To catch a duck

[ElleMc]

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.

 

[Miss Lydia]

A large fishing net may work but you'll have to be fast, on water might work to your advantage if you can get close enough to scoop.

 

[ElleMc]

A large fishing net may work but you'll have to be fast, on water might work to your advantage if you can get close enough to scoop.

Thank you Miss Lydia! We got her and she's resting quietly in quarantine

 

[Miss Lydia]

How’s her leg?

 

[ElleMc]

How’s her leg?

It seems to be a back injury. There wasn't any damage on the x-ray but there is some trauma on her back - maybe a deep tissue bruise or torn muscle. When we put her in the tub this morning, she started with her leg straight back, but by the end of the 20 minutes she had it down and was moving it slightly so we're pretty sure she's going to be okay. We took her outside today for about 15 minutes so she could see her mama. I think that was good for both of them. A couple of weeks with limited movement should do the trick.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Good to hear

 

[ElleMc]

Good to hear

I thought I'd throw in an update. We're at about a week and she's putting weight on the leg. She's still favoring it quite a bit, but she's up to three 45 minute hydrotherapy sessions a day. I think another week or two and she'll be ready to join everyone else again. She is a bit cranky about being kept in a pen that's just big enough for her to turn around in, but it's keeping her still, which is what she needs right now ❤️

 

[Miss Lydia]

So great to hear she is improving so much. Congrats on getting her where she is now.