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In April a pair of ducks arrived in our garden. They visited on and off for a week or two and then we didn't see them for a couple of weeks. One evening the Mother duck arrived at the back door with 8 ducklings. We believe they were only a day old and so cute. We were concerned as the garden is walled and there was no way out and the village pond is about a quarter of a mile away along a very busy road. We decided to do our best for them and bought an 8ft paddling pool, crumber food for the babies and duck pellets/finisher for mum. They are still with us, eight weeks on, and almost as big as mum. They have entertained us and given so much pleasure but we would like to know if anyone else has experienced this as they are just starting to flap their wings furiously. They all look exactly the same as mum in colouring. Can anyone tell us when they develop their duck/drake colouring and will they just fly to the pond or do they need us to take them there. Mum takes off a couple of times a day. We presume she goes back to the local pond. Will they not come back to us once they leave the garden or will they return regularly as we have made them so welcome. The garden is now a mess and they have eaten most of the border flowers but I really don't mind as they are so entertaining. It would be nice to hear other people's experience with garden ducks.
Aug 17th
Well our ducks have gone. mum deserted her babies and for several days we waited for her to return. We had to do something so I rang the RSPCA for advice. I explained the situation and they sent an inspector to us, who apparently had not dealt with this situation before. We were horrified when she chased and managed to catch 5 of the babies in a net; two panicked and hid behind a shed/greenhouse. The 5 were safely transported to the local pond but we were so upset by the way they were caught. They must have been terrified but we trusted the inspector!!! Eventually both the others came out and we tried to catch them with love and care but they flew off in completely the wrong direction to our pond. I hope they found a safe home somewhere but I have doubts.They gave us so much pleasure and in the end we felt we let them down. Perhaps Mum will return next year- you never know.Thank you for taking the time to reply to me. It is very much appreciated.Kind regards.Lin
I can't answer you but oh how wonderful for Mum to turn up with her babies. And how fantastic of you to provide them with their own personal "pond" and food for them. Did you take any photos of your "extended family"?
I'm sure someone will come along soon and answer your questions. I hope they return to you
Make the most of today because, unlike Sky+, there isn't a rewind button.
This is a beautiful story to read. I'm afraid I can't help with any answers either but do, please, give us updates on how they are doing otherwise it will be a bit like reading a book only to find the last page is missing!
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
I can't help either although my Mum has had a duck & a drake visiting her garden daily for several weeks each spring for the last 3 years now! No ducklings though alas! Occasionally a couple of other drakes have 'dropped' in after the duck but she seems to always stick with the original drake! They fly off at dusk and come back the following morning! They left end of June this year so we are waiting to see if they turn up again next year!
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
My photos on Flickr
Hi Lyn,
When I was at uni a duck had her babies in a quadrangle in the middle of a building. The staff closed the area off and put the ducklings in a box, and carried them slowly so that the mother could stay close enough to hear them cheeping. They led her through the corridors and outside to the loch, where they released the ducklings and the family swam off happily together.
Worth a try if it happens again.
L.
I am a bit confused now as I am sure that section headed 17th August was not there when I first responded to this thread. If it was I can only apologise and emphasise that I missed it completely when posting my response as I certainly wouldn't have started in the manner I did had I read it properly. Sorry again.
I didn't notice the update either. That's awful how the inspector caught the ducks :'-( The poor wee things. I hope they come back after their trauma.
Would you consider creating a way out for them through your walled garden over the winter in case they (or another) come back next year? Like a wee, duck height, gate? Actually, thinking about it, how did Mum bring the ducklings into your garden in the first place? Did they nest in your garden?
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Sept 15th 2009
Hi Paula
I have just come back from a week on the Norfolk broads. There were thousands of Ducks, Geese, Coots, Herons and all sorts, also saw an Otter one morning. However, that’s another story - back to our Ducks (now-ex).
As our garden is fully walled (approx 6 ft) the ducks must have been hatched and born in our garden. We had no knowledge of her being there until she had the ducklings, there are many bushes and places she could hide while nesting mind you.
I did an update on the 17 Aug, which some readers have noticed (thank you). We have a pond about ¼ mile away and hopefully all the captured Ducks are there now, as is there mother. Not sure how we would react if more ducks appeared as they wrecked the garden which is just about returning to normal. We were advised by the RSPCA officer if we wanted to deter another nesting to make lots of noise at the site of Ducks. Not sure I would want to do that, and I know I would not involve the RSPCA again if we needed to move the ducks to a new home.
When our Ducks were finally abandoned they were 10/11 weeks old so they were able to fend for themselves. It would have been much easier to move them when they were younger and could not fly. At that time Mother was still taking care of them, also the busy road route to the pond was a big concern to us and we could not just let them out the garden to be possibly run down by cars!
It was a lovely and rewarding experience, but I don’t think we would go there again voluntarily. If we had another unknown nesting, I expect the paddling pool would come out and the garden would be trashed again. I must be mad but I thoroughly enjoyed those few weeks.
Thank you everyone who posted comments about my experience. Will probably be back with you again next April/May!!!! Lyn