Found a duckling

gozunda

cerastes wrote: »

Does anyone have any idea/is there an indication of what kind of a duck this will grow into?
i know nothing of ducks, but he looks quite nice, will he? have to be kept as a pet now or can he? be returned or will he just return to the wild?

Looks like a Mallard duckling - hence the natural affinity for water he has exhibited already. Even domestic breads like water - but for wild breeds it's their natural environment.

One possible Issue is that he has imprinted to a hen as his mother so may not automatically recognise his own breed. The other issue is that when fully grown this duck is going to be able to fly something domestic ducks generally don't do. Once he gets his flight feathers and gets some practice he could head off but may not be aware of possible dangers etc. The best bet would possibly be a waterfowl sanctuary that would allow the duck to interact with other Mallards in an enclosed environment such as an aviary (for ducks) and then release with other mallards into a wildlife reserve. The other option would to see of if the duck accepts a domestic environment with other fowl - if so it may be safer to annually clip the tips of the ducks flight feathers - does the duck no harm and the duck will moult and grew new feathers. I say wait and see how the duck gets on as it becomes mature.

fathead82

He looks like a mallard alright. I will wait & see if he looks like he wants to fly away when he gets bigger. I have ducks here so he might want to hang around with them. He is almost self sufficient already,he finds most of his own food & ignores most of the food I give him.
The last 7 ducklings I found were released once they were fully feathered in a lake on the grounds of a castle where there is no shooting allowed,the castle & grounds are open to the public & is a popular place to go walking, so the ducks get fed daily.
If Tony looks like he wants to go wild,he will be going to the same place.

fathead82

Tony got himself a new swimming pool,hes having great craic in it diving under the water.
One of our ducks had 8 ducklings last week,Tony keeps trying to join up with them but mother duck is having none of it. At least its a good sign that he knows he's a duck & not a hen!

fox_1973

Thanks for the updates, I just love this happy ending :-)

magentis

fox_1973 wrote: »

Thanks for the updates, I just love this happy ending :-)

Im worried about the poor fella now since i saw your user name.:pac:

Thoie

fathead82 wrote: »

Tony got himself a new swimming pool,hes having great craic in it diving under the water.
One of our ducks had 8 ducklings last week,Tony keeps trying to join up with them but mother duck is having none of it. At least its a good sign that he knows he's a duck & not a hen!

Mammy hen still not looking impressed at the deviant swimming.

fox_1973

magentis wrote: »

Im worried about the poor fella now since i saw your user name.:pac:

:-D haha don't worry

magicray

Just found this thread

Aw what a lovely story, Tony looks happy out !

Aimeee

Now I want a duck!

Aside, what type of hen is that? We had as good few hens but down to two not, and we're officially a retirement home for them at this stage.
Going to increase the flock next year I think. I like the look of your mommy hen.

fathead82

Aimeee wrote: »

Now I want a duck!

Aside, what type of hen is that? We had as good few hens but down to two not, and we're officially a retirement home for them at this stage.
Going to increase the flock next year I think. I like the look of your mommy hen.

Shes a silkie bantam,not great for laying but good for rearing chicks,or ducklings.

Aimeee

Thank you. Gorgeous looking creature.

fathead82

Tony is almost fully feathered & almost fully grown now. Still dont know if he actually is a boy but another week or 2 should tell. He is very independent now but still sleeps under the hen at night,even though he is almost the same size as her!

MidlandsM

Great story!

abutler101

I am pretty sure Tony is a girl and a wild mallard. If you want to keep her I would clip her wings soon or she will fly off, and at this stage she wouldn't survive in the wild. Look it up online and you will get very good instructions, and don't worry it doesn't hurt them. You will need to do this every time she moults too. What food is she on? You should find some waterfowl grower pellets or at least game or chicken grower pellets for her soon. Whenever ducks are hatched/raised under hens the mother always try's to get them out of the water. Beware also that the hen will start to loose interest in a couple of weeks and stop looking after it.

fathead82

abutler101 wrote: »

I am pretty sure Tony is a girl and a wild mallard. If you want to keep her I would clip her wings soon or she will fly off, and at this stage she wouldn't survive in the wild. Look it up online and you will get very good instructions, and don't worry it doesn't hurt them. You will need to do this every time she moults too. What food is she on? You should find some waterfowl grower pellets or at least game or chicken grower pellets for her soon. Whenever ducks are hatched/raised under hens the mother always try's to get them out of the water. Beware also that the hen will start to loose interest in a couple of weeks and stop looking after it.

Yeah, its defiantly a mallard. He doesn't have wing feathers yet, iv been keeping call ducks for a long time & clip their wings every year . won't be clipping his wings until I decide if im releasing him or he's staying here.
I have him on a mixture of waterfowl growers pellets & wheat but he finds most of his own food in the field.
I will be taking him from the hen in another week or 2 & moving him into a covered pen with the call ducks but he will still be free range during the day.

tk123

It's like The Ugly duckling.... except he's the Ugly Hen who turns into a beautiful duck lol!!! :D

Zapperzy

I can't decide if the poor hen looks confused as to who the hell fathered her chick or as proud as punch with her strange looking offspring :P

How's the duck(ling)?

fathead82

gvn wrote: »

How's the duck(ling)?

Not a bother on him,the hen returned to the chicken house last week & Tony moved in with the other ducks.
I dont know what to do about letting him back to the wild,he seems happy enough here & is very tame. He comes right up to my feet & turns his head sideways to look up at me!
Thats him at the bottom of the pic,the darkest one.

Aimeee

Would there be a problem in the longer term with keeping him?
If he's happy now, it's all he's known (well apart from the early days) so far in his life, I'd be inclined to keep him though I know it's not his natural state. (If you didn't have other ducks might be different).

Ice Storm

Tony is looking very well!

I hope the hen is not missing her surrogate son.

fathead82

Aimeee wrote: »

Would there be a problem in the longer term with keeping him?
If he's happy now, it's all he's known (well apart from the early days) so far in his life, I'd be inclined to keep him though I know it's not his natural state. (If you didn't have other ducks might be different).

There would be no problem keeping him,we have a lot of ducks so one more is not going to make any difference,to be honest,I think he is too tame to be released.

Ice Storm wrote: »

Tony is looking very well!

I hope the hen is not missing her surrogate son.

The hen went back to live with the other hens without as much as a backward glance.Tony was part of the duck gang before I took the hen away so he didnt care that she was gone either.
Strange to think that they were inseperable for 8 weeks!

maggiepip

I thiink he'll be much happier staying with you guys and his ready made duck family!

Aimeee

[quote="fathead82;91954377

The hen went back to live with the other hens without as much as a backward glance.Tony was part of the duck gang before I took the hen away so he didnt care that she was gone either.
Strange to think that they were inseperable for 8 weeks![/quote]

This is what I love about hens, they live in the here and now! Great to see both moving on, job done etc.

fathead82

For the last week,Tony was looking very uneasy,wandering away from the other ducks & starting to fly around the place. On Thursday,he disappeared for the whole day but came back that night.
I decided to release him before he flew to the wrong place & got shot.He obviously wasnt happy with his paddling pool & wanted a lake!
Yesterday,I brought him to a lake in a preserved area where he will be safe & be fed every day.It was great to see him swimming off & joining in with the other ducks.I sat watching him for half an hour & he never stopped swimming & splashing the whole time.
I was surprised at how attached I got to him & will miss having him here but he is back where he belongs now & will hopefully have a long happy life.