Trouble with new ducks

[Tomatotux]

I’ve been hitting this forum researching for a while but now I have questions that I can’t find answers to. About 6 1/2 months ago we were given a white layer hybrid to watch “for a few days”. She’s now a member of the family but we got 4 9 week old cayugas to keep her company. Things have been great for a long time but in the last week or two the now 15-16 week cayugas have started hanging around a small group of feral ducks in the neighborhood (we have a small lake where most of our neighborhood properties butt up against). I normally try to let them free range during the day, but lately they have gotten harder to coral. Tonight they went on the lake and ran from me, treats and calls. If I can get them back, they will be spending the next few weeks in the pen, but how do you get them to adopt to you as a friend and stop being so skittish?

separate issue: the white layer seems like she had a major niacin deficiency coming up, she walks pigeon toed and her feet step on each other and it seems to be hard on her. Any suggestions?

 

[Tomatotux]

As a reference, here are some pics of the pen and house we have for them

 

[GranderTheGander]

Domestic ducks may be "domestics", but most ducks want to be free to do what they want and swim when they want. The mallards are showing them a more natural type of duck life. Even without the mallards as an example, your ducks probably would have chosen a free life on the lake once they reached a certain age. When domestic ducks are dumped in parks, they all eventually see humans strictly as food sources, not creatures they should hang around with. How predator proof is the lake? Do the mallards stay there at night or fly or swim away?

 

[Tomatotux]

Domestic ducks may be "domestics", but most ducks want to be free to do what they want and swim when they want. The mallards are showing them a more natural type of duck life. Even without the mallards as an example, your ducks probably would have chosen a free life on the lake once they reached a certain age. When domestic ducks are dumped in parks, they all eventually see humans strictly as food sources, not creatures they should hang around with. How predator proof is the lake? Do the mallards stay there at night or fly or swim away?

Two of them are Pekins, one is a allayed I think, and one is a hybrid of the two. They stay pretty consistently at my neighbors house (she feeds them) and sleep either under a tree in her yard or just off the shore in the lake. As far as predator proof, it’s a little 5 acre lake. Populations of fish, lots of turtles (snappers and cooters) as well as the normal fauna. We even have a pair of gray herons and a bald eagle. I can hear coyotes in the woods occasionally but they never break the wood line and where the ducks are is a fair distance from that. I’m a little nervous, but I think they will come home come day break for millworms, but they won’t be coming out of the pen for a few weeks…

 

[GranderTheGander]

Pen life may not appeal to them any longer, and they may not consider you a friend again. Your neighbor is giving them what they want--food and freedom. Personally, I would be grateful your neighbor likes them and cares for them, instead of hating them and complaining about them being in her yard.

Snappers can be a problem, but aren't always. The "duck pond" where I used to take care of dumped waterfowl was filled with snappers, from huge ones to tiny ones. Yet I can think of only two instances where webbed feet were obviously torn by snappers. They very well may have eaten ducklings, though, but I never saw that.

The herons are only threats to ducklings small enough to swallow. The eagle can eat all ducks, but I've never seen the ones we have on the river here grab one, or any other bird or furry animal. They seem to have fish all the time. Coyotes are a huge threat and just pray they don't get closer. Nothing against them, or any other predator animal, but they will go after ducks, geese, cats, small dogs, etc.

 

[Tomatotux]

Quick update: I came out to collect eggs this morning and to release the quacken and my cayugas were sleeping outside the duck house. Needless to say, they are in the pen and wont be coming out for a while. Down side is the door to the rabbit hutch popped open in the night and our bunny is gone . I'm working on scheduled feedings and calls to let them know when it's time to eat and hopefully get them used to me, but after trying to catch them last night, they aren't happy with me...

 

[GranderTheGander]

Quick update: I came out to collect eggs this morning and to release the quacken and my cayugas were sleeping outside the duck house. Needless to say, they are in the pen and wont be coming out for a while. Down side is the door to the rabbit hutch popped open in the night and our bunny is gone . I'm working on scheduled feedings and calls to let them know when it's time to eat and hopefully get them used to me, but after trying to catch them last night, they aren't happy with me...

No, they probably will see you as their jailer. Did you search for the bunny? You said the door popped opened, so it sounds like you don't think it was a predator who got him or her.

 

[Tomatotux]

Yeah, we searched for her, but can't find any sign of her. She's bright white and the cameras didnt catch her so she went off, but as much as I hate to say it, we have some big barn owls so it's possible she hit the ground and was picked up...

 

[FrappcinoObsession]

Domestic ducks may be "domestics", but most ducks want to be free to do what they want and swim when they want. The mallards are showing them a more natural type of duck life. Even without the mallards as an example, your ducks probably would have chosen a free life on the lake once they reached a certain age. When domestic ducks are dumped in parks, they all eventually see humans strictly as food sources, not creatures they should hang around with. How predator proof is the lake? Do the mallards stay there at night or fly or swim away?

Agreed!

 

[Tomatotux]

So, yet another update: I was putting compost in the bins and feeding some bell pepper scraps to the ducks (everyone was happy to see me except beast/the drake), and out she popped from under my trailer and stole a piece of pepper. I was able to catch her and return her to her hutch safe and sound, if not a little dirty. Looks like she was hiding under the duck house all along…

I’ll probably seal a few little gaps in our fence and start letting her loose in with the ducks for some free range time. All in all, a good end to the saga of my escapees…