Hi we have a family of ducklings ..started off with 10, now down to 6 unfortunately.. we have a large pond in our garden and was hoping soon the ducklings would fly but recently a fox has been visiting and we lost another last night .... do we open the side gate now ..there is a pond in the village about 2 miles away ...would the mother duck take the ducklings there? And when is the best time to open the gate? I really don’t want to lose anymore
Hi Suzy, I would have thought with the ducklings being in imminent danger a rescue centre would have offered you some help but organisations such as RSPCA have very limited budgets and resources so are often unlikely to attend unless you can capture the duckling family for them to relocate; they don't have time to round up ducks themselves as they have even more pressing issues such as cruelty cases. RSPCA or a Wildlife rescue centre should be able to advise you the best way to try catch the ducklings to put into a crate, pet-carrier or box with air-holes. I'm not sure the adult or chicks could find their way 2 miles to the village pond as the ducklings won't be able to fly yet and as you have seen, are very vulnerable to predation at the moment. Not really a lot you can do except contact a rescue centre for further advice and try catch the ducklings or perhaps if you can get your hands on a large pet carrier or dog-crate leaving the door open and place some food (seed would do) inside the crate so the ducklings may venture in with the female following them. I'm not an expert Suzy and others on this forum may be able to offer better advice. I can understand your worries.