- Nov 16, 2015
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I have a large pond which my ducks live by. At the moment it is deep enough that my gumboots are not high enough and if I have to go in after a duck they end up full of water. It’s also hard to catch the duck as the bottom is muddy and your feet tend to stick in the mud and you have to really pull to get them free.
I have been wondering if having a cheap inflatable boat (the type that you get with oars for paying in the pool or at a river or lake with kids, not a ‘proper boat’ but something that will keep an adult above the water and dry). Would having one of these help in catching ducks who go onto the pond..if nothing else then maybe to just scare them off onto dry land..
This is a problem if a duck I need to catch goes onto the pond, ie I see a duck which is sick or injured, or if a duck has hatched ducklings and takes them onto the pond (there are pukeko/swamp hen) here which will kill ducklings if given a chance so any ducklings that a duck has hatched and brought to the pond need to be removed and put in a secure run. Some of the ducks are wild flying ducks which it is illegal to keep captive here so I can not prevent them flying off and nesting somewhere, but once the ducklings hatch, you can bet mummy duck will march them straight back home to the pond. And as soon as they see me coming, they will go out to the middle of the pond.
It’s a large pond, much too large to be able to reach to the middle of it with a long handled net or anything like that. And it can be close to impossible to get a duck and ducklings out of the pond, or even if I get the duck out and catch her, or some of the ducklings, inevitably one of them will get away and go back into the pond. And I am sick and tired of getting my gumboots full of wet muddy water that I know the ducks have been doing their business in! I also need to wear my gumboots every day, and it takes 3-4 days to dry them out when they get full of water. Plus because of the sticky mud on the bottom of the pond, I am very slow and can’t keep up with a duck who is swimming anyway...
Just wondering if anyone who has ducks has ever tried using a small boat, canoe, dingy, kayak or similar in the pond, whether or not actually catch ducks. And if so:
Did you try to catch or herd ducks from the boat
How did your ducks react to the boat?
Did it score the crap out of them and if so, did they become accustomed to it after a while?
Do you think it would help me in situations where I need to catch a duck who is determined to stay on the pond?
I am here by myself so most of the time, unless someone happens to be visiting, I don’t have anyone else to help me catch the duck or herd them in a particular direction. And because of the pukekos any duck with ducklings, needs to be caught and moved immediately, so I can’t leave it until someone might be visiting me.
Have attached a photo of the sort of thing I was thinking of
I am quite possibly also just looking to justify the purchase (by a middle aged woman) of what is basically a kids toy....kinda want to see how the ducks and the geese react to me floating about or something like this
Has anyone done this in their ducks swimming and living area?
I have been wondering if having a cheap inflatable boat (the type that you get with oars for paying in the pool or at a river or lake with kids, not a ‘proper boat’ but something that will keep an adult above the water and dry). Would having one of these help in catching ducks who go onto the pond..if nothing else then maybe to just scare them off onto dry land..
This is a problem if a duck I need to catch goes onto the pond, ie I see a duck which is sick or injured, or if a duck has hatched ducklings and takes them onto the pond (there are pukeko/swamp hen) here which will kill ducklings if given a chance so any ducklings that a duck has hatched and brought to the pond need to be removed and put in a secure run. Some of the ducks are wild flying ducks which it is illegal to keep captive here so I can not prevent them flying off and nesting somewhere, but once the ducklings hatch, you can bet mummy duck will march them straight back home to the pond. And as soon as they see me coming, they will go out to the middle of the pond.
It’s a large pond, much too large to be able to reach to the middle of it with a long handled net or anything like that. And it can be close to impossible to get a duck and ducklings out of the pond, or even if I get the duck out and catch her, or some of the ducklings, inevitably one of them will get away and go back into the pond. And I am sick and tired of getting my gumboots full of wet muddy water that I know the ducks have been doing their business in! I also need to wear my gumboots every day, and it takes 3-4 days to dry them out when they get full of water. Plus because of the sticky mud on the bottom of the pond, I am very slow and can’t keep up with a duck who is swimming anyway...
Just wondering if anyone who has ducks has ever tried using a small boat, canoe, dingy, kayak or similar in the pond, whether or not actually catch ducks. And if so:
Did you try to catch or herd ducks from the boat
How did your ducks react to the boat?
Did it score the crap out of them and if so, did they become accustomed to it after a while?
Do you think it would help me in situations where I need to catch a duck who is determined to stay on the pond?
I am here by myself so most of the time, unless someone happens to be visiting, I don’t have anyone else to help me catch the duck or herd them in a particular direction. And because of the pukekos any duck with ducklings, needs to be caught and moved immediately, so I can’t leave it until someone might be visiting me.
Have attached a photo of the sort of thing I was thinking of
I am quite possibly also just looking to justify the purchase (by a middle aged woman) of what is basically a kids toy....kinda want to see how the ducks and the geese react to me floating about or something like this
Has anyone done this in their ducks swimming and living area?
