Help with mallards

[Nana of the ducks]

I need some advice. A wild Mallard laid a egg in our yard, I tried to incubate it but it was not fertile. I was enthused about process and tried to educate myself on line for hatching and raising and releasing Mallards. I purchased some eggs online , incubated and hatched them . I have 1 male and 2 females. They are now 4 months old. They live in our fenced in back yard and seem quite content. I let them roam and figured when they were ready to leave they would just go. They have flew around the yard but never stray to far from each other.
Yesterday they flew. The 2 females were just on the other side of the fence and waited there for me to get them. The male flew further. I went looking for him. He was a couple houses away and seemed lost how to get home. I walked him back to the yard without a problem.
I love these ducks and do not care if they stay here forever but I am concerned if they fly away will they be able to survive on their own in the wild.
Please help me.

 

[Isadora]

I need some advice. A wild Mallard laid a egg in our yard, I tried to incubate it but it was not fertile. I was enthused about process and tried to educate myself on line for hatching and raising and releasing Mallards. I purchased some eggs online , incubated and hatched them . I have 1 male and 2 females. They are now 4 months old. They live in our fenced in back yard and seem quite content. I let them roam and figured when they were ready to leave they would just go. They have flew around the yard but never stray to far from each other.
Yesterday they flew. The 2 females were just on the other side of the fence and waited there for me to get them. The male flew further. I went looking for him. He was a couple houses away and seemed lost how to get home. I walked him back to the yard without a problem.
I love these ducks and do not care if they stay here forever but I am concerned if they fly away will they be able to survive on their own in the wild.
Please help me.

I think that would depend partly on how you raised them. If I was raising Mallards to release, I would have been as hands-off as possible.
I had some friends at church who did this. I don't know how hands-on they were with raising or not, but they did eventually fly away one day and didn't come back.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

I need some advice. A wild Mallard laid a egg in our yard, I tried to incubate it but it was not fertile. I was enthused about process and tried to educate myself on line for hatching and raising and releasing Mallards. I purchased some eggs online , incubated and hatched them . I have 1 male and 2 females. They are now 4 months old. They live in our fenced in back yard and seem quite content. I let them roam and figured when they were ready to leave they would just go. They have flew around the yard but never stray to far from each other.
Yesterday they flew. The 2 females were just on the other side of the fence and waited there for me to get them. The male flew further. I went looking for him. He was a couple houses away and seemed lost how to get home. I walked him back to the yard without a problem.
I love these ducks and do not care if they stay here forever but I am concerned if they fly away will they be able to survive on their own in the wild.
Please help me.

If you have been feeding and housing them and they are used to people being close to them, then no they will not survive on their own in the wild for very long most likely.

 

[Nana of the ducks]

If you have been feeding and housing them and they are used to people being close to them, then no they will not survive on their own in the wild for very long most likely.

So what are my options to protect them?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Do they have a coop? you need to have a safe place for them to stay at night. Feed, water and a kiddy pool to bathe in. They don't ask for much more than that. As for flying out only problem I see is them landing in a yard with dogs. That may not end well for them.

 

[Isadora]

So what are my options to protect them?

Do you mean if you were to try to release them or just keeping them as pets?

 

[Nana of the ducks]

Do you mean if you were to try to release them or just keeping them as pets?

I want them to be safe and if that means they stay with me, that is fine.

 

[Nana of the ducks]

Do they have a coop? you need to have a safe place for them to stay at night. Feed, water and a kiddy pool to bathe in. They don't ask for much more than that. As for flying out only problem I see is them landing in a yard with dogs. That may not end well for them.

They have a coop for night time. Food and water provided. For some reason they do not like a kiddie pool. They bath in their water bowl. Some have said to clip their wings which I would hate to do but I am worried they will fly away and not survive on their own

 

[shawluvsbirds]

So what are my options to protect them?

Do they have a coop? you need to have a safe place for them to stay at night. Feed, water and a kiddy pool to bathe in. They don't ask for much more than that. As for flying out only problem I see is them landing in a yard with dogs. That may not end well for them.

This if you want to keep them there and protect them.

You can always clip wings to keep them grounded long enough for them to not want to take off and leave. But then you'll need to for sure to protect them from predators. A secure place for them to be locked in at night at minimum.

Or just let whatever happens happen if they fly away and hope they have a good life for a while.
I mean, I'm not gonna judge. Plenty ducks fall victim to predation or ailments or accidents right in our own back yard no matter how hard we try to protect them.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

They have a coop for night time. Food and water provided. For some reason they do not like a kiddie pool. They bath in their water bowl. Some have said to clip their wings which I would hate to do but I am worried they will fly away and not survive on their own

Clipping wings isn't the worst thing in the world in my opinion.
With my call ducks if I have them in an area that does not have a covered run I clip their wings.
I prefer to do both sides evenly so they can still get off the ground just a little bit they just can't get a lot of lift.
And remember they will molt those feathers and their flights will come back so it isn't permanant.
It all just comes down to what's best for your situation.
For mine getting over in a neighbor's yard with dogs or out in the road or on the train tracks it would be more dangerous to let them fly.