Customer Stories and Helpful Advice About Ducks & Geese

Our third brood of 12 ducks had to be released into the wild for we had no takers and no room to keep them. The old cliche "birds of a feather flock together" is quite true and we used this principle to help our ducks adjust to their new home. First, these ducks were hen raised and one month old. We let our ducks get somewhat grown so they would stand a good chance of survival. Tiny baby ducks can be eaten by large bass. We picked a lake that (1) had other ducks living on it, (2) provided some refuge with no human access (a lake in a park is not a good choice unless it has an island or a part of the bank that people cannot access), (3) and was large enough to handle our entire brood. We did not overly handle these ducklings nor did we hand feed them very often to prevent them from being too human friendly.

We divided the brood into three equal groups and took the first group to the lake in pet carriers. The release was scheduled early in the morning so the ducks would have an entire day to adjust to their new surroundings before nightfall. We released the 4 ducks into the lake together and they immediately swam off as they found other ducks swimming nearby. These ducks were raised in a backyard without a large body of water, so you can imagine our happiness when the ducks swam off to join the others on the lake without so much as looking back. They stayed together and adjusted quite well. The next morning we repeated the same procedure. Four more ducklings were released and with a little prompting they too spotted some more ducks and swam off to meet them. While we were watching, these ducks found their brothers and sisters and the eight swam away together. The third day in the morning we repeated the same procedure and had the very same results. This time the newly released ducks peeped out and were answered by the other eight ducks and they swam with great speed to rejoin the original flock.

Ducks like to be with other ducks and this principle can be applied to get them to do what is necessary. I have found this to be true from hatchlings on up to adults.

We go visit our ducks and bring food for them. However, they act like they don't know us and usually the other ducks at the lake come and eat first. The ducks were released in small groups so they would have companions and would be easy to chase, if necessary, to the other ducks. The released ducks served as models for their newly released siblings and "taught them the ropes" of their new environment. This approach worked and our ducks acted as if they were raised on the lake which both amazed and pleased us.

Well, I am now out of stories, but if anything else interesting happens I may email you again. Happy duck farming!