posted 5 years ago
My ducks don't like anyone near them, and will take a little flight if I approach quickly. Most domesticated ducks fly as well as chickens, which is just a glide and fall, with style. Mine climb on top of their pen to look out for predators for the rest of the flock, only a few prefer the 'scout' role. They happily free range in the backyard pasture (permanent fence). They are easily herded, and will typically go where you want if you extend your arms out and look really wide. Use your arms while extended and close toward your body like youre clapping and they move forward from me.
My ducks come running when they see their food being filled up, or my red cup even when empty. Though they usually see it full of whole corn to snack on. If I stay still, the ducks don't mind getting really close, regardless of food. They will eventually get used to you.
The first farm I cared for had 40 ducks, where they were kept in an open pen with a few places that had a roof. The ground predators were kept away by guard dogs on the farm, and there were occasional flying predators at night, owls in particular. They had so many ducks and too many eggs to eat so the losses were recouped when laying for ducklings. Anyway, the ducks were completely free range and had no issues going back home. They would go down to the creek several hundred feet away on nice days, and other days they would follow up the hill to eat grass and bugs. They were a happy flock, and generally stick in groups of 1 or 3. So they liked to stick together. The ducks weren't particular to allowing anyone close to them, so the flock would move away when a human approached.
Another farm that I helped build started with ducks and put their pen right next to a pond. They also started with about 30-40 and bred to about 60 before starting to cull. To get them out of the pond and back in the pen, they would fill the feeders at night only in the pen before locking up their pen and every duck would start running into it. Their muscovy duck breed wouldn't be easily as fooled, and would stay in the pond, sometimes overnight with the chance of predators. They lost a few muscovy duck that way.
Your flock should know where home is, if they've been in there for a few weeks, they especially know where the feed is. If you fill it up at night they will know what's going on and go back in to eat the easy scratch. Chickens will naturally go back in their pen before dark with or without feed. My ducks will do the same. Although the first flock liked to lay down right at the opening of the pen, my second flock go right in before nightfall like chickens.
If you have a pond, you might want to consider making a duck house that floats in the water with a duck-only water entrance. No predator will be able to dive under water to enter but a duck.