Why won't my ducks go in teh pond?

[Ardizzone7]

I had 2 ducks last year that died by the end of the year for different reasons. For some reason, they never wanted to go in the pond. This year we got 6 more. We made sure we put them in water almost every day for swimming lessons, spent a lot of time with them also so they would think we were mommy. Now we are trying to get them to use the pond, and they will swim for a while but only if we carry them out and put them in. Why do our ducks not want to go swim in the pond? It is so irritating to have them swimming in the water bowls when a pond is about 20 feet away. Any advise would be great.

 

[sourland]

Are you sure that there is not a snapping turtle in the pond? This would be one of the primary reasons for refusing to enter a pond - that or alligators.

 

[Ardizzone7]

I live in Indiana so no alligators. I am not sure about the snapping turtle. I have never seen one. How can I tell if I have one?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I live in Indiana so no alligators. I am not sure about the snapping turtle. I have never seen one. How can I tell if I have one?

Well if you keep insisting that your ducks go into the pond when they don't want to you may find out you have snapping turtles the hard way, someone just posted this past week about a snapping turtle eating the whole chest out of their duck.Don't remembering them posting back if it lived or not but there is probably ways of finding out before you send your ducks into the pond to be eaten or maimed from one. I use Kiddie pools for my ducks even though we have a beautiful Mountain river below out home which i know has snappers in it. Sorry to be so blunt but maybe your ducks are trying to tell you something. Here ya go the link.. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/674575/duck-lost-entire-chest-by-turtle-attack-help#post_9127794

 

[Amiga]

Ardizzone7,

My ducks see trouble before I do sometimes. Often I can follow their gaze. But there are times they are antsy, won't go where I want them to, and later I discover there was trouble lurking nearby, from evidence after the fact (bent grass, scat, etc.).

They have taught me to trust their instincts. They have the most to lose . . . their lives, potentially.

Do I get frustrated and put out sometimes when I just want them to go from Point A to Point B? Sure! But I stop myself and decide I would rather be overly cautious.

So, we cannot say exactly why the pond is scary to them, but they see or smell something you may not.

 

[bwindell]

We have the same problem with our 4 ducks and 2 geese. The response below has now made me wonder about possible snapping turtles. While I haven't seen any, I agree with trusting the animal's instincts.

 

[Ardizzone7]

Ardizzone7,

My ducks see trouble before I do sometimes. Often I can follow their gaze. But there are times they are antsy, won't go where I want them to, and later I discover there was trouble lurking nearby, from evidence after the fact (bent grass, scat, etc.).

They have taught me to trust their instincts. They have the most to lose . . . their lives, potentially.

Do I get frustrated and put out sometimes when I just want them to go from Point A to Point B? Sure! But I stop myself and decide I would rather be overly cautious.

So, we cannot say exactly why the pond is scary to them, but they see or smell something you may not.

I never thought of that but you are right. Thank you. Nature sure does know better than I.

 

[TTeddy]

Is there support on the edge of the pond, so they can get in and out of safely?

 

[mrsdino68]

I have the same problem. Our pond is small and we built it in their enclosure so there are no unwanted critters in the pond. They will go in the water bucket next to the pond instead. We have three Pekin ducks and I thought they might be afraid because they are still young? I guess I will throw some fish in there instead