Baby ducks smashed on the road.

[MissB]

Mama duck left half of her (dead) brood behind, plus one seemingly uninjured baby behind. Baby duck is in a box with a heat lamp (similar setup as baby chickens).

Now what?

[Mutley]

1. Google your state/town and duck or bird rescue.

There should be someone you can bring the baby to who knows how to raise it.

Those poor babies!!!! :cry:

[MissB]

2. The local audobon society's page

says that abandoned ducks will usually be euthanized if brought it. Gah.

[Mutley]

3. Is there a way you can find another duck family?

You could see if another mama duck might take the baby in.

[MissB]

5. I had no idea we even had ducks roaming the neighborhood.

In the three years I've lived here, I've never seen them. We live in a forest, with a seasonal creek across the road. If it lives, I'll check out the creek in a few weeks for more ducks.

I tried to reunite the baby with the mommy, but the mommy is long gone. We thought maybe she'd come back for it, but apparently not.

[Droopy]

4. Do you live around any farmers?

You might be able to find the little bird a home there. They might know how to care for it.

[MissB]

6. I do have chickens.

But I'm not on a farm. If the duck lives, I have a couple of friends with farms.

I'm not sure it'll make it through the day anyway. :cry:

[radwriter0555]

7. Well you feed it regular duck mash from your local feed store.

Ducks need plenty of water and mash to eat. Once the duck gets it's adult feathers it can be released.. but you have to be very careful not to bond with it... In other words, you kind of have to ignore it.

Another solution would be to just take it to the animal feed store and see if they'll just take the little guy. Chances are pretty good that they will.

Why mightn't it make it through the night? Is it weak, lethargic, cold?

[MissB]

8. I suppose letting it snuggle in

to my arms is a bad thing.

It wasn't moving at first - it is under a heat light. It knocked over its little water dish a bit ago, but it has ignored the mash so far.

[Thtwudbeme]

9. cracked corn duck food

veggies--

My pet duck St. Daisy (surely she is cannonized) lived for 15 years under the magnolia tree in the backyard.

She bossed the dogs around like a drill sargent, and scared the cat to death.

We got her when she was little itty bitty, and she did just fine: if you cuddle with your new ducky friend, it will be as good a pet as a dog-

Is it a wild duck, or a white one? If it's wild, it will migrate when it gets that wild duck urge-

[MissB]

12. It is a wild duck.

I've never really wanted a duck before. Chickens are kinda pushing the envelope for me, and I know ducks are even messier.

It does look awfully cute cuddled up asleep.

[AlienGirl]

20. Or a domestic mallard that wandered off or went feral...

[radwriter0555]

11. Well, you might have to help him eat somehow if he's a wee one...

but the water is important for sure. But given that he's just lost his mom, I bet food isn't on his mind for a little while.

I suppose he could settle in with the chickens after a while, right?

His mom was a white or a brown duckie?

[MissB]

13. Brown mommy.

He did seem to be getting into the food and water - there was mash in the water dish. He's also moving around more (though he is curled up and asleep right now.

He could hang with the chickens, I suppose. We'll have to see. :)

[radwriter0555]

17. well, if you keep him you may have to clip his wing so he can't fly.. else

when he/she gets the urge to wander off, he/she will get acquainted with stranger humans which might not work out too well...

Picture hunters in a corn field... "Hey! Look! I wonder if that guy has some mash!"

*BAM*

You can learn to trim the flight feathers, it's very easy.

I had a bf who found a pair of baby ducks on a golf course. He tended to them for several months, pretty much ignoring them and letting them keep each other company until the day came when they were ready to go back to the pond on the golf course. It ended well.

He'd put them in the pocket of his golf bag, too cute.

But your little solo fella... well, you might be stuck with him. So think for the long term. At home with your chickens could be a nice life. He'll need a big low barrel for water if you don't have one.

If he's banging around the water and mash, you've won half the battle and are off to a good start. Warming him up was the right move for sure.

[graywarrior]

10. My duck would help, cept....

[MissB]

14. That is what I should've used!

Duck tape!

[graywarrior]

15. Quack!

[DS1]

16. Catchy

but it's no "Snakes on a plane" :rofl:

Poor duckies, what an asshole driver

[Lautremont]

18. I hoped you were just talking about bad quasi-champagne.

But no, real ducks. Sigh.

[AlienGirl]

19. Here's a link to the baby critters post with all the rehab resources:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=243x16486

It is normally best to bring baby wild birds to licensed rehab facilities, for a number of reasons.

Be aware that, if this is a wild duck, you could have legal trouble if you keep it. Recently a woman in Washington State had a wild mallard she'd raised from a baby taken away and she was fined for having kept the duck in captivity.

That said--there are *domestic* mallard ducks, and there is a chance the mommy was someone's domestic mallard that escaped. In that case, you can keep him as a pet and he should get along fine with your chickens. (How to tell the difference? Wild mallards are usually a little smaller...but other than that there isn't a difference. So if you assume the mom was wild you can take one course of action; if you assume she was domestic but feral, you can take the other.)

The nice thing about baby ducks and geese is they are altricial: they don't need to be hand-fed. This makes caring for them a thousand times easier than caring for featherless pink baby birds. The heat lamp is a great idea; you should have a thermometer in there to make sure it doesn't get too hot. Duckling feed can be gotten at any feed store. If you think the baby is injured, you should take him to an avian vet asap; if there are no injuries, do it in the next week or so to get him checked for parasites.

Good luck!

Tucker

[MissB]

22. Thank you for that.

I hesitated to call the audobon society today, but will call in the morning.

Thank you!

[YellowRubberDuckie]

21. Poor little fellers...

I hope the one that made it makes it. You cuddle that baby as much as you want. Ducks make great pets. I've thought about having ducks, back when I lived at the farm and we had a pond, but we couldn't find any. Oh well.
Duckie

[Contrary1]

23. I raised a baby robin a few years back...

after all the "experts" told me it wasn't possible. Named it "TC" after a character on the A Team. I fed him/her canned dog food mixed up with water to make it mushy. Darn thing ate it off a spoon for me. Kept him in a hamster cage with a small limb to perch on.

After the tail feathers came in, I would take TC outside, hold his little birdie feet between my fingers and wave my arm up and down to help strengthen his wings. I spread peanut butter on a tree, so he would learn how to peck for his food.

The neighbors all thought I was nuts, and would gather around to watch the daily exercise routines. One day, after I had put TC in a tree, the gaggle of onlookers became a bit too much. He hopped down, ran over, jumped up on my lap, and hid his head under my arm. I wish I had gotten a picture.

After a few weeks, I took him to a nearby park, and set him free. I could swear he was perched on the fence talking to me the next morning.

[undeterred]

24. I thought there would be pix.

I'm terrible.

[pitohui]

25. what kind of duck?

i raised some domestic ducklings and it's pretty easy but make SURE if you do not have the special duck starter that you stir in some niacin into the game bird starter

otherwise the ducks will limp and could be crippled

i caught it in time and adequate niacin allowed them to grow up strong, with straight legs, and to live a long full life

if it is a wild duck you may need to contact your local wildlife rehab and see if you need a license or if someone else will have to take the duck, laws regarding wild ducks vary state to state and can be tricky

but baby ducklings are easy and gratifying to raise and will learn to follow your tennis shows like mommy, they're precious