How do I get my mallards to leave and do their own thing?

[Mowglimommychick]

I forgot you are in VA - if you decide to keep them, I just saw a floating house on CL this week - I'll see if I can find it - I can't remember what area it was in. I also saw another duck house somewhere near Richmond - that I do remember b/c I was thinking of getting it for some rescue ducks. Good luck to you - I don't think you're cruel or you wouldn't have posted here for ideas.

What do you put in as a search? I tried a few things but no hits in my area. Then of course I also have to figure out how to teach them that the non flyers come in but they need to stay down by the pond. Even with supplemental feed in addition to foraging, they will be confused by not coming up the hill with the rest...

 

[CrystaBub]

What do you put in as a search? I tried a few things but no hits in my area. Then of course I also have to figure out how to teach them that the non flyers come in but they need to stay down by the pond. Even with supplemental feed in addition to foraging, they will be confused by not coming up the hill with the rest...

I search on my phone using the CL app b/c it lets me search multiple cities/states at the same time. I typed in duck house... I can't find the floater - i'm sure that was snapped up quickly. But i think they are easy to build with pallets - maybe google it...? It will be hard at first to get them trained to go to their own space - but I'm sure you can do it! They learn so quickly. I used to separate my ducks into 2 pairs at night - and it's funny how after a few nights each duck knew which side of the fence to go to. They are so smart! You could still lock them in at night just in a different house. They herd really well too - so just herd the Mallards to the house by the pond and the others up the hill. All of this is assuming they'll all get along... You may have too many males in the mix and will have to rehome a male or two... If it was me, and this is just me lol, I would rehome 2 of the male mallards, keeping 1 male with the 2 female. Search CL for Mallard - some people really like them on their farm ponds...

 

[townchicks]

A couple of you've been a little harsh though. Someone referenced the catalog picture that I posted , but I am not reading it the way they did . It says "true to their habit as migratory birds, these birds will fly".. the updated online catalog even adds after that sentence "away

I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. Perhaps it was the way your post was worded, it seemed that you had ordered birds you didn't want, and now you expected them to just go away. I see now that the problem is the picking on the pekin, which was not expressed in the original post. I do think you assumed from the catalog that the birds would migrate, while I read it as a warning that unlike most domestic breeds, which don't fly, that these will. Not that they will migrate. Many people every year, buy cute little duckings, enjoy them for a few weeks, and when they are not cute anymore and they're a bother, dump them out by any pond to fend for themselves. I have zero patience for those types, and I, perhaps wrongly, lumped you in with that ilk.
I still think, as others have said, re-homing them would be best. If not, build a separate pen for them. Letting them live at the pond, is not really safe from predators. Ducks in the wild have very short lifespans.