Free Range Ducks?

[tofumama]

I am a new duck owner and can't find much in in books...

We have free range chickens in our yard, and added ducks to the mix. There is plenty of room for both We got 6 Khaki Campbell ducks about 2mo ago. No matter what I did I could not get them to go in their house at night. As a result, we have lost 5 to some animal(possiby a fox, someone said weasel but I think the ducks are too big...)now we are down to one lonely duck I am trying to find him a couple friends as he is still looking for his siblings. We now are keeping him penned so we can catch him and put him in a hutch at night but...is that what y'all do? I know local people who do not do this and their ducks simply stay out...mind you it took 5 humans to catch this one duck that was left to pen him...whatever was taking them snuck up on them at night. Can ducks live in a chicken coop with the chickens?

I guess I am looking for advice here...my 7yo son is devastated b this whoe thing as they are his ducks...I am doing what I can to keep *Lucky* alive...

 

[Amiga]

As you know from experience, now, regardless of what the ducks seem to think, they need to be kept safe from predators especially at night.

Here are a few ways people get their ducks in at night:

Give them treats every evening in the overnight shelter
Keep them penned near the shelter for several days to a couple of weeks before allowing them to free range
Go find them and use treats to lead them back to the shelter

Before you get another duck, please please please rethink how you can protect them. Whatever came before will be back.

 

[Missy60]

My pekin responds to treats...mill worms are her favorites. We can shake the bag and she will follow us any where. The mallards are a different story though we herd them in at night. It just takes one person to do it. The more people you have the more excited the ducks will get. Don't run, chase, scream or get excited. I calmly get behind the duck and stay low sort of crouched over them with out stretched arms. If they try to turn right I step calmly to the right, calmly is the key word. I have to make my grand kids get on the porch away from us to get them up. My ducks come home around the edge of dark, because that's when we always put them up. The mallards have got use to being herded and now they basically walk in front of me into their cage.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

I had some issues with night time pen time. Agreed, slow & quiet is the way to go. The exception to the rule is I always call them, "Hey Ladies..Time for Bed." I also used two long sticks when I was directing them out to a certain spot in the yard. The best thing that worked for me was I would pick up my loudest duck and put her in the pen (or to whatever area I wanted her at), and she would call the rest and they would go to her. Penning up problem solved.

 

[tofumama]

Thank you! We have the one duck we have left, penned with his pool and temporary house that he can be shut in at night. IN the mean time, my son goes in a few times a day now to get him used to us/him so hopefully we can get him to the point we can also *herd* him in. The ducks were originally penned, but only for about 2 weeks...maybe that was not long enough. One got out and went missing(owl maybe?) but the others did not go missing until they were no longer penned. I feel/felt SO bad bc I thought they were big enough to be safe Plus they never did go in their house even when they were penned. I will start luring him in with treats at night....that is a great idea so he associates it with something good. Chickens are so much easier!

 

[ach2k6]

We have a pekin and Rouen that are free range on a three acre lake in the backyard. For several weeks I had a run made out of chicken wire that went into the water and eventually took it away and now they free range on the lake but stay close to home. As others mentioned a routine with treats helps get them to the house. I always am very vocal with them and give them treats or fill a food dish up and they are used to the process now. The past few days they have put themselves up. One thing that also helped when I moved their coop to the shade was build a chicken wire corral to help herd them until they get used to the process.

 

[tofumama]

Thanks for all the advice! We are hopefully picking up 2 or 3 more ducks today so *Lucky* has some friends...then they can stick together. I am definitely going to keep them penned for a while though, as I don't want to lose any more! Can I put the new ducks in with Lucky right away? The new ducks are young, like him...will they accept him since he is single? Its so funny as my d'Uccle chicks are nearby and they keep flying over the fence to visit Lucky...too bad he is not as thrilled

 

[Gone Quackers]

Its can be hard to get them in at night at first but keep trying! I have 6 mallards and they are free range, when I first started to keep them outside it was a stuggle, now it is a breeze. Patients is the key. It used to take 3 of us surrounding them and corralling them with sticks guiding them to there coop (and if the lead duck decided to make a run for the weeds you'd have 6 little guys all over the yard!), you would have to stay close, but not too close, easing them in from all sides and quick close the door.

I still have to tell them to go to bed (they aren't like chickens... they will want to spend all night outside if you let them), but it only takes one person going out to remind them, and walk along side them and close them up

As for the fox, weasle, animal attack... It will be back so make sure to lock them up good at night

 

[Sirenic]

I was the lucky type.

My ducks are huge babies. Everynight at around 9 or 9;30 they will lay down in front of their pen door. once I see that, its time to go in and feed them

Just keep at it with treats.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

I kept mine locked in their enclosure (which was easy to herd them into the "coop" at night) for about 2 months before I allowed them outside free range access. They now know their "coop" is home and will go there at night. I also clapped my hands to "scare" them into moving into their coop, so now when I herd them up for the night if I clap behind them they scurry into their coop.


Hope this helps.