Free range. Won’t stay in yard

[MartinFamilyHomestead]

Main question: how to get ducks to stay in yard?

Don’t need to read but extra info-
We have 18 wonderful ducks. They get locked up at night, completely trained to go in at dusk on their own. Will even come when called if have to lock up early. Super friendly, will eat out of your hand and some will let you pet them. Like all flocks we do have cliques. We have a clique of 8 and a clique of 10. There’s smaller cliques within but when venturing around yard if they aren’t altogether that’s how they split off. Our clique of 10 stays in our yard. They will go up streak or down stream but haven’t seen them go much further than tha. Our clique of 8 however will go across the road to the neighbors and will also venture so far down stream they hit a culvert then will wonder into our neighbor on the other side. Might you we have a lot of woods between so it’s not like they are just going yard to yard. We are a corner lot so we only have our one next door neighbor with the woods between us then we have the neighbor across the road. For starters we are concerned with them being hit that’s the biggest concern. Our neighbor across the road hasn’t seemed to mind his visitors much but he is friends with our other neighbor and he just gave us a heads up that they have been wondering so how I took it is the other guy might not like them so much. Which is totally fine!!

Sorry for all irrelevant info but what I’m looking for is how you get your ducks to stay in your own yard if free range.

 

[SilverBirds]

Do you have a fence? I think that is the only way to keep them in your yard, aside from you rushing outside to herd them every time they start to walk off your property or no longer free ranging them.

 

[tsperry88]

Other than traditional fencing, a single stand of electric fence about 6-8 inches off the ground is the only option I have heard of for chickens. I assume it would work the same with ducks. It also discourages ground predators.

 

[sourland]

Penning the flock leader might work for a while. Other than that the only thing that I can think of is fencing.

 

[Isadora]

Realistically a fence is the only thing that will work. You might be able to get away with just fencing off the section where they typically get over into the other neighbors area.

 

[telandra2]

So far my ducks have been good this year, but the geese love the mud puddle in the pothole across the street. The only way I've been able to stop them is with fencing. The 36" tall pound in white picket panels at the home improvement store work. They just walk right over the cheap wire rolls. My ducks have also gone under snow fencing, so make sure whatever you get is fairly snug to the ground.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have seen on BYC many members over the years tell how their ducks got ran over because they wouldn’t stay in their yard. For one thing ducks don’t know property lines they just waddle around and off if given the chance. Not only do they get hit by cars but dogs and other preds have a much easier time picking them off if they aren’t fenced. Mine would have been gone many years ago if not for fencing

 

[indianaducks]

Fence or don't free range... mine are *usually* good but recently wandered into the woods next to me so they got locked up for a day or so. I try to keep them out of the woods when I see them going that way and provide fun and snacks where I want them. But sometimes, they just want to get into trouble (or so it seems)! So I just keep them penned up for a bit.

 

[MartinFamilyHomestead]

Do you have a fence? I think that is the only way to keep them in your yard, aside from you rushing outside to herd them every time they start to walk off your property or no longer free ranging them.

No fence. The way our property is set up would be hard to get a fence in place. We have herded them home before but definitely going to have to figure something out

 

[MartinFamilyHomestead]

Other than traditional fencing, a single stand of electric fence about 6-8 inches off the ground is the only option I have heard of for chickens. I assume it would work the same with ducks. It also discourages ground predators.

Thanks for the advice! That would be a good idea but we have a creek we want them to have excess to so electronic fence wouldn’t work unfortunately