Anyone ever raise a wild duck??

[poohlover]

Well, we are trying to keep one alive until we can find somewhere to place it. We were in our driveway on sunday afternoon when this baby duck comes running across the front lawn.

With 6 cats & 4 dogs we quickly tried to catch it, it took a while! It is now resting in a cat carrier with a heat lamp & eating corn meal.

Should we be doing anything else for it?? If we continue to raise it will we be able to release it when it can fly?? WE do have some farms around that feed the ducks & geese, so we could release it there.

We just want to be sure it has a good start. Loose much longer on sunday it would have gotton taken by a cat or coyote!

 

[Pop Daddy]

could ducks fly

 

[Virgo10]

Nope but I did save a newborn rabbit once. Poor little thing didn't even have its eyes open yet. We fed it with kitten formular and a nursing bottle.

Good luck. It seems like you're doing the right things if the duck is eating.

Roberta

 

[stacilee]

You could rent the movie "fly away home".........

Seriously, Contact your local DNR office, they will give you pointers, or even your local SPCA.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I would call your local SPCA or vets office.

I think you are doing things right since it's eating and seems stable. Thank you for helping this poor little creature in need.

 

[CRB#33]

Do a search on animal rescue agencies in your area (even if it's in the next county). We have one near us, but I never would have known it if my DD hadn't gone there on a girl scout trip.

They will know exactly what to do and will probably even take it.

We found a wounded duck a few years ago and although we had to take it up there ourselves, they said come right up.

 

[grinningghost]

A woman I know kept a wild duck for a long time. It really became like a pet. She used to fill up the tub and the duck loved that. He just hung out in the tub.

It was quite bizarre, but she grew to love that duck. She did end up giving him to the SPCA in the end, as living with a duck proved to be a bit of a challenge with 2 dogs in the house.

 

[Hannosmom]

We raised a mallard from an egg! He, Lucky, hatched out around Easter in 1999, and we had him for around 5 months. We kept him inside for several months and only took him outside a few times a day.

He bonded to my son (my son was the first person he saw when he hatched out ) so my son acted as his mom. He lived in a large cardboard box that we spread newspapers on for easy clean-up.

You can get baby duck food from any feed store or you can get duck food from pet stores. As he got older and started going outside, we found out he loved crabgrass, lol! Thank goodness!

We had a little pool for him also, and when he became old enough (around 2 to 3 months), my son taught him how to fly. He started with just a little toss in the air, and then moved on to bigger tosses. Lucky used to get quite annoyed when my son didn't follow him on those flights, .

Around October, other migrating mallards started showing up at our house (they knew where the rich kid, (who got cracked corn for meals) lived, lol. Soon a female mallard took a liking to our Lucky and nature took its course. She was a migrating mallard, so he flew off with her. We miss him, but we know he "fulfilled his destiny" .

They are easy to take care of, I have seen ducklings survive without their moms before. They are a little messy, but cute as could be! And there is nothing better than having a wild mallard come running up to you and jump into your arms, lol!

 

[Sherlee]

We raised two baby mallards in our backyard one summer. They were in the garage for the first month and then we made a chicken wire pen with a kiddie pool in a corner for the next two. In September, we took the wire down and they would fly around the yard and then after about three weeks, they took off to join the wild ducks in the area.

 

[2BigKIdz]

I also raised a mallard from egg to adolescence, my little Daffy. We bought him "duck" food from the local feed store. I was 11 at the time, he thought I was his mommy and he was a lot of fun. He would waddle behind my bicycle, or he would ride in the basket on the front. I bought him a kiddie pool and would fill it with gold fish which he would eat (teaching him how to catch his dinner). When he got too big for the city we took him back to the pond where we had gotten the egg. He was such a beautiful duck, I would love to have another.