Pet ducks released on my lake

[Coggsinc]

So I joined this forum a couple years ago wanting pet ducks but it just isn’t legal here in central Florida so I moved on and am now awaiting an opportunity for chickens, since that has finally passed yay.
In the meantime a couple months ago someone has released pet ducks on my lake. I don’t know that it was anyone on my lake because at first they would sort of move around versus returning to someone’s home. There are 3 Peking, 1 black Swedish and 1 what I guess is a mix of the two.
They overall seem healthy, they are a bit skiddish, not as skiddish as the wood ducks but not ask comfortable as some of the mallards that have been around for a while. We don’t have any know alligators on the lake and they seem happy hanging out under my neighbors dock and swimming in their lake frontage since it’s clear and rarely used by the people that live there.
They come through a hole in the fence into my yard sometimes and I was wondering if I should provide them specific foods to keep them healthy. I have left some fruit scraps and they didn’t seem interested, they have eaten oats from me before and will eat cracked corn too.
Should I provide a nest box?
Or can that be risky making them more a target for predators. I had considered trapping them and keeping them in a duck enclosure but I think now that they are on the lake that wouldn’t be good for them and also I don’t want to get in trouble for having pet ducks but also worry about their health and am hoping that if they are familiar enough with me if they get sick or injured I’d be able to get them care.

 

[fatty and friends]

trap them if possible, if you can’t keep them you can find a rescue or someone willing to take them

 

[Coggsinc]

trap them if possible, if you can’t keep them you can find a rescue or someone willing to take them

That is something I’m considering. A lot of the rescues I know mostly take and rehab injured native species but maybe I can find someone who raises ducks. They are a bit too skiddish of me to get close to them right now so it wouldn’t be easy to gather them all up. Our lake is private and they are fairly protected from the roads by the deep lot sizes around the lake. I mostly worry about dogs since they can’t fly or them getting sick or being malnourished.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I thought it was legal to have Pekins in fla, you may find a farm rescue in your area. Bless their hearts I hope they don’t get killed by predators.

 

[Coggsinc]

I thought it was legal to have Pekins in fla, you may find a farm rescue in your area. Bless their hearts I hope they don’t get killed by predators.

My understanding is you can have Pekins without a permit and other species like the Black Swedish with a permit but in Orange County limits where I am you aren't permitted to keep any waterfowl in Residential zoning. My area has raccoons but they don’t seem to affect the grown ducks and we don’t have known alligators, it’s a small lake, you never . We have lots of mallards and wood ducks on the lake and lots of other fun water birds so I think they should be safe from nature, more worried about dogs and people or just getting hurt or sick. my property runs along a county run property that has regular visits for checking the water so I don’t think I could keep them very incognito.

 

[Duckiiess]

Why trap them? Leave them alone, sounds like they're happy there?
Corn, peas, sunflower seeds are all good pretty cheap duck treats.
They love mealworms, but those get pricey.

 

[Coggsinc]

Why trap them? Leave them alone, sounds like they're happy there?
Corn, peas, sunflower seeds are all good pretty cheap duck treats.
They love mealworms, but those get pricey.

That’s sort of my plan for now. Ideally I’d build an enclosure for them to be secured in overnight and nest in but think that could get me in trouble. So I’m just keeping an eye on them to make sure they seem healthy and hoping they will become my friends lol. Just thinking of ways to make sure they are safe, and healthy, but don’t want to do more harm then good. They seem uninterested in my offering of corn and peas yesterday and the bird seed I offered in the past lol. I might get some meal worms and try that. Hopefully that means they are foraging enough.

 

[Duckiiess]

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

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

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.

 

[Weeg]

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

Why trap them? Leave them alone, sounds like they're happy there?
Corn, peas, sunflower seeds are all good pretty cheap duck treats.
They love mealworms, but those get pricey.

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.