Vicki2X2 speedy recovery to you!!
Steve: we have a pond, and ducks. Two years ago we had the duck coop by the pond, now we have it across the yard,, (behind the DMZ) zone. Anyway, we let the ducks out, show them the pond, put them in there and invariably, within 10 minutes, they waddle back to their cage area. by themselves. They are homebodies, for sure. Even when we let them free in the yard, they don't go to the pond too often, which is just as well, because the pond is by the road, and there is no fence between the pond and the road. the ducks would make their routine visitation areas all around the yard, in relation to where the sun was. They also never used to go in the front drive, which was nice and then all of a sudden one day they discovered that area and we had to shoo them back to the back yard. I was afraid they'd go out into the road from the driveway.
I was worried once when I accidentally let the aussies out and they flew away that I'd never get them back, but they didn't go far either and I totally relieved. So the calls, (which we don't have anymore....racoons got them..and the cold got a few last year too....they made it through a real cold snap, a relatively warm day came and they were dead!!--couldn't figure that one out!) Had one left which we gave to a friend as she was in need of a male.
So, we end up filling pools, or sleds full of water by their area and they are happy with that.
I will try tomorrow to get some pics of the BLRW chickens after the kids go to school. I have an "ark" that I need to replace the egg door hinges on before its safe to put the birds in there. I also want to put some kind of latch on the egg door so that racoons can't get in there too. We just have had ducks in there, so they never used the nesting area before. My gf made the ark too. Its lovely!
