Where can I buy single ducks? What can I build to protect?

[4thedawgies]

I am SOO disappointed. I have 2 cayugas and 1 blue Swedish 6 weeks old. I have just started free ranging them on our 15 acres with a 3 acre big pond. I thought they would LOVE the pond and they were slowly adjusting to the change. However yesterday my blue Swedish went missing. I see no evidence of any struggle. No feathers, other ducks are in tip top condition.. I'm baffled. We do have wild animals but I assumed the dogs in outside kennels near where the ducks play would bark off any intruders. I guess not, or I guess an owl could have swooped down. I think my blue Swedish may have been too heavy to swoop up and fly off with tho?

She was the friendliest and the ring leader for the other two. The cayugas look lost without her

I wanted to have a bigger flock rather than a smaller and was hoping there was a male Cayuga to breed to my blue and other Cayuga for some interesting offspring to grow my flock.

I want to add another blue Swedish to the flock, maybe a black would be better. So it can blend in better. I kind of wonder if the blue girl with her brighter colors stood out more in the environment and fell prey to the wild animals and the cayugas blended in.

I love a colorful flock and want to add more color to my black group now. I want them to have a good quality of life and they do have a safe place to run to in case of an attack. Although in retrospect it is a far run from the place they like to drink. Does anyone have any suggestions for something I cheap and easy to blend in to the environment that I can build for the ducks to run to?

I prefer to be able to hide it and blend it in with the plants around the pond like the cat tails and the like.

Also the most important question for this thread. Does anyone know where I can buy ducks one at a time? I don't want to order 5 ducks because I'm not ready for that big of a flock. I just want to buy one or two.
I am in Kansas just 40 minutes outside of Kansas City.
Any place that ships only a few or any place local that sells them individually?

Thanks guys!

 

[zooweemama]

You can check Craigs List to see if anyone is trying to re-home their ducks. There are even BYCers trying to do that- so check CL. Also Metzers sells ducks in small amounts- you are required to pay a minimum bird charge. Meaning if you order fewer than 10 ducks you still have to pay a minimum amount of $36. I would not order a single duck. That duckling will be so lonely. You won't be able to stick it with the other 2 ducks right away. I would order at least 2 so the other won't be alone for the few weeks it will be in the brooder and growing big enough to join the rest of the flock.

As for the missing duck- could be other birds, snapping turtles and other predators that can swim. Also most people generally wait until their ducks are about 8 weeks old to put them on the pond. They are about full size then plus have all their feathering in.

You'd likely want put something near the side of the pond- like a small shelter. At the very least.

 

[zooweemama]

Do you pen them up at night? Leaving them on the pond all night is not good. Ducks are a prey animal and they are completely defenseless.Maybe you do put them up at night- there was just no mention of that. Hope someone else can offer you some more advice!

 

[4thedawgies]

Oh yes as the sun is setting everyday they are in their kennel and I close it up. They stay in a 10x10 chain link dog kennel at night to keep them safe and inside it they stay in a plastic dog kennel to protect them from heavy rain (not that they care) and to hide in. It's located right next to the indoor /outdoor dog kennels I have so the dogs are out there to bark at strange noises. They are german shepherds so they are very good at barking at strange noises.

I was going to do 2 ducks. But 5 on top of the 2 I already have is too much. I don't have the room to fit that many birds comfortably right now. We have the room on the property but I don't have a pen big enough.

I will keep my two cayugas penned up a couple more weeks and only let them out while I am out with them.

We kill snapping turtles we see on our pond. They are a huge risk to our dogs who use it for exercise and we have family with young children that play near our pond. We watch our pond closely for wildlife that poses a threat to us and our family, furred, four legged, and skin.

Other than snapping turtles there are no other water animals that I know of that would eat our ducks. But we do have owls, hawks, coyotes, foxes, and bob cats.

Does anyone have some shelters they use that they find are superior to others in protection from all or most predators that the ducks can still get into without help?

I figured making a small skinny but deep run to shelter that the ducks can fit in but only the ducks would help prevent larger animals from getting them?

Hopefully someone has some ideas

 

[zooweemama]

If you have snapping turtles- it's likely that is what it is. Lots of stories of snapping turtle destruction on BYC. Ducks missing, chests and necks ripped open, feet bitten off...if you have snapping turtles - it's not a safe place to let your ducks swim. Every day on the pond is a day a turtle can get them. You can type snapping turtles in the search engine here and read all the horrific stories that pop up.

I do hope someone can help with the structure thing- I have an itty bitty pond (lol not even a tenth of an acre I bet lol)- fish and frogs are all we have. There are a couple 'reed islands' my ducks can head to as well as little bushes that hang over into the pond from land that they can go nap under also offering protection from flying predators.

 

[GrandmaBlue]

We have had problems with racoons and recently bobcats. We lost our lead duck Manny to the bobcat when he sacrificed himself so the others could escape. The bobcat as moved on, or so we assume since our chickens and ducks have quit disappearing.
With the racoons we tried to relocate them, it didn't work. We had to use a more permanent solution if you get my drift.
We have had to kill opossum. I have been told the only way to get rid of a bobcat is to kill it although I'm not sure if it is leagal here.
I agree with others, raising any kind of poultry isan ongoing learning experience. Having others to talk to on the site is invaluable.

 

[zooweemama]

And I am really sorry for your loss. I love my ducks and I would be just devastated. <3 I hope a solution is found so that you experience no more loss.