Pet ducks released on my lake

[SolarDuck]

Don't feed them bread. It's good advice, but use birdseed or mealworms or peas something not bad for them like bread.

 

[Weeg]

I've been studying for years these offspring of some Black Swedish that was released on a lake. In Florida, you don't have to worry about migration, so they might be fine.
Throw bread peices to them to domisticate them. Once they know bread is tasty, start throwing the peices closer to yourself. Eventually they'll be eating out of your hands. Easy catch.

Bread isn't good for ducks at all. Its really difficult to digest, and could cause life threatening impacted crop, which may only be treatable by surgery. It also has no nutritional value.

Edit: Sorry if I sound rude, I didn't mean it that way. Just trying to get the point across. I wish my ducks were that friendly.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Bread isn't good for ducks at all. Its really difficult to digest, and could cause life threatening impacted crop, which may only be treatable by surgery. It also has no nutritional value.

Everybody feeds ducks bread, even when it's not allowed. The ducks are so trained on eating bread, that when I'm trying to get wild ducks closer for a better picture, they'll come for pieces of wood and leaves. (They're always disappointed when I do that...)

 

[Nemeth1986]

You mention they like it under docks, is there a way to build an enclosure under your dock for at night to keep them safe? Just a thought

 

[SolarDuck]

Everybody feeds ducks bread, even when it's not allowed. The ducks are so trained on eating bread, that when I'm trying to get wild ducks closer for a better picture, they'll come for pieces of wood and leaves. (They're always disappointed when I do that...)

The only reason that "everybody" feeds ducks bread is because they are not educated on how bad it is for the ducks, and they think they are helping the ducks by feeding bread when in reality they are severely hurting them.

 

[Coggsinc]

Those ducks aren't skinny, I'm sure there's plenty of minnows and other snacks in and around that lake to keep them fed

Yeah they look pretty good to me. When they are on the other side of the fence they don’t mind if I get pretty close and they seem healthy, nice feathers. The little Black Swedish seems to be the boss and she keeps them in line.

This isn't a good idea for the following reasons-

1. They are in danger! Dogs could easily get to them if they are hanging on shore. They're also at high risk for attack by areal predators since they aren't wild, and don't know how to protect them selves from predation. Those heavy breeds can't fly.

2. Wild ducks are at risk. If theres a drake in that mix, he will likely breed with the wild population producing vulnerable offspring who will llikly not survive. Or if they do, then your adding a heavy, egg laying, domestic line into the breeding that will be really bad for the population.

@Coggsinc , the very best thing you can do for these ducks, and the wild population is trap them, and find a rescue or farm that can take them. They wont last long on the lake, and are endangering wild ducks. I'm so glad you've taken an interest in there care, but this really is the best option.

I’m just not finding any rescues around that take non native species. maybe someone on here knows one around Orlando.
Dogs are my main concern, it’s pretty urban here and we don’t have other large predators. Overall we don’t see much attacking of adult ducks, of course they can fly but still. Ducklings tend to get picked off by the hawks and owls.
Breeding is another concern I have too.

 

[Coggsinc]

You mention they like it under docks, is there a way to build an enclosure under your dock for at night to keep them safe? Just a thought

They like the neighbors dock right now, if I can get them to start hanging under mine that could be a solution. My dock actually has more space below so maybe I can enclose it.

 

[Weeg]

Yeah they look pretty good to me. When they are on the other side of the fence they don’t mind if I get pretty close and they seem healthy, nice feathers. The little Black Swedish seems to be the boss and she keeps them in line.

I’m just not finding any rescues around that take non native species. maybe someone on here knows one around Orlando.
Dogs are my main concern, it’s pretty urban here and we don’t have other large predators. Overall we don’t see much attacking of adult ducks, of course they can fly but still. Ducklings tend to get picked off by the hawks and owls.
Breeding is another concern I have too.

Maybe post on your state thread, you can find it in the, "Where am I, Where are you?" section of the forum. Ask if anyone would be willing to take them. Maybe someone will have suggestions for a rescue as well.

 

[Duckiiess]

This isn't a good idea for the following reasons-

1. They are in danger! Dogs could easily get to them if they are hanging on shore. They're also at high risk for attack by areal predators since they aren't wild, and don't know how to protect them selves from predation. Those heavy breeds can't fly.

2. Wild ducks are at risk. If theres a drake in that mix, he will likely breed with the wild population producing vulnerable offspring who will llikly not survive. Or if they do, then your adding a heavy, egg laying, domestic line into the breeding that will be really bad for the population.

@Coggsinc , the very best thing you can do for these ducks, and the wild population is trap them, and find a rescue or farm that can take them. They wont last long on the lake, and are endangering wild ducks. I'm so glad you've taken an interest in there care, but this really is the best option.

In danger? Maybe.. but there are pekins and other domesticated ducks on lakes all across this country living just fine. No they can't fly, but they have more natural sense of predation than you think. Not many predators can get them in the water.

They might try to breed with the wild ducks, but the wild ones are much faster, and can fly as you said. Those wild ducks can also reject the duckling if one is hatched. Pekins are a derivative of the mallard, so the worst that would happen would be a couple hybrid ducks swimming around for a while. Wild will eventually win that battle, I promise.

If pekins were an invasive species, then yes I'd say to remove them to protect the wild population, but they can coexist just fine.

 

[GranderTheGander]

Bread does not harm ducks and geese unless it's all they are getting to eat, at which time domestics become extremely malnourished. I know this to be a fact from taking care of waterfowl in a park for over 20 years. As I see it, your biggest concern is it's not "legal" for the ducks to be there, and domestics should be fed. (Whole corn, cracked corn, bird seed, oats, inexpensive Purina cat food, Mazuri Waterfowl Maintenance (Chewy.com), etc.). Although if they don't seem that interested in you feeding them, is it possible one of your neighbors put them in the lake, and they are someone else's pet ducks?

I would not build them anything, because then it would be suspected you are actually the one who put the ducks there. Plus, they need nothing in Florida as long as your lake is big enough to be basically predator proof. Domestics aren't stupid, even though they aren't wild, and know to run from dogs, or whoever is chasing them, and jump in the water. At their size, I doubt hawks would be a threat. Raccoons would get them if they could, but usually only end up getting their eggs and any ducklings. Yes, predators could get them, but obviously predators get a lot of ducks owned by members of this forum.

To successfully have ducklings, they would need a totally safe place to sit on eggs, which usually they don't have in lake/pond situations. That's for the best. It keeps their numbers down. Any ducklings would probably get eaten, too. (Muscovy ducks are the only domestics I have seen that successfully multiply in the wild.) Even if they mated with wild ducks, big deal. That happens all the time where there are both wild and domestic ducks co-existing. The wood ducks will take no interest in them and vice-versa. All you'd possibly end up with are some mallards with a lot more white feathers than they normally would have. As ducklings, they would have a lot more yellow coloring, which would make them most likely to get eaten, too.