I am amazed you haven’t lost all your ducklings leaving them to fend for themselves at such a young age. That’s WHy in real life they have a mama to protect them keep them warm etc. so it’s our responsibility to take on that role when we bring them home defenseless.
Lydia-
I have raised hundreds of chickens on my property. 40+ Meat birds 2-4x year. From ~7 days to 3 weeks on my side yard prior to going to the farm where they live the rest of their days prior to harvest.
While my backyard looks like a forest, I’m actually in typical suburbia. I’ve never lost one due to a predator. They’d stay around bushes (natural density) although explore plenty as well. The ducks, on the other hand; don’t go under a single bush and just hang in the water constantly.
The reason I’m in here asking questions (and not just making blanket statements) is because you have much more experience than me regarding ducks. Advice vs condemnation would be more appreciated.
Ponds usually have snapping turtles, at least around here they do and I imagine Texas is about the same. They will kill your little ones in a heartbeat as an appetizer before they get the big ones. Then the snakes. Where there is water there are snakes. I lost a 4-week old one to a king snake that had gotten in the pen because I stupidly left the door open. You've got bigger and badder snakes down there than we do.
The little ducks are in a plastic filtered 130 gallon pond by my house. Definitely no turtles there.
The 5 week old ducks are in the creek. Surprisingly, turtles aren’t really an issue there either. I’ll usually see 1-2 a year and have only seen one that was snapping. While snappers are extremely common in my area of Texas, I think the shallow and always moving creek + limestone bottom (hard water) keeps them away as there is no real aquatic life and rarely algae. That said, at what age are they no longer potential prey to turtles?
Snakes, on the other hand, can certainly be an issue. We really only have rat snakes (non venomous) and copperheads (venomous) in our area. Rats can get huge- 4+ feet while the bigger coppers are usually 18-24”. Definitely big enough to cause some damage.
Surprisingly, again, the Creek isn’t an issue. I’ve seen one snake there in 6-7 years. The dense undergrowth and forest floor, on the other hand, plenty of rats. And because or that, snakes.
While they are rarely visible; I might see one a year and go 2+ years not seeing any, this year (really this month) has been uncanny. I’ve killed 2 copperheads and saw the biggest rat snake ever in the area (4-5’ long)- I let him live (For the rats). We’ve had unprecedented rain and that’s brought out the snakes to the surface to dry out. One copper head was in my chicken run at the base of their ramp coiled up. Luckily my daughter saw it and I could kill it. All that said- that’s a serious consideration. And while I don’t fear that rat snake with my chickens- a coiled 2’ copperhead can definitely hurt/kill them if contact is made above the feet. Haven’t ever lost one, but that one in the coop was my first “oh shit” moment.
That all said, you’re right re: the littles- I definitely need to keep their pond time limited and then back inside even if the mess they make in the brooder is unreal. But for the 5 weekers; again, at one point can they handle a snake? I’ve always had chickens out free ranging at ~8-10 weeks and the ducks are already past that size.
I'm all for letting them live as naturally as possible. Possible is the word. There are limits especially when not fully feathered like your youngest ones, they can chill even on hot days if wet. Fun time in the small pond daily but placed where they can dry where its warm is a must. You have a beautiful place there looks like lots of wooded area. We live in the mountains of NC and in the woods no way my ducks even as adults could live without fencing around them. Predators lay n wait for the perfect opportunity to snatch their meal. I'd hate for something to happen to yours. I know a lot of people have the mind set well it's just part of life. But I didn't get my birds to feed them to the predators. And yes I have lost some to hawks so don't think that having lots of trees around will protect them. We are surrounded but I have figured out it's not the hawk flying around above screeching its warning it's the one sitting in the tree waiting for the opportune moment.
I truly appreciate the clarification and advice, Lydia.
So you’d recommend bringing back up the 5 week old ducks until they’re fully feathered (7-9 weeks)?
If it matters, its 90-100 degrees every day here currently. Though at night it does drop to 70-75.
