Help! How can i get my ducks out of the pond?!

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Today my 13 Fall Ducklings, together with some of my older ducks discovered the pond! I was kind of cute to see them bobbing on the water, diving and dabbling for food, but when it got dark, only the old ducks came back home. Now i have 13 three month old ducks sitting on my pond, refusing to get out and the temperature will drop below the freezing mark tonight! The forecast is predicting -4° (25F), but i am up in the hills and it will be colder here.
Can they survive those temperatures on the water?
How safe are ducks on the water in regards of predators? - I saw a fox on my driveway just three days ago…
I tried everything, talking nicely, handing out cat-food, cursing loudly, yelling - they show me their middle-toe.
Any ideas? It is pitch black at the pond, the walls of the pond are very steep - one of the former owners of the property drowned in there and i am alone, so they just paddle to the other side and laugh at me…

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Good grief! Don't risk yourself drowning, trying to save some ducklings! Be careful!

 

[Beaglegal]

GOOD NEWS!!!​

Suddenly it got really really noisy outside…
All ducks are back at the house, the 13 nasty ducks went straight into the duck-run and stuffed themselves with the layer-pellets. Apparently there were not enough newts in the pond.

So sadly no fireworks here tonight! But thank you everybody for the great suggestions. I will buy myself an RC-boat! Now the wifie can no longer object: »Honey, it is not a toy, it is a tool to get the ducks out of the pond!«

So basically you engineered this whole thing to get a new toy. I swear my husband sabotages our cars for the same reason

 

[HappyDuckie]

I would keep chasing around the sides to try and get them out. If that doesn’t work, then the way they are avoiding you I think they might be fine against predators. I know it’s terrible, but personally if one of my cockerels won’t go inside at night after me trying for a while, I just leave him out. I make sure to tell him if he gets eaten, it’s his fault. Good luck!

 

[ackie]

I dont think this thread was supposed to make me want ducks...but I want ducks

 

[Beaglegal]

Sounds like you are buying a boat today. The duck coast guard to the rescue

 

[Little Brown Coop]

That is actually a very good idea: I will buy myself a remote controlled model-ship! That will for sure scare them out of the pond…
Thank you very much for the idea!

Ooooooh yah remote control boat, that sounds fun!

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I wonder if you can anchor it in the area you want them exiting and walk around laying rope out on one side then coming back on the other side reel it in along the surface of the water.
Depending on how big that pond is it could take a LOT of rope.
Might need floats on the rope.....

Below is the video from this morning, you can see that there are a lot of trees and shrubs around the pond, but the ducks usually swim to the other side of the pond when i am standing at the edge, so i can fence off about ½ in the beginning and then pull the rope towards them. And i have a floating rope! Don't remember why i bought it, but it floats.

 

[Beaglegal]

I think i will attach a taser to the bow of the boat to punish any disobedient duck immediately.

Sounds like dropping a hair dryer in the bathtub.... definitely a good idea

 

[21hens-incharge]

they're cute and ....cute!
and their poop cant be that much worse than peafowl

Awwww teeny tiny webbies! Who could resist those?


My little Webster when he was a tiny baby.