ElleMc
Songster
The family: 21 ducks (mallards and khakis) - 16 hens, 4 drakes. (1 baby from a weirdly well hidden egg - she's about 8 weeks old)
The setup: 5 fenced acres with a 3 acre pond. A smaller fenced yard, 3 predator proof pens.
The predators: mostly stray dogs, cats, hawks. Possibly foxes, raccoons and bobcats at night 🦅🦊🦝🦁
The problem: Yesterday, when I let everyone out, everything was ducky 😁. At lunch I went to put out some food and noticed the baby is gimpy 😢. Not in a bumblefoot way, but in a broken leg or dislocated hip way. I tried to catch her when I first saw her but she made it to the pond. In the evening, when I put everyone to bed, her and her mama stayed on the pond. I waited up, put out mealy worms and fruit, but they wouldn't come up. I took the boat out, but I don't have enough control to chase a baby duck. I tried swimming, but even with the gimpy leg, she's faster. I finally gave up at 2 am and went to bed, fearing the worst. This morning, they were still on the pond. I threw out some birdseed - no joy 😭 so I let everyone else out. I just went again and threw out some birdseed about 20 feet from the pond. Everyone came up, even the baby, but she and mama hovered close to the pond and when I started to try to get between her and the pond, in she went. I finally gave up and here I am. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can catch her? My hubby is a vet and we have a quarantine area all set up and ready to go.
The setup: 5 fenced acres with a 3 acre pond. A smaller fenced yard, 3 predator proof pens.
The predators: mostly stray dogs, cats, hawks. Possibly foxes, raccoons and bobcats at night 🦅🦊🦝🦁
The problem: Yesterday, when I let everyone out, everything was ducky 😁. At lunch I went to put out some food and noticed the baby is gimpy 😢. Not in a bumblefoot way, but in a broken leg or dislocated hip way. I tried to catch her when I first saw her but she made it to the pond. In the evening, when I put everyone to bed, her and her mama stayed on the pond. I waited up, put out mealy worms and fruit, but they wouldn't come up. I took the boat out, but I don't have enough control to chase a baby duck. I tried swimming, but even with the gimpy leg, she's faster. I finally gave up at 2 am and went to bed, fearing the worst. This morning, they were still on the pond. I threw out some birdseed - no joy 😭 so I let everyone else out. I just went again and threw out some birdseed about 20 feet from the pond. Everyone came up, even the baby, but she and mama hovered close to the pond and when I started to try to get between her and the pond, in she went. I finally gave up and here I am. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can catch her? My hubby is a vet and we have a quarantine area all set up and ready to go.