Does anyone know if a mother duck will accept her baby back

[saracat]

if it has been captured by a cat? my cat caught an escaped baby duck and didn't hurt it so we didn't touch it but scooped it up in a garbage can lid and put it back with Mom. . It seems to be following Mom around closely and swimming in the pool with Mom but Mom doesn't seem attentive. Could she be rejecting it?


Edit. Please move to GD. I thought that was where I was posting this!

[calimary]

1. Not sure, but I thought at least we could keep this kicked.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. My dear saracat...

Methinks this belongs in GD, or the Lounge...

:shrug:

[Seabiscuit]

3. Not sure either, but proud to K&R any thread started by Saracat.

:)

To the top of Greatest Threads with ye!

[hokies4ever]

6. Even if it has nothing to do with GD:P

:shrug:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

10. General Discussion- Poultry.

:think:

[janx]

21. For crying out loud, someday I will know who you are!

Oh, shit!

some literary forum or something

:rofl:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

28. Hey, Janxy!

:hi:

[janx]

32. You always crack me up!

General discussion: poultry

Ohmygod :rofl:

[hokies4ever]

31. What kind of dog is that?

[janx]

39. He's a weimaraner:

http://www.weim.net

[hokies4ever]

47. No offense, but is the dog okay?

Looks like he needs some more puppy chow on his bones. :patriot:

[janx]

56. Yeah, he's in great shape!

He's been skinny, and he's been fat...Weims have very fast metabolisms. They should typically be slender dogs because they love to run and play. If they're fat, that's not a good thing.

Again, see http://www.weim.net

There are other people on DU who have adopted, raised, and bred weims.

[janx]

83. ALSO--

Huck has very short fur. Our other dog, Daisy, who is a mix of some very long haired dogs, appears a lot fatter--but she isn't. When she's wet (i.e. given a bath). she's actually very small. ;-)

[roguevalley]

95. man ray is a famous weiner. very cute and photogenic -in a dead

pan sort of way-type doggie.

rv, an aficionado of doggies.

[Maddy McCall]

118. I can vouch for Janx.

That's our Wilson.

Healthy Weimies are trim and lean. To me, they have a beautiful build.

[Madam Mossfern]

42. Looks like a Weimeraner

don't quote me on the spelling...

[Garbo 2004]

64. LOL!

:spray:

:rofl:

[roguevalley]

92. rummyisfrosted is brilliant. I cannot find words for how perfect this was.

[hokies4ever]

4. Yeah, she could be rejecting it

or she might be testing the baby duck's loyalty to her. Either way, this doesn't belong in GD: P. :rofl:

On a serious note, one would have to lean toward rejecting the baby duck. Are humans the only species that animals will disown their young over if handled by them? I doubt it.

[Name removed]

5. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[hokies4ever]

7. Hillary would call the duck 'Judas' and send it away

:rofl:

[anonymous171]

9. McCain would forget who the duck was.

[charlie]

19. Duck season!

BWAST!

[janx]

27. Yeah, because the duckling was from New Mexico and hence

not a real American.

[Sparkly]

8. I'm reading this thinking it *must* be a metaphor for something about the election...

Clinton is the duck, captured away from party unity by her ambition, now hoping to be accepted by the party and Obama as Mom, so Clinton is swimming with Obama but Obama doesn't seem attentive and may be rejecting her.

(But was the garbage can lid really necessary?)

:rofl:

[Emit]

17. Who's the cat, though?

Don't tell me it's us

[Sparkly]

23. Mark Penn? nt

[newmajority]

25. Maybe the little duck's name is Scotty?

(As heard on the Mike Malloy show....)

Six little ducks
That I once knew
Fat ones, skinny ones,
Fair ones, too
But the one little duck
With the feather on his back
He led the others
With a quack, quack, quack

Quack, quack, quack,
Quack, quack, quack
He led the others
With a quack, quack, quack

Down to the river
They would go
Wibble, wobble, wibble, wobble,
To and fro
But the one little duck
With the feather on his back
He led the others
With a quack, quack, quack

Quack, quack, quack,
Quack, quack, quack
He led the others
With a quack, quack, quack

Back from the river
They would come
Wibble, wobble, wibble, wobble,
Ho, hum, hum
But the one little duck
With the feather on his back
He led the others
With a quack, quack, quack

Quack, quack, quack,
Quack, quack, quack
He led the others
With a quack, quack, quack

[Sparkly]

I know that song!

