Help I have to chase my ducks !!

[Bisqit&Gravy]

We did like what terrielacy posted with Cheese and Quackers. We also say nite nite to our parrots so we would say that the them and now they go nite nite when we say it

 

[Moonwalker]

Quote:
That's how I have to do mine as well and I usually have a frame with mesh on it that I can use to pen them in a corner if I actually have to grab them.
They were really friendly up till they were about 2 weeks old, then they started running away. Now the silly things will go nuts when they hear my car in the drive or hear my voice when I come out in the yard, but they run to the opposite side of the pen when I come close. But drop a nightcrawler in the pen and I get mobbed. Go figure!

 

[Weewanona]

Mine come running when called anytime of the day

People are always shocked when I call and 30+ birds come-a-runnin from where ever they are on my 8 acres. And I MEAN running.

When I call my chickens and ducks they know they are getting scraps or scratch. Scraps are tossed outside the pen, but the ONLY place they get scratch is in the pen.

I always throw a couple of handfuls of scratch out in the evening. They love their scratch so much that as evening gets closer they will congregate in the front yard if I'm running a bit late and 'escort' me to their pen.

I have one banty cochin hen that scolds me the whole way there like she's saying, "Do you know how long we've been WAITING out here. It's almost bedtime and we want our snack!!!!"

 

[DuckyBoys]

Quote:
LOL...I can totally picture that scene...my geese and ducks come running as well. My baby dewlap tolouse think I am their mother and follow me around everywhere - they run at top speed to catch up to me. Very cute.

Yes, I can honestly say I have no problem rounding mine up, like you said, they are waiting for the food!

 

[nutmeggie]

This is very random but I was laughing about this post because I had this odd dream about chasing runner ducks last night. They were pets and I was trying to get them in their pen and was chasing them around. I don't even have ducks and I am having a problem getting them in their pen!!

 

[raindrop]

My ducklings (almost 7 weeks old) eat twice a day, I feed at 9pm. At first I held their food pan down where they could see it and then backed up slowly, then they would just follow me as soon as I whistled and they saw that I had the food. Tonight I was 10 minutes late and they were waiting for me in the pen. When I do have to herd them I do it like terrilacy suggested, walk SLOWLY and stop for a bit if they start to panic. May take them a while to settle down since they are used to being chased. Mine are calmer now than they were at 3-4 weeks old.

 

[GoodEgg]

Terrielacy is exactly right (of course she is, she knows ducks, LOL!). My ducks know now when I tell them, that they are about to be put in the coop. That makes it much easier. But I do it just as she says ... I walk slowly around behind them, and they move slowly away. I do have a long pcv pole (it's easy to see at night) and if they break formation, I hold the pole out like a long arm on that side, and they will turn the other way. It's much easier to WALK them in ... they still hustle and run a bit. But if ever you chase them, they panic and run, and you have a mad scramble.

BTW, mine were pretty friendly as babies, at least compared to how they are now. They will come to me, either to keep an eye on me or for food, and I can easily pick two of them up if they don't suspect I'm about to. But they don't really like to be touched and are not affectionate at all.

One great thing that helps me SO much ... I have trained my chickens to come when I call "chick chick" (high pitched chicky-call voice) and my ducks to come when I call "duck duck" (low pitched quiet quacky sound) so I can actually sort the two out and get them where I want them. I did this by feeding them

I feed treats to chickens and ducks in separate places, and call them separately, so it worked well. It took months, but they are very reliable to almost always come where and when I call.

Now I'm trying to get the baby gooses to come when I call "goose-goose" ... they did when they were very young, but now they get distracted by grass to eat along the way sometimes ...

trish

 

[dixygirl]

UPDATE
Well this morning I had an amazing stroke of luck. I took them out of the kiddie pool and just started walking out the door outside. They ran after me again!

They actually BROKE INTO the pen I had them in yesterday on their own! They pushed their way over the fence to get inside the pen where they stayed all day from 8am - 4:30pm. Although they can clearly get out of the garden edging i have there, they did not! I went iinside and stayed all day. I just peaked out the window at them there laying down from time to time.

The problem started this evening when I thought it best to start trying to herd them back indoors. Things started out fairly well this time with the herding. They were herded out of the pen well but after about 30 feet of walking. We reached the fence and they were afraid to leave the yard to go the last stretch to the garage. ....


That is good in a way! They know there is safety inside our fenced in yard and didn't want to leave it. So to make a long story short, I had to chase them again this evening

I think i will take their food away about 1pm and try to lure them with a bowl of food as someone suggested tomorrow night. :|

To be continued.

 

[Henrietta23]

Quote:
LOL, I dreamed the other night that my goats had escaped and I was worried because the neighbors didn't know I had them. I don't have ANY GOATS! (yet)
I like the idea of only giving scratch in the pen. I've got new chickens moving outside soon and I'm going to change my practice of scattering whenever, and just scatter it in their pen. Right now my new outdoor roo follows my old hens into the coop every night, but I've got another roo and 11 pullets that will be joining them eventually and I think that's a great way to get them to go to their pen at night. The ducks already only get scratch in the pen because I haven't let them free range yet. Hopefully I'm setting them up to do what I'll need them to do when I let them out.

 

[GoodEgg]

Wow, your ducks actually stayed behind that little fencing??? wow ...

My ducks are sneaking out of a chain-link-fenced area. Either they are pushing a piece of wood that's supposed to be plugging a hole up and swinging it out of the way (that's what my daughter thinks) or the chickens have dug out a hole somewhere in the very deep brush under the fence ...

... or they are squeezing through a one inch gap, which Kupo (f&w runner) apparently CAN do.

I don't know which, but I've found ducks in the FRONT yard three times last week.

I replaced that board, and for the past couple days they've been in the back. But they will get out any little chance they get.

trish