Help Duck Won't Come to Mama (Me)!

[CrockpotsMama]

Hello All,

I was given a Pekin Male almost a year ago by my Aunt. He was the last survivor on her farm between the fox, coyote, & hawks. As a matter of fact, he was captured by a hawk when my aunt noticed the hawk had him with only one foot, she started beating the hawk with a broom...GO AUNT BEED! So Donald (I know how original), was saved.

Well, now, Donald has always gotten along with the hens, talks to them, & goes up every night on his own with them! He is a fantastic addition to our family. We love him so much! So much that we have excavated the property to create a pond where our creek & spring meet. We took him to visit our pond & to let a duck be a duck of course. He refuses to come back in the fence & up at night. Last night was the second night I have begged him to come in. He will not come to me at all as a matter of fact he leaps into the pond & swims the opposite direction I am in. My husband claims he will get hungry & come home to eat. Well, I didn't feed him yesterday or today & tried to coax him with food...he looks at me like " No Thank You, Not Interested!". My thoughts are won't he become to weak to flee a predator if he has to? I have built him a house at the pond that he will not go into at night so I can shut him in. He is on the bank or inside the piping under the driveway. It is so windy & they are calling for snow. What do I do? I want him safe above all else, but he keeps flapping his wings at me & then ignoring me. Its like he's gone "Rogue"..."wild duck on the loose", "Bad to the bone"," Rebel" kind of dude! Any advice or suggestions are greatly appreciated!

I love my Duck, any thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated and will certainly be attempted!

 

[tadpole98]

i would delete that first part about the death of the hawk. you can get in BIG trouble with big money penalties and jail time for killing a hawk. never say anything about that online, through texts, phone calls, anywhere but in person to someone who wont tattle on you. uncle sam checks out your texts and forum posts even. S.S.S.

 

[Carcajou]

I had the same thing happen when I had only two ducks, then one. They didn't like to come off the pond at night.

How large is the coop and is it in a fenced in area? You might try not feeding him for a couple of days then lure him in an enclosure around your coop with lettuce. Ducks love lettuce. Mine come running or swimming real fast when they see me with lettuce in my hands. It works great when they would rather stay on the water rather than come to the feeder. I also feed sparing in the morning so they are a little hungrier around 4 PM or so. When they don't want to come to the feeder the lettuce has always worked and once in the enclosure I just close the gate.

It might work better if he has his own coop inside his own fenced area. Once you get him used to what I just described you should be able to herd him into the coop at night and perhaps he will eventually put himself in the coop after dark.

Best of luck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

And to add to what was said, the poor guy needs some friends too.

 

[CrockpotsMama]

Thank you, both. He was in an inclosure but he is wide open now. We will be fencing in another 3 acres to include the pond but it is nt just yet. We also were waiting for the pond to get him more friends. We purchased 4 ducklings 2 weeks ago. I have an acre and a half fenced for free range as well as an a fenced in area inside that for coop and run confinement. He has always gone up on his own with no problems.

I will certainly try the lettuce. We usually give him and the chicks all the scraps, garden scraps and so on. Lettuce may help me out!
I understand he wants the deeper water. It sure beats the kiddie pool! But my biggest concern is predators, wind, & temperatures. Is the water ever too cold for them to be in? He seems to be oblivious to it!

 

[CrockpotsMama]

i would delete that first part about the death of the hawk. you can get in BIG trouble with big money penalties and jail time for killing a hawk.  never say anything about that online, through texts, phone calls, anywhere but in person to someone who wont tattle on you. uncle sam checks out your texts and forum posts even. S.S.S.

My post sounded worse than it actually was but I know what you mean. She didn't kill it just made it release it is all. A little broom to the head and the hawk released him. My aunt doesn't kill anything, even spiders found in the house have a place in the barn to go!

 

[ChucktheChick]

My post sounded worse than it actually was but I know what you mean. She didn't kill it just made it release it is all. A little broom to the head and the hawk released him. My aunt doesn't kill anything, even spiders found in the house have a place in the barn to go!

Oh that is how I am too! I don't think you will get in trouble.... I am so sorry I can't help you with the post..... New to ducks...

 

[Jmanvanatta]

My post sounded worse than it actually was but I know what you mean. She didn't kill it just made it release it is all. A little broom to the head and the hawk released him. My aunt doesn't kill anything, even spiders found in the house have a place in the barn to go!

Any ways there is the ecseption if the bird is actually killing the bird if the bird is dead than you cant if it is in the act you can hit it

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thank you, both. He was in an inclosure but he is wide open now. We will be fencing in another 3 acres to include the pond but it is nt just yet. We also were waiting for the pond to get him more friends. We purchased 4 ducklings 2 weeks ago. I have an acre and a half fenced for free range as well as an a fenced in area inside that for coop and run confinement. He has always gone up on his own with no problems.

I will certainly try the lettuce. We usually give him and the chicks all the scraps, garden scraps and so on. Lettuce may help me out!
I understand he wants the deeper water. It sure beats the kiddie pool! But my biggest concern is predators, wind, & temperatures. Is the water ever too cold for them to be in? He seems to be oblivious to it!

You know what if you can find a day when the weather isn't too bad take the ducklings outside and get them to start quacking inside where you want him to go, if he can hear them he will come then when you get him inside the enclousure close the gate, keep him in there till weather improves and ducklings can be released with him at around 4 months old. and you have pond fenced in. Listen Owls are his biggest threat at night if he stays on the water being white makes him stick out like a sore thumb. If he comes to shore then every other pred will be after him. and some of them can swim too. Actually the water is probably warmer for him than being out of it unless it freezes over.