But I think Scotty's version is more like:

He led the others
With an "I'm not going to comment about an ongoing investigation."

[NanceGreggs]

11. Call your local animal control people ...

... the Humane Society, or a vet (if you know one that can be reached at this hour on a Sunday), and ask for assistance. It's possible that the baby is now carrying the scent of your cat, which will put the mother "off" attending to it.

The baby might need a "bath" to rid it of the scent, before the mother will again recognize it as one of her own.

Please post back, and let us know what happens!

[FloridaJudy]

72. Birds have no sense of smell

The only exceptions are vultures*, so whatever is making Mama Duck reject Junior, it's not the smell.















*maybe this does belong in GD-P!

[NanceGreggs]

75. My bad.

I always thought waterfowl could detect the "scent" of a predator.

I stand corrected - or sit corrected, as the case may be!

[roguevalley]

97. birds have eyes in the back of their heads. if you mess with their

eggs, they will see the move and be wary. I would call the local bird rehabber and give it to them if the mom rejects. I found four little robbins walking along the grass near my school like a bunch of penguins sharing the same pants. When I reached down to pick them up, they all in unison threw back their heads and opened their mouths. I still swoon just thinking about it. I took them to a bird rehabber who kept them until they were old enough to be on their own.

I love baby birds. SIGH!

[NanceGreggs]

104. "... like a bunch of penguins sharing the same pants."

What great imagery!

[TomInTib]

12. How many other ducklings are there in the brood?

And how old are they?

[LowerManhattanite]

13. Erm...either the totally wrong forum...

...or a really tortured, unclear allegory for something pretending to be deep.

[saracat]

57. You are just nasty ,aren't you?

[LowerManhattanite]

71. Offered two possibilities as to why the weird post was here in GD:P

Wrong forum or a crappy metaphor for something.

You've owned up to it being the former I posed.

Riddle solved. Moving on.

As should we all.

[H2O Man]

14. How old

is it?

(I raised ducks, geese, chickens and turkeys.)

[saracat]

26. It is really , really tiny and My husband just found another , Now there are two

swimming with Mom. But we don't see a nest anywhere! I am keeping my cat, who goes out only under supervision inside for a while. I am proud he didn't huet the duck! They are really cute!

[H2O Man]

38. My guess is

that it will be fine. Ducks are strange birds, but it is far more likely to be okay than if it were a baby rabbit. It has a lot to do with scent; I assume by morning, things will be back to normal between the duck and duckling.

[question everything]

96. At least mama duck sat on the eggs

Last year a mama Mallard duck dropped an egg on our back porch, on a cement floor and than just moved away (or, perhaps, moved away as I approached).

We moved the egg under the trees. At least, if a raccoon or other animal would take a bite, it would not be on our back porch.

This year, again, she prefers to sit on the hard cement, instead of on a soft grass, or under a tree.

[H2O Man]

119. Did it

"lay" it on your back porch, or push it onto the porch?

If it laid it on your porch, that would be odd, indeed. But like other birds, they will take an egg they know isn't going to hatch out of the nest, and ducks will "roll" them some distance.

Mallards are my favorite ducks. There were a couple on my pond one morning, a few weeks ago.

[roguevalley]

98. I love ya for caring, saracat. keep on eye on their little butts. You might

have house guests.

[H2O Man]

120. While ducks and

swimming pools are a bad match -- if only for the large amount of bird droppings a single duck produces -- they make interesting "guests." If there are bird feeders in the yard, a duck will clean up anything that has spilled on the ground. One can also set out a pan of water, with some bread (tear the bread into small pieces, and put some in the water, and some beside the pan) out on the far end of the lawn, and ducks will locate it. I used to buy the "old" bread from a local bakery, as ducks and geese love it.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

15. yes

[greguganus]

16. Let's see...you are the mother duck, obama is the baby duck...

...the cat is hillary...you are rejecting obama because you feel hillary captured the nomination...obama wants you to support him...you are ignoring him...
Vote for Obama and get over Hillary!

