I am beyond impressed by the intelligence of our backyard ducks Smokey, Bandit, Reese, and Sammy. When choosing between chickens and ducks for egg producers everything I read said ducks were more intelligent. The past two weeks have shown me how smart a group of ducks can be.
We Broke The Record For Rainfall Since 1976 And You Can Tell!
For Comparison The Below Picture is From December 2018 (No river of water)
It's been flooding at the base of our mountain home for weeks now. The tiny stream down there has swelled with water. It's crazy to see because in summer the water dries up completely. The neighbor's abandoned farm and barn are one big pond and river as the water flows downhill. Seeing all that water from their mountain home, my ducks have gone crazy wanting to be down there. I put up fences and I've blocked off escape route after escape route...they figured out how to bypass them all to escape every single day. They are flightless ducks so escaping isn't easy. Basically, they are mountain climbing higher and higher to get around my fences. I'm running out of fences!!
I finally just gave up fighting them. Okay, I didn't want to give up but walking up and down steep mountains in the rain has led to quite a few falls on my ass. Every morning I wake up and let the ducks free range around 7 am for the day. I put them back in their pen at 5 pm each day. Every morning the past few weeks after letting the ducks out I go inside and I watch them on our surveillance cameras. I like to catch them in the act. They mill around a while, have some breakfast pellets, then by 8 am they head off camera and disappear completely...
The Temporary River Calls To Them
I know if I go down to the abandoned barn at the foot of the mountain they'll be there swimming around. If they see me they'll run for it. They don't let me get ahead of them because they know I'll chase them back home. They swim into the deep waters where they know I can't follow.
But here's where they get even smarter...they can tell time. They know when it's 5 pm. I know if I go down to that barn at 5 pm they'll be at the same spot near the entrance waiting for me. I show up with treats (watermelon, Cheerios, crushed up grapes, etc.). I lure them home with treats and they go no problems. They lead the way up the mountain and go straight into their pen to have pellets for dinner.
And here's where they are getting even smarter...today I didn't have to even go to the barn. I stood at the top of our mountain at 5 pm near their pen and called down to them..."Peep, peep, peep." That is my call to them. I watched from high above as they marched down that old dirt road and came around the side and up the mountain. They wanted those treats and they came right up to me for them.
It took two weeks of stress and worrying about them for me to finally realize my ducks on some level can take care of themselves. Domesticated ducks still have their wild instincts and Smokey, Bandit, Reese, and Sammy want to go where the water and food are. I have to train them the route home and use tasty treats as an incentive but my ducks know how to escape and come home all on their own. I don't like them escaping but with record rainfalls and flooding it's damn near impossible to stop. All I can do is let them be ducks and go swimming and hope things dry up in the coming months.
Sounds like you've trained them up a bit! I bet they are having a lot of fun swimming around in the floodwater. At least you don't have to worry about big fish taking them out. The neighbor's dog wouldn't be able to get them in the water, either. The current would take him away!
What beautiful, amazing, intelligent creatures!
Not to mention amusing! I enjoyed reading this story, and I especially like the photo of the cat watching the duck parade... :D
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How amazing - I guess you will always worry, the same with our pets being outside, but they will keep on coming back and I am sure if there are danger they will make such a noise that you will hear it
They are so smart! Glad you figured out a way to work with their stubborn need to be at the pond!