Duck advice

[falconboy]

Hey all,

My parents just called and asked me to go down to their place as they wanted to show me something. Well, how cute, there was a mother and 9 baby ducks in their swimming pool.

They are only young, can get out of the pool but with some difficulty, and fall over when they walk so I'm assuming they may have just hatched in the garden somewhere and not flown there.

Now, catching mum and bubs will be tricky, so we are wondering if we just let them be or do a rescue mission and relocate them? The pool is a salt water pool. They do regularly find ducks having a swim and drink during the winter months so they obviously don't mind it.

The yard is well fenced and dog proof.

What do you suggest, and what else do they need until they decide to move on (and learn to fly)? Do we need to provide fresh water as well or is the salt pool water all they need, and do they need more shelter. Theres a fairly open bush house which isn't great, but they could always open the small gate they have blocking under the house and let them shelter under there, probably fairly warm and very dry.

Not sure what sort of ducks they are, there are a lot of these down the local river, but best I can describe is mum has a white 'line' area across her eyes.

No pics yet, but will post one eventually.

Thanks!

 

[karasha]

id let them be. supply some fresh drinking water, apart from that munm will do all the work. although id be a bit worried about the local cats getting the babies so lets hope dad is around somewhere to help defend them. it would be awesome to be able to watch them grow up to independence.

 

[hallie]

Dont know alot about ducks but id leave them there if they dont mind it..?

What will they eat though? Is there garden for them to forriage in?

You might want to leave something on the edge of the pool so the little ones can get out easily..

Can they be killed by local cats if they are trapped in the back yard...?

 

[grannieannie]

I imagine all animals like fresh water, so I'd provide a couple of bowls of fresh water. I think they like to eat worms and grubs....don't know where you'd get them from, but I guess if they got there themselves they must have found enough food to eat themselves. I guess if they didn't like it there...Mr. & Mrs Duck wouldn't have gone there in the first place. You could ring a zoo or wild life sanctuary and they'd be able to advise you. I think it would be great to have a little family like that in my yard. Good luck with them.

 

[falconboy]

Thanks guys.

There is plenty of garden, so I reckon there would be enough food, but then again, for 9 ducks, maybe not. I guess it can be fixed by my parents chucking out kitchen scraps or a small amount of pellets or something as a top up for their food. Just enough to get them by, and hopefully not enough to make them dependant.

I thought of the same thing for getting out, I might get dad to find something he can put at the edge of the shallow 'swim in' for them to get up on more easily.

As for cats, I guess thats a possible issue, I'm sure there are some around, but they don't see cats very often so it may be OK.

Does someone know how long before duckings can usually fly?

 

[Jay84]

id supply food and fresh water. go to a local stockfeeds place and get some chicken pellets or grains. being in a swimming pool there wont be any natural food apart from a little foraging in the garden.

 

[sacred_DUC]

i'd be looking at getting them relocated, ducks wil breed quickly after first clutch is old enough, if the right elements present aka food water.

 

[JasonL]

Grow them up and bring them to me, my Balinese roast Duck is to die for......

 

[falconboy]

Grow them up and bring them to me, my Balinese roast Duck is to die for......

We were thinking more along the lines of Peking Duck. You've met my wife Jason, I'll just her mother to cook it!

 

[grizz]

That's a lot of duck crap, I'd eat the mother and feed the ducklings to my pythons!

 

[FAY]

They are probably wood ducks.
I would let them be ...the ducklings will grow up and fly off...just give them a big fresh water bowl and they seem safe in there.

 

[falconboy]

From having a closer look I think they are the more common Pacific Black Ducks.

This worries me a bit as I read they mainly eat molluscs, aquatic insects and water grasses, few of which are in our backyard. Having said that, I'm also under the impression they generally breed where and when there is in fact food available so I'm not sure.

Theres no immediate worry, we'll at least give them a few days and consider taking them down to the river.

 

[BlindSnake]

With 9 ducks crapping in and around the edge of the pool. I think the novlety of having baby ducks in the yard will quickly wear off.

Would be pretty cute to see tho'

 

[falconboy]

You might be right, but its given my parents a thrill at least.

Will be fun trying to catch them, although I think the pool scoop may be quite and easy way to do it. Not sure whether we should scoop the mother up, then try and chase all the babies, or try and get the babies when they are all bunched together, or if that will stress the mum out too much. Oh, its going to happen from land, no way you are getting me in that pool, its FREEZING.

 

[spongebob]

You might be right, but its given my parents a thrill at least.

Will be fun trying to catch them, although I think the pool scoop may be quite and easy way to do it. Not sure whether we should scoop the mother up, then try and chase all the babies, or try and get the babies when they are all bunched together, or if that will stress the mum out too much. Oh, its going to happen from land, no way you are getting me in that pool, its FREEZING.

The babies will be imprinted on their mother as the first thing they saw-classic Konrad Lorenz experiment (Wiki it). So catch her and they will not go far.........

 

[Jacquie]

It takes about 8 weeks for ducklings to be big enough to fly. That adds up to a lot of duck poo, providing they survive the local cats and the currawongs that are in town at this time of year. If you decide on relocation, make sure you catch the ducklings first, don't try and catch the parents. If the river is not too far away, you could put the ducklings into a cat carry crate, something that mum can see through and walk them down to the river, mum will follow, otherwise if you have a garage put the cage in there and mum will eventually go in to them, then you can catch her and transport the whole family down to the river. Put a plank in the pool so the ducklings can get out easier. You could also call WIRES (13000 WIRES) and get advice from them.

 

[falconboy]

Thanks Bob. I think they will eventually be taken down the river, and its a really nice spot so it will be nice to release them there.

 

[falconboy]

Well, on advice from Wires they suggested that the fact the mother laid and is hanging around that she is happy where she is, and that even with cats around she's probably still safer in our back yard than she would be in the wild down at the river. So for the moment, thats where they can stay.

Therefore they have a plank to make it easier to get out of the pool, some fresh water and some food. They have been quite happily wandering around the yard, lying in the sun, and foraging for food.

Pics still to come.

 

[falconboy]

Unfortunately there are now only 6 babies. 3 went missing yesterday without a trace. Quite possibly large birds. They are still safer here than at the river as there are plenty of large birds including eagles down there.

Oh, and no, they would not make good snake food. Way too cute.

Here are some of the cuties:

 

[JasonL]

Thats a real shame...... they would of lived longer under my care, you had better bring the rest over asap