve and get permission..... and send me a PM. I have a truck, and some large grates we can use.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:

keep us informed..

 

[tielcrazazy]

Thank you everyone!

I got ahold of the preserve and they said just get rid of them please!

Apparenty they dont care as long as we can get the geese out.....

The sick goose started eating today and went for a swim!

He is being adopted tomorrow by a goose farmer, we can pick him up easily and the farmer is going to see what medical care he might need.

Friday is their offical rescue day when we are going to find a way to get them all coralled. Although in ways I feel like they are so happy in the lake now and I kind of hate to move them....

 

[zzGypsy]

congrats on the plans! you're doing a good thing.
good luck on friday!

 

[Miss Lydia]

They might be happy there now but think about the dead of winter when noone will be able to feed them and preds will be very hungry. Your doing whats best for them. good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[sourland]

Well done on the rescue. I am facing a similar situation here in NJ. Someone abandoned an Embden in the pond at the local Home Depot. There is a resident flock of Canada geese that it hangs out with. Right now there is plenty of grass and browse for all of them. In the winter the Canada's leave each day in search of food. I have to work on a contingency pan for the Embden.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
I hope you can get him or her