Free ranging....

[Going Quackers]

Ours also herd well. We keep ours penned first thing then let them out later in the morning and re-pen them at about 8-8:30PM.. then lock them up in there duck house when dark starts to move in.. ours wander in/out of there run throughout the day, we keep there pool & feed/water in there.

 

[3Kids&2Ducks]

Thanks everyone! Yesterday we let them free range for about 2 hrs, supervised. They had a lot of fun rooting for bugs in the leaf pile. It took them about 20 mins and then my fiance went into the pen and herded them out, they looked confused and i imagine their duck conversation was about whether or not we knew the gate to their pen was open. Lol. But today, my fiance opened the gate and when he got about 5 ft from it, they came rushing out, straight back to the leaf pile. Must be some good bugs in there. Lol. It is getting ready to rain here, should be funny watching them out of the pen in the rain. In the pen they stretch their wings out and run around airplane style in the rain. After a few hours we will herd them back in and give them strawberries for a treat. I am going to say, "Want a snack?" every time so they associate that with going in for the night and getting a yummy treat.

Thanks again!

 

[tdgill]

 

[ChickInDelight]

I also live on over a hundred acres, and the ducks stay right in the yard. They like the back patio at night. I am in the process of building a duck house, but while my hens to into their hutch every night, the ducks don't like confinement.

 

[tdgill]

my ducks seem to not mind confinement at all. They just have to learn and get used to it

 

[stargazingmommy]

3Kids&2Ducks :

I have a question about free ranging, part-time. We have 2 Swedish blue's, i believe they are male. Down where we live, everyone free ranges their chickens during the day, so it made me think about our ducks.

For those that do or have free ranged, how do you get them back in their pens at night? They arent skittish of us, but they do keep their distance when we are in their pen. I would like them to get more exercise and be able to experience more, but i am worried about them wandering off and/or not being able to get them back in their pen when night comes. Everyone does it with their chickens around us, but then you have to be careful driving bc there are always someone's chickens in the road. I just want our ducks to have more freedom, but not be in the road or wandering off. Any ideas or experiences with free ranging?

I don't. Mine are little jerks and escape artists.
I gave up. Instead they terrorize the dogs.​

 

[stargazingmommy]

Quote:
M ducks wont stay in their pen. They escpe, I can't figure out how. The sleep under the back porch. they terrorize the dogs. they have a gorgeous yard, with a pool, and shade, food, a shaded water dish, a nice shaded area, an insulated dog house for a duck house. so, I've been throwing hte chickens in there during the day, and they love it

 

[JosieR]

I have them trained to come to the back deck WHEN I RING A BELL

They would usually start to hang around their house at dark so I just throw the peas up the ramp and then a handful into the bowl. Sometimes they would be off in the woods or something. So I took a big sleigh bell from Christmas that we left on the door so we could here the door open if my little one went out. I would bring the bell out if they were hanging around the deck or within sight of it and ring the bell while I dropped peas for them. I did it for a couple of weeks, every time they were out there.

Now, they can be anywhere on the property (they were actually across the road in the wetlands once) and they hear that bell ringing and come running to the back deck for peas.

We joke that they're better trained than the dog or the kids.

 

[sallysinnamon]

mine come back on their own to their pen when it gets to be dusk.

occasionally they need some coaxing which is usually walking behind them or sometimes simply saying "time to go home"..and off they go. they usually need coaxing when we are around, i guess they feel safer with us in the yard. if we are inside, sometimes we come out to find they took themselves home.. we dont usually let them out if no one is home.