Please give me some ideas on how to catch'em

[destinduck]

Thats called " Captivity Heavan" Wifezilla.

Heck no I would'nt want to be " wild " with that nice set up.

 

[treldib]

Quote:
These are non-native ducks....they don't belong here....they either get wiped out by the Florida Authorities or live in captivity....pretty simple choice...

Yes, I get that they are non-native, but still wild born...given a choice (and human emotion), most wild animals would likely rather die than live in captivity...

IMO, it's not any different than taking a fawn out of the wild, where it is meant to live or die, and raising it in captivity...

That fawn isn't destroying the Everglades.

Seriously...9/10 animals you come across in FL are Invasive Species

....the natives are being choked out by the more succssful species that are exploding in population

 

[Bleenie]

I am not sure that these Muscovies are "wild born" ducks, the OP said in a previous thread about these same birds...

"Many of the ducks have what appears to be a portion of the wing that either pokes-up in the air or droops down. Looking at the photos here, I don't see any of y'alls ducks with this condition. It is an unsightly thing."

That sounds like possible Angel Wing or some other Protien deficiency-caused problem, and I have NEVER had a free ranging Muscovy develop an issue like that, and really can't recall hearing about any truly wild ones that have the problem. I think it would be best, for the ducks, if he were able to catch some of them and give them a home at his place instead of the county just shooting all of them.

I hope he is able to get some help and figure out a plan to capture & save some of them.

 

[roocrazy]

Quote:
wow wow wow... that is a ridiculus bash against hunters! if WE didnt HUNT you should know that the world would be chaotic!! with all of these animals in this world, the pop. would go up and up spreading disease and harming nature in the first place. Hunting IS GOOD!

How is that a bash against hunters? I'm talking about the experience of getting netted in that crazy thing for the ducks - it doesn't look very enjoyable - versus the experience of getting shot. Regardless of the benefits or intent of either option, I'm pretty sure the ducks will dislike both!

oh im sorry!! :? i should read things more thoroughly!!!

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote:
Oh well, that makes a huge difference then!! Given ALL the information, I agree that they should be trapped out of there! THANK YOU!!!!!

 

[bigoledude]

I want to catch some to raise here at the house. They will be raised free-ranged. I will pen them up and feed them very well for a couple of weeks. I may even clip one wing. But then, I will cut them loose in the canal behind my house.

Along this canal there is an abundance of wild edible plants/weeds! In the canal, there is literally tons upon tons of the most nutritious aquatic plants for them to eat. The only reason I am even contemplating feeding them, is so that they keep coming back to my house. I just purchased a book on "Edible Wild Plants". This area is smack loaded with enough wild edibles for humans to get and stay roly-poly fat. Much less survive!!!

I am not completely sold on the idea of clipping their wings yet. Escaping predators might be a little more difficult if they cannot fly. Although, Muscovy ducks do not appear to be the most agile or the most wary bird around. Shows you how bad I must be, if I'm having trouble catching a slow/stupid bird! Seriously, I have not yet attempted to catch any yet. Just looking for some ideas before I start.

So Cloverleaf, the ducks will be penned-up just long enough for them to get used to having delectable groceries served up and, to know where the buffet is located. Then, they will be released into the wild. This "wild", being the most food-rich environment I personally have ever seen in my life.

Whenever we want a duck for dinner or, we want to make a gift of a butchered and cleaned duck, we will harvest one or a few. And, I'm not gonna feel guilty one bit about it! But, in the meantime, I'm gonna enjoy my flock of ducks immensely, every day.

 

[Bleenie]

Muscovies are certainly not stupid or slow. They are very smart & quick birds, I have a 13-ish lb drake that will rush right past me like a rocket and goes even faster if he gets an urge to breed one of his girls. They know where they can escape and they see EVEYTHING when they're trying to be caught, if there's an opening they're getting out of it. they are very easy to train and their memories are astonishing. I have watched my own birds run around the yard when their feed dish was empty and check every spot that i ever put a dish down for them and them go wait by the feed barrels or come knock at the door.

when you do attempt to catch them don't underestimate them. mine arent wild and they can be hard to catch when they don't wanna be caught.

 

[desertdarlene]

I agree with Bleenie, they can be fast when they want to be and very smart. And, they do have good memories. I have one drake that still follows me around, wagging his tail, even when I haven't fed him in weeks. He's mostly blind and seems really slow. But, if I reach down to touch him, he will move very fast.

 

[Miss Lydia]

When we had 2 muscovies dumped into our river I used a portable xpen for dogs to catch them. it's like a fence but folds so you can take it places with you. I opened it up and instead of closing all the sides together I left the one side open so they had to walk into it to get their food then every couple of days I just kept closing it up more and more till the day I caught them it had an opening just large enough for them to walk through mind you I had sat down there with them so I could be close enough to get the fence closed to catch them.. It took about a week. Corn got em they love corn. Good luck I hope you catch them. Thats so sad that their being killed because someone didn't want them any more and dumped them out and their population has exploded. As Bleenie has said these aren't wild Muscovies.