Safe to walk my ducks and let them roam around the park?

[Northwest_Wannabe]

You don't have to take your ducks to the park for them to continue to forage <3 I've seen ducks forage when born or raised on a farm or when raised on a rural homestead or in the city! It's instinct

 

[PippinTheChicken]

here is my girl in her harness the other day, start with short walks to get them used to it then after they are 100% comfortable with walks you can take them farther places

Will it help if you took them somewhere their first time wearing the harness... To distract them. Or do you need a saddle or need to get them used to it first

 

[fatty and friends]

Will it help if you took them somewhere their first time wearing the harness... To distract them. Or do you need a saddle or need to get them used to it first

just letting them walk around the yard while wearing the harness is best until they get used to it, mine have dressed up since they were 3ish days old so i didn’t have to do much training

 

[PippinTheChicken]

just letting them walk around the yard while wearing the harness is best until they get used to it, mine have dressed up since they were 3ish days old so i didn’t have to do much training

I didn't even know dressing up helped lol... 2 days old

 

[KaleIAm]

I'm new to raising ducks. My mother has raised them all her life, but she let them free roam along with letting them come and go as they please.

I have 5 jumbo pekins, I go to the park a lot in the summer and I was wondering if it would be safe if they came to the park with me. I was also worried that they might just run away if I let them go to a park and play.

They sometimes come to me when I call them- depends on how they feel. But they don't always come when called which makes me anxious to take them out. They are fully domesticated and won't last if they do stray and leave me.

They cannot fly, but if they were to go for a swim I would have no way of reaching them in the middle of the water.

I am hoping to get a response to help me make a decision on whether or not to bring them along.

We are gone for the whole day when we go to the park and we frequent the park every other day in the summer. I hate to keep my ducks in their fenced area all day. They love being next to people and prefer falling asleep with me, which is why I would like to bring them with me.

(My ducks are a month old right now)

I'm with @Northwest_Wannabe in everything. I would absolutely not take your ducks with you. I'm sure it would be fun but it is not safe, in my opinion.

You can't control if someone decides to bring a dog off leash in the area where your ducks are. How will you feel if your duck is killed?

Wild waterfowl do spread diseases. I know this from experience. My ducks have gotten internal, and external parasites as well as infectious bronchitis from wild mallards. My ducks suffer, it hurts me to see them suffer, and I spend crazy amounts on their veterinary bills to help them. My avian veterinarian has advised me not to take my ducks to our own pond where wild ducks visit.

What I would do is build a large aviary for your ducks at home. My own ducks have a 30x30ft aviary for 3 ducks. I would also take them on daily supervised walks in your yard. This will give them a safe enriched environment. You can teach them a recall by always giving them a treat when they come.

The choice is yours. What are you willing to accept?

 

[fatty and friends]

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I didn't even know dressing up helped lol... 2 days old

yeah being used to stuff on them definitely helps with the harness training. as long as you keep your duck leashed to grab them then i don’t think dogs are an issue (most places have leash laws anyways)

 

[LT71689]

adding a "no" vote to the list for the reasons stated, plus you have FIVE of them? One or two ducks on a leash is one thing....five ducks is something else, especially in an emergency like if someones dog gets loose and tries to attack. It doesnt sound safe or feasible to me.

 

[SolarDuck]

Guess I'll respond to this too, I will bring 1 duck a time to places such as the park on a rare occasion, but without letting them get too close to other ducks, and without letting them anywhere near the pond. Always right next to them to assure I can scoop them up in case of emergencies. I would say since OP doesn't already have harness trained ducks it would be very difficult to control them and I think there is little chance or them getting harness trained if they're already adults. I've tried a little bit of harness training with my very tame ducks but since i didn't start when they were very small they absolutely hate it.

 

[MissE]

I would say absolutely not. Aside from the bio hazard risk, you cannot control what other people and animals are doing. Your duck harness won't stop a stray dog. Create a safe place on your property and keep your ducks home.

 

[MintyHay44]

adding a "no" vote to the list for the reasons stated, plus you have FIVE of them? One or two ducks on a leash is one thing....five ducks is something else, especially in an emergency like if someones dog gets loose and tries to attack. It doesnt sound safe or feasible to me.

Thank you for your concern

Ah, but it wouldn’t just be me watching my ducks. I call them my ducks but each duckling is owned by one of my other family members. I just watch and take care of all their needs. There will always be 13 of us watching the ducks.

The park area we go to rarely has dogs, because dogs must be on a leash inside the pen area. They are not allowed outside of that play area for them and I so the walkways. My family and I walk 20mins once we get to the park just to get to our sanctuary where we like to cook and hang out. Most people don’t know that area of the park since it’s not on the main “park” we go more towards the abandoned part. I would never put my ducks in harms way. They love when we catch live fish and feed it to them. They love being part of our family where ever we are.

I do spoil them, and hate for them not to be part of the fun so that’s something I will need to fix.