Relocating Ducks

[Patty724]

I have 3, 10 week old ducks that are having a difficult time surviving in the hot Georgia weather. I've had as many as 3 different swimming pools available to them at a given time, and they won't get in them. They will however, try to swim in their water bowl! How do I help them move up to something larger than their water bowl? They get very nervous and run from us and the pools.

Would they do better in a pond? How old would they need to be to take care of themselves?

Thanks for all your help!

 

[sylviethecochin]

Some ducks are scared of water. We once trained our latest batch to go into water by feeding them fish food, and then putting fish food (the floating pellets you get at the feed store) on our pond. We hadn't fed them for an entire day beforehand, so they went willingly enough. Don't scare them, or they'll get stubborn.

 

[chickens really]

What breed are your Ducks?...

 

[Miss Lydia]

When you mean a pond do you mean a pond somewhere other than your property? Dumping ducks or any animal is against the law. Most likely a death sentence for the ducks too being they are domesticated and haven't learned survival skills like their wild cousins. Please don't dump them off somewhere. Do the pools you have out for them have a ramp or steps so they can easily get in and out? usually it only takes one to get curious enough to try something then the rest will follow.

 

[RCAKB]

Some ducks are scared of water. We once trained our latest batch to go into water by feeding them fish food, and then putting fish food (the floating pellets you get at the feed store) on our pond. We hadn't fed them for an entire day beforehand, so they went willingly enough. Don't scare them, or they'll get stubborn.

I have a similar issue, my ducks used to love our half acre pond now they stay on the bank of it and rarely go beyond it. It has a lot of cattail around the pond, should I cut it down?

 

[Miss Lydia]

That gives them places to hide from flying preds you might thin it if it's real thick but most important is baiting for snapping turtles they will keep any water fowl off a pond. Or be killed and eaten by them