How to deal with kids who threw rocks at my ducks?

[DuckLover9138]

Hi,

I am kind of devastated and disgusted. Rarely have I seen something beyond my comprehension. I saw two kids (around 7 and 13) throwing rocks at a river (ironically where my ducks spent), I looked at them, they noticed me and ran. A few seconds later, my female mallard swims up and start quacking like there is no tomorrow. I try to look for the other two because they are always together. I find them on the grass on my neighbors' property. Both males are limping. One of them can barely walk, what hurts me the most was that when I come close, (usually they give me a friendly quack), instead one of them tried to run away. It couldn't. It flapped wings on the grass, but I caught up with it. I picked it up, it struggled so hard (I never seen it struggle so hard), but I got it back. The worst part about it was that they were smiling and throwing the rocks with all their strength and I saw everything.

To be fair, it is kind of my fault since I should have kept them on near my home. They are mallards so they wonder around a lot and everyone lives pretty closely. I want to talk to their parents about this, but my parents discourages it. They believe they will just deny it outright and say that the ducks should never have been near their property anyways.

Everything feels so wrong and I don't know how to deal with this. The event itself is beyond my understanding why someone would harm a defenseless creature that hasn't done anything wrong, but more importantly, I don't know if I should just keep them locked up until I get home. Advice or prior experiences on such events would help a lot. Thank you.

 

[satay]

Those children should not have done what they did to your ducks. If you know the parents i would speak to them.
I am not sure how far from your home the ducks were but if you want to keep them safe from all predators including human children i would find a way to keep them at home.

 

[DUCKGIRL89]

how rude of them, i would go crazy if that happened to one of my ducks, my ducks are my BFF's i love them and would do anyting for them idk what I would do if that happened to mine. I'm not trying to be mean but i would probably throw some rocks back at them if i saw them again lol well dont lisen to me I'll get you in trouble lol well sorry dont know what to say.

 

[Going Quackers]

Ugh. That is awful. I'm gathering since you said you wanted to speak with the parents, you know who the children & the families are? This is difficult. I know YOU saw them but the kids will probaby deny it and then your pitted against the parents and the kids. Are you on a friendly basis though? this may work in your favour..... and then talking with the families maybe worthwhile.

I would make every effort to keep your ducks on your property especially if kids are behaving like that in the area that they maybe in.

I'm sorry i really couldn't provide you with a direction, i am unsure how i would handle this myself actually. Good luck with your decision.

 

[DuckLover9138]

Thanks for the advice and help. I think I have managed calm myself down though.

I plan to keep it close to me in the future. I won't let it out unless I am present. It is pretty disgusting what they did. It was made worse when they walked around looking for it afterwards.

I guess the lesson is that sometimes (more often than not) things get hurt through no fault of its own and there has to be someone out there capable of making a difference. I will remember this event for the rest of my life.

 

[lovesduckies]

throw rocks at the kids and see how they like it

have you seen the dark knight? i know weird but some people just like to watch the world burn and sometimes parents don't explain things to their children.. like not to throw rocks. i wonce had to yell at a jr high girl cuz i watch her throw a rock at my car and it hit my windshield.. so i turned around and went and yelled at her. i don't get it..

talk to the parents.. if the parents don't do anything then i would seriously try to teach those kids a lesson

 

[Crayonsmom]

That's terrible.

I really don't get why some people find it amusing to hurt animals. Poor ducks. I hope they get better. I'd definitely be talking to the parents. Tell them how youwatched their children throwing the rocks. If they're decent parents I'm sure they'll talk to their kids about it. Hopefully they are.

 

[StevenW.]

Quote:

I was just about to suggest that!

See if you can get a video of them doing it and take it to the police.

 

[animalpro24]

I totally agree with every thing you are saying and think all your thinking is common sense. I'm sorry about your ducks, hope they get better. And I am totally and utterly disgusted by people who do things like this.

 

[desertdarlene]

Oh, that's terrible! I hate it when kids do that. And, half the time, the parents think it's cute or just don't plain care. I feel bad for ducklings at the lake because kids like to throw rocks and then ducklings think they're throwing food, so it actually draws them in closer.

I would definitely take someone with me and talk to the parents, first. Also, check into what the local humane society says about this because I believe it's illegal to do this even if they aren't on your own property.. Then, keep your ducks on your property only and don't let them wander off if at all possible. That way, if something continues to happen, you will have more legal muscle because they would be trespassing on top of everything else.