How to Free Range Ducks

[girls and guineas]

I lost most of my ducks because they wouldn't come home at night from the creek!!! I called them and couldn't chase them back--they would just cross the creek and go farther away!!! My bigger ducks chase the smaller ones, so the smaller ones stopped coming home. I have magpies, pekin, 2 other drakes--size of pekins, 1 muscovy drake, and Swedish blues. I started locking the magpies up, so I wouldn't have any more killed! But I would like to free range them! I have had ducks and chickens killed by coyotes during the day!!! Hate that!!!

 

[clankeyes]

I have 2 KC and 2 Indian R. we moved them into their outdoor pen 2 days ago. Sadly it was like moving 2 steps back. They won't take treats from our hand anymore now that they are not in their indoor 4x4 pen. I am hoping they will calm down in a few weeks after the newness wears off. We have not allowed them to free range yet as they are just 6 wks.

 

[Kleonaptra]

I lost most of my ducks because they wouldn't come home at night from the creek!!! I called them and couldn't chase them back--they would just cross the creek and go farther away!!! My bigger ducks chase the smaller ones, so the smaller ones stopped coming home. I have magpies, pekin, 2 other drakes--size of pekins, 1 muscovy drake, and Swedish blues. I started locking the magpies up, so I wouldn't have any more killed! But I would like to free range them! I have had ducks and chickens killed by coyotes during the day!!! Hate that!!!

I built a pen around my coop - its not predator proof but it is duck proof - just a bit of cheap mesh wire and some star pickets. It keeps them close to the coop so they get in the habit of staying nearby. Once I thought I could trust them I let them out. My yard is about quater acre, and I thought they couldnt get out, but my pekins did for the first few weeks. We live on 7 acres so I had some fun...Chasing them through next doors orchard, next door on the other sides veggie gardens, up the street. Id hear them quaking in the distance and set off until I found them.

My little ducks never go that far, and after a few weeks of getting chased or locked in the pen, the big girls cut it out too.

 

[Going Quackers]

I fenced around my main duck coop and sub coop, anout 1/3 of an acre this keeps all pools, water, feed this encourages them to return, which they often do throughout the day, most usually return by dusk but in nice weather there maybe a few stragglers i always do a head count before shutting the gate.. i also have taught all to herd, most teach their young, i had one mum who'd tuck her kids in the barn and then come back out to forage lol

Free ranging is possible, but a risk... you have to evaluate your goals and situation to what suits best.

 

[Duck mama]

Sooooo.... we have adopted an entire flock of ducks, 14 in all (we had 16 but sadly 2 did not survive). My amazing husband saw my eyes light up when wild ducks would fly in to spend the day at our pond. So we did what I thought was a lot of research, but now I know it was not nearly enough! We have Pekin's, Kacki Cambells and Rouen's. I have been fairly successful at training the ducks to leave the coop and walk into a small play yard which includes a baby pool, and some days they even successfully make the return journey back, but I am concerned about letting them out in the yard to swim in the pond. Our Pekins are like the proverbial dumb blonde jokes. They are clumsy and without exception have been the last to learn how to do anything. So my question is this.... is it age that determines when to let them free range or is it size? The Pekins are almost double the size of the other breeds, but not easily convinced to try something new. We put steps in the baby pool to assist entrance and exits, the KC and the Rouens caught on immediately, but the Pekins still try to get out without the use of the steps and after a week of trying we still don't have much success. So the ducks that seem big enough to go outside don't seem to have the skills needed to survive. How old should the ducks be before we try letting them free range? I would be heart broken if we let them out and then couldn't corral them back to the coop.

 

[Kleonaptra]

Sooooo.... we have adopted an entire flock of ducks, 14 in all (we had 16 but sadly 2 did not survive). My amazing husband saw my eyes light up when wild ducks would fly in to spend the day at our pond. So we did what I thought was a lot of research, but now I know it was not nearly enough! We have Pekin's, Kacki Cambells and Rouen's. I have been fairly successful at training the ducks to leave the coop and walk into a small play yard which includes a baby pool, and some days they even successfully make the return journey back, but I am concerned about letting them out in the yard to swim in the pond. Our Pekins are like the proverbial dumb blonde jokes. They are clumsy and without exception have been the last to learn how to do anything. So my question is this.... is it age that determines when to let them free range or is it size? The Pekins are almost double the size of the other breeds, but not easily convinced to try something new. We put steps in the baby pool to assist entrance and exits, the KC and the Rouens caught on immediately, but the Pekins still try to get out without the use of the steps and after a week of trying we still don't have much success. So the ducks that seem big enough to go outside don't seem to have the skills needed to survive. How old should the ducks be before we try letting them free range? I would be heart broken if we let them out and then couldn't corral them back to the coop.

*LOL* Pekins are dumb blondes in my opinion! My pekins are older than my little ducks and they are still the silliest.

We have steps for the pond, all the little ducks use them, the pekins just roll over the side. They do tend to wander off further but they no longer leave the actual house yard which takes some effort. I made sure when ever they got out I chased them back hard, making it a very unpleasant experience. Ducks - even silly pekins - learn fast that if something isnt nice, they dont want to do it again.

I think its a combination of age and size. I like them to be big enough they dont look as much like prey to a crow and some ducks reach this size quicker than others. Flocking is most important - my calls are very smart and if theres a hawk around they quak and run for cover, so the big girls do to. I have crows around that will actually chase off hawks and other predators because they consider this their territory. I give them a few eggs for the service.

I would always make sure they were at least half the size of the adults with some good adult feathers before free ranging. Too little and fluffy and it stays inside or in a very little pen with a roof. I wouldnt worry about 'not being able' to corral them, ducks are quite easy to herd, but I find you need a 'safe area' around the pen and they will begin to gather there at night fall.

 

[Duck mama]

Thank you! I thought I was the only one that thought that my Pekins were like dumb blondes! We did the same thing in our pool, added steps to make it easier for them to get out..... They go beside the stairs, go to the other side of the pool... watch all of the other ducks walk calmly and quietly out of the pool... and there they go again.... falling off the steps, or trying to no avail to jump straight out with no steps! There have been a few times that I actually went into the pool... YUCK... to help them out. You gotta love em thought!

 

[buff goose guy]

Everything of mine is free range .

I lock mine in the pen until they are fully grown then I start letting them out for the day . And put them up at night so the new ducks can socialize with the older ones. Eventually I leave mine out after they've learned from the older ones to stay close to the pond and away from any strange animals .



I haven't really lost any of my ducks for a while but my brother has lost a few Muscovys while he does the same thing I do

 

[Jeniferl29]

I totally free range but the thing I said that I fear, a predator attack, happened 2 days ago. My neighbors dog snapped its chain. I posted about it in a different thread. I have found 11 chickens dead, one, duck, and one goose died later. I am now rethinking my free range strategy. The ducks survived the attack amazingly well. The only duck that died was a one week old duckling that died of fright. My recall worked. I just wish I had realized the dog was out there sooner.

 

[clankeyes]

we move our ducks pen around every 3-4 days. Today we let them out to see what would happen.. they ran to the garden 15 feet from the pen and dived into what was probably a slug fest ! when the play area/pen was all set up again and they saw the water shut off to the pool. I found them starting their way back to their pen area. with a little help from my son they found the opening. I figured if im in the yard weeding / working or handing out ... i'd let them come out. The chickens caught what was happening and stood looking at me like " what we have to share the yard ".