[bhikkhu]

102. No...the cat is Obama, and the baby duck represents the masses

The mama duck is the party leadership, and the garbage can lid is Reason.

Make sense now?

[Duder]

18. As an Obama supporter...

I offer you the hope that the baby duck will be just fine. Mother ducks are often not very attentive of their young.

[greguganus]

22. I agree. I 'hope" the mother duck can "change" her ways and "move into the future" with her baby.nt

[saracat]

51. I never realized how really mean spirited some DUers are. It is too bad

I posted in the wrong forum but this was a genuine call for help for an animal.There was a time , before we were allegedly united, that DUers extended helping hands to one another. I see that is no longer the case for some.

[Emit]

73. Saracat, I think you are taking this too personally. Snark on DU is common

at all times.

Once not long ago, I had a thermometer break and I posted on DU in the Lounge about it and requested some quick advice about mercury poisoning - you should have seen the snark. Sarcastic responses belittling me for making such a deal about mercury poisoning (for which I really did have some concerns). Then copy cat threads started, playing off my thread, making fun of me.

Anyway. We need a thick skin on these anonymous discussion boards, and we need to learn not to take things so personally, imho.

Good luck with the ducklings :hi:

[friedgreentomatoes]

78. he he he...reminded me of "primary colors"..

....remember? billy bob thornton says "if you are taking a shit in the woods, and a wild boar comes chasing, what do you do?"
:P

[Autumn]

20. I don't think she will

it all depends on the age of the duckling. My grandkids play with the ones we have and their mothers are fine with it.

[Condem]

24. That sara

What a silly goose!

[Maddy McCall]

29. The mother duck WILL accept the duckling back.

The only thing is, if the duckling's skin was pierced by the cat's fangs or claws, it can cause bacterial infection to enter the duck's skin that can be fatal.

If you can, just keep your eyes on the ducking. IF the mother rejects it, you CAN care for it. Send me a PM if that should happen, and I'll be glad to give you advice.

[saracat]

36. The duckling didn't seem hurt. very spritely and all. I will watch. Thanks Maddy.

[Maddy McCall]

41. Sometimes mother ducks seem inattentive...

but they're teaching the little ones to be independent.

I bet that's what you're seeing. If she's not shunning the baby any more than she's shunning the other ducklings, then I don't think I'd worry.

[saracat]

45. Well, there were no other duclings till my husband found another. She seems to be treating them the

same. I have a GF who say it is unlikely that there are only "two " ducklingsIs this true? Mom was swimming in a pool which was surrounded by a block fence and perhaps she could get there but I don't know how the babies could .We have block and a wood fence that has some openings. I can't find a nest in my back yard but we back up to a green belt. Maybe the nest is there? I wonder why Mom didn't take them to our pool?

[Gore1FL]

55. There is a pond with Geese in it where I work

there are some pairs with several offspring and one pair with a single. I think it just varies.

[Maddy McCall]

66. Ok...knowing this, I think I'd transport them to a better place.

Are you in a rural setting? When you say "pool," you're not talking about a chlorinated pool, but a small pond?

Sometimes the babies don't make it because of predators...including cats. I'd consider transporting them, if there's any way, or contacting animal control to find them a new home.

[NotThisTime]

50. I'd keep an eye on it, do you know where they are when they're not in your pool? It's in your pool?

I'd be worried about it, try to keep an eye on it, but that's just me.... so far this week we were able to dig out a funny chipmunk that was playing with another & fell in the pool (who knew they could swim AT ALL) and a bat that seemed to get sucked partially into the filter... both of those animals survived. There was at least one squirrel this weak that did not, and I felt terrible....

[saracat]

54. Well, Mom is in the neighbors pool so we put the babies with her.

[NotThisTime]

61. The problem is, these ducks are in pools, can they be transported to someplace better?

If the mother doesn't reject the baby, can animal control (or someone) move them to safer ground than a neighborhood with pets?

