wild ducks and pet ducks

chickenz101

Songster
8 Years
Jul 19, 2011
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i own 5 indian runners and they have a run near to a natural pond that my ducks have a swim on daily. Recently i have seen and male and female wild mallard on the pond. They have been a few metres away from my ducks recently but not gone any closer. Will it be safe for them to interact, or will they pass disease? Any help will be very much apprieciated, thank you!
 
i own 5 indian runners and they have a run near to a natural pond that my ducks have a swim on daily. Recently i have seen and male and female wild mallard on the pond. They have been a few metres away from my ducks recently but not gone any closer. Will it be safe for them to interact, or will they pass disease? Any help will be very much apprieciated, thank you!

Anyone who has a pond is going to have wild ducks geese and other wild animals visit, There isn't much you can do, ducks by nature are pretty resiliant to diseases so i really don't think you have anything to worry about.
 
Years ago, on my folks ranch, a female mallard landed in the duck area. She never left, she would stand with a group of muscovy and hiss the time of day with them. We loved her, once in a while she would do the mallard WAAAWAAA- WAA.
 
thanks for the replies and that would be nice if they stayed! FREE DUCKS!
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the past three summers I have had issues with Black Bellied Tree ducks visiting morning and night, right after I filled the feeders...it was like they had a look out in the trees waiting and passing the information on to their flock...it started with a pair and by the end of the summer last year, one evening, I counted 36 of the free loaders chasing my ducks and geese from their feed and pools to hog it all up...it was a problem...I started standing guard out there in the evenings and getting up early so my flock could eat and bathe before the invaders showed up...I was a little worried about disease but realized first of all, I could not stop the invasion completely and secondly, ducks are pretty healthy and don't pass much illness between groups like chickens do...McMurrey sells these ducks, the Black Bellied Tree ducks, for 150 bucks a pair...I don't know who let these guys loose in this area but they are not native to N Fl...more like the Texas coast from what I have read...
 
the past three summers I have had issues with Black Bellied Tree ducks visiting morning and night, right after I filled the feeders...it was like they had a look out in the trees waiting and passing the information on to their flock...it started with a pair and by the end of the summer last year, one evening, I counted 36 of the free loaders chasing my ducks and geese from their feed and pools to hog it all up...it was a problem...I started standing guard out there in the evenings and getting up early so my flock could eat and bathe before the invaders showed up...I was a little worried about disease but realized first of all, I could not stop the invasion completely and secondly, ducks are pretty healthy and don't pass much illness between groups like chickens do...McMurrey sells these ducks, the Black Bellied Tree ducks, for 150 bucks a pair...I don't know who let these guys loose in this area but they are not native to N Fl...more like the Texas coast from what I have read...

Probably what happend was some of them were on vacation over in your area and when they saw the buffet you set out morn and night they emailed the rest of the family to come on over..
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i say catch them and sell the 150 a pair you'd b loaded 17 pairs rich i tells ya rich haha
 
i think if your ducks where to catch anything off wild ducks it would be something big which wouldnt be just with ducks it'd be avion flu which would be impossible to shelter your birds from unless they're indoors and you kept strict hygine procedures in and out of the building lol. i used to take my drake to the horses with me and they had about 20 wild ducks there and appart from them giving him evil stares which forced him to stand under my feet the whole time he never caught anything. besides anything else if its not a healthy duck you'll notice dull feathers etc if it looks healthy likelyhood is its not got disease. birds go downhill quickly. altho they maynot be comfort lol. it certainly prob wouldn't be flying over to your pond :)
 
My three call duck girls call down wild mallards all the time! Then they eye them suspiciously when they land lol! They are so beautiful but very nervous and they do pass feather mite onto my guys. You might want to keep and eye for any chewed raggedy feathers, or pick them up and inspect under wings for mite on a regular basis. Feather mite powder works really well though. We powder ours everytime we spot them and tend to nip it in the bud. We only have a problem with it in the late Spring and Summer when the mallards come round. Plus we are in the UK, things might be different in the USA concerning mite. :)
 
i also live in the UK! :) but i reckon these two are a pair searching for a nest. Because there is soemtimes a female with loads of ducklings in spring on the pond. But this is my first time duck keeping :)
 

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