Sudden Duck owner needing encouragement

[Amp]

This might be long, so Thank you if you read it. We live in a pasture on my parents property. My parents and a neighbor share a pond in the pasture. The neighbors sold their house several months ago and asked us to take the remaining five chickens they had and one male duck that was living on the pond. They originally had several ducks but they’ve been picked off over the summer. It took about. Week to catch all the chickens and we tried for 2 weeks to catch the duck. I finally gave up on Thursday and just decided to get him a few friends to put in the pond so he wouldn’t be lonely. A neighbor offered to give me a few ducks so I took them a crate to catch and put them in. The next day I went down to the pond to feed the duck(I’ve been feeding him daily) and surprising I got him corned and caught him. I brought him home and put him in a 6x6 pen in our barn and called the neighbors. They told me they had already caught a group and so I went to pick them up. In the crate was a mom and 10 young ducklings . So now I have 12 ducks and trying to learn as much as I can. We Put the mom and ducklings in a pen next to the male so they could get use to each other without being together. We have several areas to keep them but we were told that mom flies so we have to get a net for their run. My biggest issue right now is guilt for taking the male duck away from the pond. Will he be okay living in a duck coop after having such freedom? I’m hoping to let them go to the pond eventually but want them use to being at our home.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

He should be much happier to have company than missing the pond. You did a very nice thing for him. Are the new ducks mallards?

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

This might be long, so Thank you if you read it. We live in a pasture on my parents property. My parents and a neighbor share a pond in the pasture. The neighbors sold their house several months ago and asked us to take the remaining five chickens they had and one male duck that was living on the pond. They originally had several ducks but they’ve been picked off over the summer. It took about. Week to catch all the chickens and we tried for 2 weeks to catch the duck. I finally gave up on Thursday and just decided to get him a few friends to put in the pond so he wouldn’t be lonely. A neighbor offered to give me a few ducks so I took them a crate to catch and put them in. The next day I went down to the pond to feed the duck(I’ve been feeding him daily) and surprising I got him corned and caught him. I brought him home and put him in a 6x6 pen in our barn and called the neighbors. They told me they had already caught a group and so I went to pick them up. In the crate was a mom and 10 young ducklings . So now I have 12 ducks and trying to learn as much as I can. We Put the mom and ducklings in a pen next to the male so they could get use to each other without being together. We have several areas to keep them but we were told that mom flies so we have to get a net for their run. My biggest issue right now is guilt for taking the male duck away from the pond. Will he be okay living in a duck coop after having such freedom? I’m hoping to let them go to the pond eventually but want them use to being at our home.

I think you have the right idea. The male duck will be much happier having a family once they are all acclimated to each other.
By the way, You could clip the wings of the flyer to keep her grounded.

 

[ducksinvt]

Hello and welcome to BYC!!!Wow, thats really awesome you and your family have taken them in, you should check out the threads in the duck section, and read and search as many questions as you can, i am new here as well, and have learned so much from the awesome ppl here and reading and searching past post and threads
A cpl very important ones you should read are about niacin https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/niacin-deficiency-in-waterfowl.1367557/
Breweres yeast vs nutritional yeast
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/nutritional-yeast-vs-brewers-yeast.1393856/, and most of all, enjoy those duckies, they are a frickin blast!!!!! Just a cpl questions for you so he experts here can weigh in a little easier, what are you using for them to walk on, what kind of container do you have for them to drink, they must be able to flush and wash their nostils and bills, what kind of feed have you gotten for them, and im sure ppl will have a ton more questions for you, can u post pics and videos, videos can be uploaded to vimeo or YouTube and copy and pasted here.

 

[Amp]

We were told that he is a non flying mallard. The mom is a Muscovy duck. Our neighbors have several different kinds living together and told me they should be okay together. I’m really hoping he likes her and his instant family

 

[Callender Girl]

Freedom usually leads to a shorter life span in the wild. Having a family and a safe place to live will likely make up for any perceived slights. If and when the pond is a viable option, I would still be nervous about predators (On the other hand, I am ALWAYS concerned about predators, just paranoid, I guess).

Kudos to you for taking care of him and his new flock.

 

[Amp]

 

[ducksinvt]

View attachment 2323449
[/QUOTEthose are some cute lil ducks!!!! Congrats!!!

 

[M-H-Fielding]

View attachment 2323449

I love the pic! Those are so adorable!

 

[Amp]

That’s mom and babies right after we got them. The male is next to them in a bigger pen with a shallow dish for food and water. I also have a kiddie pool in his pen. I am feeding our chicken layer with scratch mixed in right now.