New Peking Pet Duck Owner - please help

[lauriebeth76]

I purchased 2 Peking ducks (male and female) Easter of 2014 and since I have no experience with fowl, I'm hoping someone here can help me. The ducks are free to roam my fenced in yard but since I let them roam free as adults they won't even come near any humans, they are afraid.. I don't know why cause they stayed indoors as babies and I let them swim in my bathtub everyday so I did interact with them. My question is, we are starting to enter into winter and I can't get my ducks to go into any shelter. I purchased a very large expensive doghouse and they won't even go near it. I also have a 8x10 shed and they also won't go near it. I don't know what to do, are these ducks gonna freeze outside and how do I get them to go into a shelter? Please help I love these 2 ducks (even though I can't get near them without them running away) and I'm really upset..

 

[sumi]

Welcome to BYC

Some friends of mine who own ducks mentioned that sometimes some of their ducks won't go in at night and were o.k. outside, but I'll ask @Amiga and @Miss Lydia to give you their opinions.

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. I'm a chicken person and don't know much about ducks (although I've had a few), but definitely post on our duck section at https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/42/ducks, and take advantage of our duck experts there. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in sheltering your ducks.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I purchased 2 Peking ducks (male and female) Easter of 2014 and since I have no experience with fowl, I'm hoping someone here can help me. The ducks are free to roam my fenced in yard but since I let them roam free as adults they won't even come near any humans, they are afraid.. I don't know why cause they stayed indoors as babies and I let them swim in my bathtub everyday so I did interact with them. My question is, we are starting to enter into winter and I can't get my ducks to go into any shelter. I purchased a very large expensive doghouse and they won't even go near it. I also have a 8x10 shed and they also won't go near it. I don't know what to do, are these ducks gonna freeze outside and how do I get them to go into a shelter? Please help I love these 2 ducks (even though I can't get near them without them running away) and I'm really upset..

Welcome to BYC, and what your experiencing is not new, happens to all of us, we bring home these tiny lil ducklings keep them safe and warm then it's time to go outside and bam they grow up independent don't want to have anything to do with us. But you can change that with alot of patience and some nice yummy treats. Do you give treats? one that ducks seems to really like are thawed little english peas, most ducks will do a song and dance for some, maybe start with a cup and just go out and sit with them tossing some as close as you can to get their attention, you can also toss some into their pool when they are in it and that will get their attention, another is shredded lettuce [romaine] not as pop as the peas though and then dried meal worms, you can buy these just about any feed store and TSC too. my ducks love them so much I buy in bulk on line. Now to get them inside of a night which is very important not only to protect them from the extreme temps but from predators too, which during winter are looking for an easy meal since most of their natural prey is under ground or has gone south. so our birds are prime targets. and fences no matter how high will not keep them out. Our birds need to be locked up at night, you may need some help with this at first but if you can get hubby or an older child or friend go out before dark you want to get them into the habit of going in Before dark, find 2 long poles old mop handles will work I use 2 old bamboo poles even light weight rakes will work. but you want to walk slowly up behind them and start using the poles as your arm extensions, and slowly walking them in the direction you want them to go talk quietly to them it's going to take a bit of practice but ducks herd easily and once they realize what you want will go in with out a problem, this is where you may need some one to keep them from going in the opposite direction from where you are herding them until you get the hang of it. I'd say if you start now within a week you'll have them inside on their own. I find with mine they will go inside by themselves but if I am late getting out to close the door they get scared and will come back outside so we have to be there to lock them in. Maybe it's their thinking of being cornered that makes them come back out, but anyway once you get them inside give them a treat toss some peas in their house or some mealworms. You don't want to give them alot because they also need water when they eat and most of us don't put water inside because of the mess they make with it. Your just giving them a reward and enforcing that going up isn't a bad idea. Make sure what ever you put them into has good ventilation around the top so they can have fresh air flow. Start the treats to get them happy to see you coming then begin training them by herding, they will warm up in no time, they of course won't be so friendly they'll climb in you lap but if you get the chance to sit on the ground with peas and mealworms they might once they see you as the bearer of goodies. Please post back and let us know how it all goes.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

 

[BantamLover21]

Glad you joined us!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

I don't know a thing about ducks but you have been given some great advice from Miss Lydia.

Enjoy your babies and welcome to our flock!

 

[Amiga]

I agree with Miss Lydia. You need to get them in. Period. You don't have to be rough about it.

Things to consider from their point of view - is it dark when you try to get them in? Going into a dark hole is scary. Are there vapors, is the air quality poor or moldy? Is the bedding moldy? Make sure the air quality is good.

Have predators perhaps been in or around the shelters? Be sure nothing can get in. If something has marked the area, you may want to spritz just a little peppermint or lemongrass oil around the edges.

Start before dark, put treats in the house, so they have something positive to associate with it.

Yes, it is too cold and dangerous for them to be outdoors at night.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

We're glad to have you.

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to Backyard chickens. I don't have ducks but, Ms.Lydia's directions for herding them sounds like something that would be fun to do. In sheep herding the person usually has a long pole if even he has dogs working the flock.