Pen or No Pen???

[bird sitter]

Exactly, I've been bullied so much on several threads for not penning my waterfowl up. I don't understand! I think they should be able to be free and run around! Well, that's my opinion and THEY DON'T have to do what I do I should be able to choose what I do. As long as the birds have a safe place to go if threatened, which we DO.

 

[desertdarlene]

I've spent a lot of time studying domestic ducks that are let loose in lakes and ponds and I've yet to find one that didn't die from a wild or domestic predator. Most die within a year or two and nearly all of them die within three or four years after arriving. Many people think they're seeing the same ducks each time they go to their local pond, but mostly they're seeing newly dumped ducks replacing the previous ones. This is what happens when one doesn't contain or protect their domestic ducks. If you choose to let your ducks live in a similar way as these dumped ducks (by never penning or containing them), then your ducks will have the same lifespan.

Most domestic ducks can't fly well and those that can usually can only fly a short distance. Wild born non-flying hybrids tend to live longer because they have an advantage of having a wild parent and having more of their wild instincts intact. So, it isn't necessarily the lack of flying that makes them more vulnerable, it's that their instincts have been bred out or nullified by being raised by humans.

 

[bird sitter]

Yea, that's true. Our hand raised geese can't fly, but every single one of our hand raised ducks fly! Weird isn't it? I figured like what you just said that they wouldn't be able to! Even my Muscovies are AMAZING fliers! They sit in our trees in the mornings!

 

[Going Quackers]

Most 'scovie girls are awesome fliers, i only own that breed. I don't think everyone has to pen their birds, i certainly didn't i wanted the birds to forage the farm to clean up bugs/pests and have access to the horses and low laying water.

Unfortunately, our neighbours dog got an opportunity to get across the drought struck river and killed two of our birds so we had to pen an area. I still leave the birds full flight and many will fly out and return after foraging the farm.

We are likely going to fence the side of the property to keep a dog from coming that way again, i want my birds loose to forage the farm that is part of the reason i own ducks if they are penned they cannot complete that task.

All that said again, i have always brought my ducks in at dark and put them in predator proof housing, i will not leave them out overnight.

 

[bird sitter]

Yea, we have almost a hundred ducks and geese ( not including my muscovies). I have tons of people who want baby muscovies so they stay in an add on run to the chicken run so that we can breed them. I have a broody Muscovy who is siting on two of her eggs! One has hatched and the other one is almost out! Sooo Happy! Yea, We have never penned ours up I think they should be able to free-range cause geese are huge and our ducks can fly so I don't see the point for us to do it :/

 

[Wynette]

bird sitter, can I offer some advice? You put a poll out about who pens their ducks, and then you become offended when peeps give replies that you don't agree with. This makes no sense. BYC is a public forum, and anyone can post an opinion (in an appropriate way, of course, and no one has said anything offensive thus far in this thread.)

That said, I do a bit of both. Since I work full time, I am not home during the day, and I will not allow my ducks out when I'm not there to watch over them. I agree with others that it's my responsibility to provide good care & protect them when need be. On the other hand, I can't imagine that ANYONE can dispute that free range time is one of the best things you can do for a critter. For them to be able to pick & choose what to eat (research indicates they can actually "self medicate"; i.e., if they are lacking something in their diet, they'll seek out plants that are rich in it to supplement their systems), and I personally believe it's a sort of bonding/social thing for them to "run as a pack" as well.

However, ANY TIME you allow critters (expecially fowl) out of a safe enclosure, you're taking chances. It's a given, and you need to be prepared for the potential consequences. Some weigh it out and feel it's most definitely worth it, others do not. EITHER WAY, it's a personal choice, and neither is wrong.

I would also add that I do believe it's wrong to "smack down" anyone who does the opposite of what you believe is right. To say, "you have to pen them 24/7, as it's your responsibility to protect them" is a bit closed-minded in my book. "Protect them" may be, for some folks, allowing them to range. If that works for you, your flock is healthy and happy, then carry on! The opposite is true as well. There's absolutely nothing wrong with penning your birds if you are not in a situation where they will have protection when they're out free ranging. So, how about a bit more tolerance...from all? Just sayin'.

 

[bird sitter]

Did you read my last post? I said its just my opinion that I THINK they should be able to freer range....! And exactly I put up a poll to see who does what so in the future if I have more money I can fence the property or not! And since when am I going at people who are saying the opposite? Some people are telling me it's the "law" to let domestic waterfowl run free with no caging! When I know several people who let their domestic hand raised waterfowl free-range.

 

[Wynette]

Just because your neighbors do it doesn't mean it's legal or the right thing to do. I can't speak to the legality of it, admittedly, I just don't know the laws in this area, but I personally have plenty of acreage so that I know my fowl do not wander far enough to leave the property.

 

[bird sitter]

It's not just my neighbor

 

[Wynette]

It makes no difference who the other people are that do it, that doesn't make it okay.

You know the old saying, "if he jumped from a bridge, does that mean you would follow?" Same thing here. Frankly, you're argumentative, and thus far, seem quite unwilling to listen to anyone else's opinion, even when they are in agreement with you. If you want to range your birds, do it, but know the consequences - that's all.

My DH complains that he can't hear me sometimes...he has a hearing aid, but chooses to not wear it. So, I told him he has two choices: wear the hearing aid so he can hear, or zip his pie hole.