Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We have 9 Peking ducks, 4 Buff ducks and 3 Mallards who we have raised from tiny ducklings and who are all just turning 4 months old. There is a 2.5 acre woodland pond that is spring fed and which is approximately forty yards adjacent from their duck house/pen. They were introduced to the pond a little at a time beginning when they were six weeks old. The pond is healthy with fish, frogs and turtles (snapping turtles to be exact). Each morning they are let out and make a beeline for the pond's edge where they all drink, bathe and splash. They will float/swim and dive for plants, but no more than 2-3 feet from the shore and always at the same location. I have tried enticing them to swim further out into the pond by throwing bread to them (even just five feet off shore) as well as trying to herd them further out using long sticks but they just swim right back. Is there any particular reason(s) they won't swim out further into the pond and is it likely they will eventually become more adventurous towards exploring the rest of the pond?

It might be the snapping turtles. I've heard that snapping turtles may bite at ducks' feet. Maybe replace them with some different species of turtles? Or if you can't do that then create a seperate section of the pond for the snapping turtles and the other section for the ducks?

Also do you have a good pump for the pond? A "normal" pump won't do for duck ponds. The ducks' feces will dirty the water quickly, and can cause the fish to suffocate. Some ducks also eat frogs so please keep a close eye on them if you don't want your frogs eaten; this however is by individual, not species, so even a Pekin could have a taste for the frogs.

Good luck!

Oops, sorry I didn't realize how large your ducks' pond was! Then the pump & dirtyness isn't going to be a problem, ignore that part.

Thank you very much for your comments. I also was thinking the snapping turtles may be a part of their fear. There are some really large snappers in the pond (30" plus) as well as the smaller 10-12" variety. I plan to trap the medium to large ones and relocate them to a nearby river. The little ones should not be as much of a problem and are probably good for the pond in general.

I also wondered if it has anything to do with them being hand raised versus having had a natural set of parents that would have introduced them to the water. I was hoping their natural instincts would be enough to make them want to swim throughout the pond but perhaps I am discounting too much what their natural parents would normally do in that regard.

As a comparison, we do periodically get wild geese and wild ducks that land in the pond during the late fall, winter and early spring and they do not have any problems navigating the pond. Our ducks haven't seen that occur yet and we are hoping they get the idea from watching their wild cousins.

Hey

I agree that it's most likely due to the fact that there are snapping turtles in the pond. Maybe one or two of your ducks has had an encounter with one.

Also, some breeds of domestic duck don't spend much time swimming (Indian Runners are one of those breeds) but i'm not sure about your breeds, although that won't include Mallards as they are a wild breed.

Just one final thing, be careful how you try to encourage the ducks to go into deeper water. If they are scared of going in further for whatever reason, it might not help if they feel forced into the situation.. it would only make them more scared.
So it may be best to not do anything that forces them further into the deep water.

If they are happy paddling in the shallow water then they'll be fine, and maybe they'll become more confident when they are abit older.

Mel X