Naughty ducks are quacking me up!

[Sfraker]

The last few days I have come home from work to find my Rouen standing on top of the straw in the compost bin. My bin is 4' wide x 4' long and 5' high. it is made out of t-posts in the corners with chicken wire wrapped around it. I have no idea how she gets in, but she cannot get back out. When I get home I hear crazy loud quacking from that direction. As soon as I start walking her way she stops quacking. I open the gate to the bin and she causually strolls down the straw pile and heads over by the rest of the flock. Like it's no big deal she just bossed me around. LOL! This weekend I will be figuring out how she is getting in and reinforcing it.


The other day I looked out the window and realized that my daughter left the top off the food tub. The ducks were all around it trying really hard to jump in or reach the food. Alas they were too short to reach. I walked out to put the top on and found two of my guineas standing in the tub eating feed as fast as they could.


So our duck set up is this. They have a 30' x 10' chain link pen with an attached coop that they are in at night. Around 9am we let them out into a 1 acre fenced pasture (aka my yard). If we let them out earlier they will lay eggs all over the yard instead of in the coop.

This morning my husband got home from dropping our daughter off at school and the ducks were pushing into the two gates of their pen and quacking as loud and as desperately as they could. He felt bad for them so he let them out into their pasture.

When he went to collect the eggs there were only two in the coop. Well played ducks, well played.

 

[RavenBlue]

I am waiting on ducks I can't wait for their antics

 

[Amiga]

 

[JadeComputerGal]

The last few days I have come home from work to find my Rouen standing on top of the straw in the compost bin. My bin is 4' wide x 4' long and 5' high. it is made out of t-posts in the corners with chicken wire wrapped around it. I have no idea how she gets in, but she cannot get back out. When I get home I hear crazy loud quacking from that direction. As soon as I start walking her way she stops quacking. I open the gate to the bin and she causually strolls down the straw pile and heads over by the rest of the flock. Like it's no big deal she just bossed me around. LOL! This weekend I will be figuring out how she is getting in and reinforcing it.


The other day I looked out the window and realized that my daughter left the top off the food tub. The ducks were all around it trying really hard to jump in or reach the food. Alas they were too short to reach. I walked out to put the top on and found two of my guineas standing in the tub eating feed as fast as they could.


So our duck set up is this. They have a 30' x 10' chain link pen with an attached coop that they are in at night. Around 9am we let them out into a 1 acre fenced pasture (aka my yard). If we let them out earlier they will lay eggs all over the yard instead of in the coop.

This morning my husband got home from dropping our daughter off at school and the ducks were pushing into the two gates of their pen and quacking as loud and as desperately as they could. He felt bad for them so he let them out into their pasture.

When he went to collect the eggs there were only two in the coop. Well played ducks, well played.

LOL. That's a sweet story and it really did make me laugh out loud. Sounds like the ducks are learning the secrets to manipulating dad. Don't forget that mom (that's you) is next.

For the serious part, though, does the compost bin have a top on it? Contrary to almost everything you read, Rouens can fly. Most ducks can. Rouens can't fly far, they can't fly long, and they can't fly high, but they can fly, especially if they get a run at it to get the lift. If she's getting in that way, it makes complete sense she couldn't get back out because the compost area is too small for her to get enough lift to get into the air. Before you go into a lot of stuff, you might want to try simply putting a board across the top if the top is open to see if you still find her in there.

 

[Sfraker]

@JadeComputerGal I will give that a try. Today we are in a monsoon as we are getting the outskirts of Joaguin. We are just outside of Charlotte NC. So I may have to stall my plans for a bit.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

@JadeComputerGal I will give that a try. Today we are in a monsoon as we are getting the outskirts of Joaguin. We are just outside of Charlotte NC. So I may have to stall my plans for a bit.

I thought I heard yesterday that Joaquin had turned away from us. Darn. I hope you and @Miss Lydia make out okay.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I thought I heard yesterday that Joaquin had turned away from us. Darn. I hope you and @Miss Lydia make out okay.

The mountain river below our home is over it's banks and rain still coming down. We're okay though .

 

[Carcajou]

The mountain river below our home is over it's banks and rain still coming down. We're okay though .

Glad to hear that!

 

[Carcajou]

The last few days I have come home from work to find my Rouen standing on top of the straw in the compost bin. My bin is 4' wide x 4' long and 5' high. it is made out of t-posts in the corners with chicken wire wrapped around it. I have no idea how she gets in, but she cannot get back out. When I get home I hear crazy loud quacking from that direction. As soon as I start walking her way she stops quacking. I open the gate to the bin and she causually strolls down the straw pile and heads over by the rest of the flock. Like it's no big deal she just bossed me around. LOL! This weekend I will be figuring out how she is getting in and reinforcing it.


The other day I looked out the window and realized that my daughter left the top off the food tub. The ducks were all around it trying really hard to jump in or reach the food. Alas they were too short to reach. I walked out to put the top on and found two of my guineas standing in the tub eating feed as fast as they could.


So our duck set up is this. They have a 30' x 10' chain link pen with an attached coop that they are in at night. Around 9am we let them out into a 1 acre fenced pasture (aka my yard). If we let them out earlier they will lay eggs all over the yard instead of in the coop.

This morning my husband got home from dropping our daughter off at school and the ducks were pushing into the two gates of their pen and quacking as loud and as desperately as they could. He felt bad for them so he let them out into their pasture.

When he went to collect the eggs there were only two in the coop. Well played ducks, well played.

And who said ducks were less intelligent than other life forms!!