A
Anonymous
Guest
On Tuesday we acquired our first ducks - a lovely pair of Mandarins (drake & duck). They were hatched last Spring and have come from an environment with loads of various breeds of ducks, chickens & geese. They were used to human interaction from a retired couple that bred them for a hobby. We made a mistake by not completely having their 7ft x 9ft aviary ready. We bought them home with the intention of letting them loose in the garden which has a large fish pond, to get used to us and meanwhile finish their pond. The journey by car was about 1hr, when we opened the box they headed straight for the pond flapping away frantically (they are both pigeoned), they kept diving under the water and crept up under the decking around the pond. After a couple of hours they appeared again and jumped out of the pond, but whenever we approached them they flapped away. It was starting to get dark and were not able to usher them into the luxurious duck house we bought them and retreated under the decking again.We spent a sleepless night worring about them as we also have a cat with neighbouring cats. Next morning they were happily sitting outside the pond preening and we were quite relieved. Again once we approached them they dived in the water making them impossible to approach. We left them to it and finished their enclosure once and for all. Nearing dusk we tried to usher them but the Drake lept out under the log cabin and did not appear for 2 days.The duck we think scared and in shock was relatively easy to scoot into the secure pen. They are now both in their enclosure and have been together for 3 days now. We acquired some large logs for them to roost on as we now doubt they will use the house. They have a small pond of their own and fresh drinking water and pellets. Every time we approach them they get scared on tend to leap down into their pond for safety. They don't appear to be eating and have tried to tempt them with greens also. They sit on the log which is high up all day and there are no signs of improvement. We have also put a soft radio on in the ajoining garden shed to get more used to human voices, but not change. Our idea was only to shut them up in the aviary at night and to be in the garden during the day when we are around. Does anyone have pet mandarins that can offer any advice? They were not hand reared but will they eventually become tame or are we onto a lost cause. They are so lovely and do not want to give up on them but are thinking if there are no signs of improvement it may be best to return them as they are not happy at the moment, hate us and causing us a lot of concern. Any advise would be appreciated - thank you.
