Hi all,
advice please,Frankie and Fiona are well and happy,continuing to fly daily and foraging around the small home paddocks for food and topping up with mixed corn when needed.I have transfered them from the aviery to a sturdy duck house, placed at the end of an old but full swimming pool,very deep.Have managed to train them to sleep in the duck house now but they are very reluctant to go on the pool but will briefly to access the ramp in the water to go to bed.in the morning they come out of the house onto the ramp and then fly straight onto the garden.They did fall into the pool when empty when they first arrived here fifteen or so months ago and had to be lifted out.They love the shallow baths but I would love to see them safe and happy from predators on the pool,do ducks dislike deep water or are they just remembering falling in when empty?
Thanks and best wishes to all,
Minty
Farming Friends Forum » Ducks
call ducks and deep water
(13 posts)-
Posted 1 year ago #
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I expect they remember falling in when it was empty so they are worried about not being able to get out again even though it is now full. I also think they may feel MORE vulnerable on the centre of a large pool - a bit like garden birds in caged feeder, where they are safe inside the globe, but still panic and fly out of the feeder, straight into the claws of a bird of prey.
I know that Lorna keeps calls and she has a fairly large pool and hers use it so I expect you will just give them more time and they may venture in again - perhaps when the weather is warmer and they want to cool off but may well be content with their shallow pool.Sarah LPosted 1 year ago # -
hi Minty im confused slightly, is it a floating duck house or on the edge of the pool with the access only via the pool, I can't imagine any duck being scared of deep water infact the deeper the better as ducks love to dive and swim below water, is it perhaps there isnt a good exit point from the pool its self if its an old swimming pool and to be honest the last thing I want when waking is a cold bath would much prefer to go and get breakfast first lol
mo xPosted 1 year ago # -
Thank you for both reply's,
typed a long answer and then my laptop ran out of battery and I lost it,will try again.The house is at the end of the pool which is very full as well as deep.the ramp goes directly from the small duck house and gently sloping down into the water.the ramp is about two foot six wide and about three feet to the water.At bedtime, usually almost dark they make their way to the pool side,spend a little time eating and drinking on the edge, they then fly into the pool and swim straight to the ramp and up and into the house.Inside the house, which has a water container,dish of mixed corn and hay for bedding, they seem very contented.In the morning I open the drop down door and they come out onto the ramp for a moment then fly straight over and onto the garden not touching the water.I really expected them to either swim or dive in the pool,it looks like my idea of duck heaven,water clear with healthy weed growing in the bottom.Fiona started laying in a hidden nest on the ground in the paddock early Feb,I found it and picked up the four eggs and put them in her house where she only added more if took short before being let out,(usually between eight and eight thirty in the morning)She made another nest high up on a hedge and has laid about five more.Can you move a duck like a hen with her eggs once she goes broody? or is she likely to go make another nest where I may not find it.Hope this isn't too long.Thanks again,best wishes.
MintyPosted 1 year ago # -
Sorry, forgot to say that the duck house is not in the water but on hard ground at the water's edge.
Minty x
Posted 1 year ago # -
hi Minty can't really advise on the nest but regarding the house I would be tempted to move it, they clearly don't want to go straight in the water in the morning and as you explain it have no choice but to go into it in the evening and to be honest I wouldnt want my ducks going straight onto bedding soaking wet especially on cold nights, do they use the pool at other times of the day though
mo xPosted 1 year ago # -
Hi Mo,thanks for your reply,think you have a good point re the bedding because I do need to change it often, they do have room to dry off inside the front of the house,and that area does get wet, I have made a gradual slope with the hay towards the back with a cardboard box on its side with hay in and they sleep dry in that. I have also left the aviary open as it was so they could go back to it if they want to.I had this idea of them only being able to access the house via water so that if I was home late after dark any time they could go to bed and be safe from the foxes,that's presuming of course that the foxe's don't like swimming, lol
As to them going on the pool in the day,no they don't and that is exactly what I was hoping they would enjoy doing.
Minty xPosted 1 year ago # -
Hi Minty, We have a large pond, had it relined and our mother duck loved it with her babies when it wasn't deep. When it was eventually filled with rainwater, we were most put out that the ducks didn't want to use it. Then last year all the others went to the pond and used it for a while then suddenly stopped again. We think it may have been that they saw a grass snake swimming across it like we saw one time, or it could be that they had eaten everything in the pond including my water lilies! Happy to say that they have all recently started using it again, so I guess that whatever reason yours don't like it, given time they may well use it when they want to and it is probably stressing them atm in HAVING to use it in order to access their house. Best move the house away from the pond like Mo suggested and lock them away safely at dusk.
Ducks are best left to decide most stuff for themselves and in their own time.
SarahSarah LPosted 1 year ago # -
knowing your pond and how big it is Sarah ,just a thought didn't you put a floating ramp in to help and encourage the duckies to get in and and out .Yes minty foxes do and can swim and if in need of food they will do so .Hope you can find a soluition as you are obvioulsy a caring duck owner .Good luck Mama
Goose GirlPosted 1 year ago # -
Some of mine use the ramp and some don't and some of them jump in and jump out or climb out through the large planted area. The ramp was primarily for the babies when the pond was half full, but I don't think it has any significance in Minty's situation?
Sarah LPosted 1 year ago # -
I think the reason for not using it in the day is very likely to do with access and exits, you say its an old swimming pool, all swimming pools I have been in do have quite a drop from ground level to water level and for call ducks it could be a problem, if you could rig up something like a ramp and see if they begin to use it, it may be worth a try
also as Mama says fox and even rats will swim so good idea but not a solution to safty im affraidback to the nesting issue again, once they can access the house via dry land she might start re laying in there, assuming you want ducklings id perhaps put the eggs she is laying in the bushes back in the house and see what happens
mo xPosted 1 year ago # -
Hi Minty
A lot of my call ducks use cat litter trays which are filled up each day with water. I use an old bath sunk in ground and they like that too, it jsut takes them a wee while to get used to things at first.Best Wishes
LornaPosted 1 year ago # -
Thanks again, will think over reply,s.I found a good picture of a ramp for swimming pool on you tube so might try that idea.
the water is only seven inches down from top edge of pool and they seem to get in and out easily but just don't go back during day.My sister suggested I stop filling the various containers that they love,but havent the heart to do that.I would love to hatch more babies,last years were lovely and found a lovely new home where I can visit,but may not be so lucky next time.
Minty xPosted 1 year ago #
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