[saracat]

62. I don't know. I am concerned there are more ducklings somewhere

The vet that deals with wildlife would make me 'capture them and I don't even know how to do that.

[NotThisTime]

65. Don't they make like have a heart traps or something? Could they suggest how to get them? They're

not that fast I don't think.... I've certainly had them just walk by me in the past...

Now I'll feel terrible about it, with our own pool creature troubles this week, I feel your pain!

[moc]

69. Yes, animal control does duck removal. Baby ducks drown in pools,

as we sadly found out last year. :-( I can't remember exactly why, but about 2-3 days after hatching, they started dying. I called animal control in desperation and found out they remove baby ducks and take them to a nearby stream. It was very routine for them.

[saracat]

30. Opps. I mean this for GD sorry!

[Condem]

33. Ops, sara

Like in the CIA.

[greguganus]

125. GD = General Ducks n/t

[ladjf]

34. In most cases, yes.

[janx]

35. No! No! Leave it here!

We need this!

[Seabiscuit]

37. I second that! I like it here! This forum needs this!!!

Would it help if you told us which primary candidate the mama duck supported?

[janx]

49. No. That would not help.

But dog and duck pics would!

[newmajority]

67. After seeing this picture, no self respecting duck could support Hillary

[Maddy McCall]

43. I third this.

Hey Janx.

Got a new baby girl. Her name is Rada. We got her at four weeks old. She's a silver beauty.

I'll send you some photos.

[janx]

46. PLEASE, PLEASE, I NEED PHOTOS!

Please send photos! Send me a PM so that I can send you my reliable email address!

[DenverDem23]

52. I agree, we need something different in this forum. eom

[roguevalley]

99. I would suggest LOLCats but that would be just wrong. :)

I love ducks. I love to watch them walking away from me quacking to themselves. they are adorable.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

40. Is this some kind of political metaphor?

Is Hillary the duck?

:rofl:

[rug]

44. Is this a unity post?

[Autumn]

59. Yes we are united for

the duckling.:patriot:

[uppityperson]

48. Another allegorical thread. kick, for the ducklings.

[WeDidIt]

53. In my five years of observing the ducks from our wetland

I've found nothing that would indicate your mama duck will reject her baby now.

[janx]

58. Keep an eye out, as they say.

She may or may not reject it. Probably not.

[Major Hogwash]

60. Well, speaking as one who was raised by cats, that duck is screwn!

I'm series.

[eleny]

63. We have a lame duck in our pasture so I named him George :)

He's taken up residence right near the irrigation ditch.

The wildlife division said he'll be okay since he can still fly and has lots of food supply from bugs in the ditch water.

Well - you needed somebody to come and hijack your thread!

Best of luck to your baby duck!

[moc]

68. Baby ducks will be adopted by any mother duck, not just their own.

We learned this last year when a duck laid 11 eggs in our pool yard, and they hatched. We had to get animal control to help remove them because the babies were drowning in our pool. :-( The animal control person told me that baby ducks will be adopted by any mother duck, even if it's not their mother.

[boppers]

70. YES. WE.

QUACK!

[goclark]

76. Kick for the Ducks nt

[Maraya1969]

74. There should be a wildlife rehabilitation center around where you live. Or call Animal

Control and ask them.

[Duder]

77. In the spirit of fowl and unity...

The Goose Story
Next fall, when you see geese heading south for the winter, flying along in V-formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way:

As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in V-formation the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird were to fly on its own. PEOPLE WHO SHARE A COMMON DIRECTION AND SENSE OF COMMUNITY CAN GET WHERE THEY ARE GOING MORE QUICKLY AND EASILY BECAUSE THEY ARE TRAVELING ON THE THRUST OF ONE ANOTHER.

When a goose falls out of formation it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone, and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front. IF WE HAVE AS MUCH SENSE AS A GOOSE WE WILL STAY IN FORMATION WITH THOSE WHO ARE HEADED THE SAME WAY WE ARE.

When the head goose gets tired it rotates back in the wing, and another goose flies point. IT IS SENSIBLE TO TAKE TURNS DOING DEMANDING JOBS-WITH PEOPLE OR WITH GEESE FLYING SOUTH.

Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. WHAT DO WE SAY WHEN WE HONK FROM BEHIND?

Finally-and this is important-when a goose gets sick, or loses its mate, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies; and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group. IF WE HAVE THE SENSE OF A GOOSE WE WILL STAND BY EACH OTHER LIKE THAT.

—author unknown

[Irishonly]

79. Kick

[rateyes]

80. ...

[hendo]

81. no

The mom will not accept the baby duck back. Depending on how old it is, you might be able to raise it though.

[janx]

82. Put the baby back and see what happens. n/t

[Duder]

84. Maybe it depends on the duck...

What kind of duck is this? I used to have Khaki Campbell ducks which were prolific egg layers. The reason people asked how old the duck, is because when hatched they need warmth. Once feathered they are more independent and can swim and follow mom around but are very vulnerable to predators until they develop their flight feathers.

[cabbage08]

85. kick n/t

:kick:

[ShaneGR]

86. I hope the baby duck gets eaten by real predators....

Since I think you're trying to create some sort of metaphor, I offer you, dead baby duck!

[saracat]

87. What a rotten human being you are.

[roguevalley]

100. and I offer you the deepest disgust I can muster, dork.

[donheld]

109. I agree with sara

You are one sick fuck!

[Seabiscuit]

112. Welcome

to "ignore", scumbag.

[myrna minx]

126. I think this is a horrendous post.

:puke:

[nadinbrzezinski]

88. From my experience with a budgie many years ago

you might be best to raise him yourself....

Of course there is this little issue with imprinting, but the bird is well over the critical hours

[saracat]

89. Update on ducklings. Mom accepted babies back and they are all now gone!

Thank you to all that helped and as for the others who were nasty, you are despicable human beings. Really.There was a time on DU where most helped one another. No matter what candidate someone had supported.

[nadinbrzezinski]

90. This too shall pass

I am possitive of it

Silly season is over, and soon it will truly be a footnote... .just wait for Johnny to remind folks why we don't want him in the WH

[saracat]

94. Thank you Nan but not for me it won't .I will not forget the vile people.

I used to be very quick to forgive but not anymore. There have never been such rotten individuals on DU before and this goes beyone silly season. We had vigorous primary fights before but never onec before did DUers mock a Duer asking for help NEVER. I will remember.

[nadinbrzezinski]

103. Forgiveness is good for the soul

but that does not mean forgetting

[saracat]

105. You may have a point but it may not work for me anymore. Thanks Nan.

[H2O Man]

123. Sure it will.

Life is way too short.

[Emit]

106. That is not true

see my post #73 above to you

DUers snark and mock all the time. I seriously think you are being too sensitive with this.

[Name removed]

113. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Emit]

115. Why?

Why to me? What did I say that is offensive? I explained above to saracat how I myself was attacked in the lounge for merely asking for help. I was trying to explain to saracat that she shouldn't take these attacks personally. That is all.

[roguevalley]

101. YEA! Good for you, saracat. as for the asses on this thread. they can

explain to God someday why they mocked the suffering of one of his greatest creations. you done good. Hug the hubby for me too.

[NotThisTime]

122. I wonder where they went? Is there a pond nearby they could find?

[myrna minx]

127. saracat, you are such a kind person to have cared so much for these little

babies. I'm glad that the mother has recognized all of her little ducklings as her own. I have to say that I'm stunned by the horrible posts in this thread. I'm so sorry that you had to wade through the nastiness, when all you are trying to do is care for a helpless baby. :hug: Thank you for your big heart.

[saracat]

128. That is so sweet of you. I appreciate it. I ,too, was stunned. DU was never this mean before.

[dana_b]

129. yay for the duckies!!

glad things turned out a-okay.

[Bucky]

91. Yes, yes, I get it. I'm the mother duck and Hillary is my baby duck. I welcome her back...

... with open wings.

[foo_bar]

107. well played.

[XemaSab]

93. Mom will accept it

It's a myth that birds will reject babies touched by people (or cats).

And mother ducks aren't very attentive parents in general. :P

[Kool Kitty]

108. I'm glad the duck situation sorted itself out.

And I think you're a peach for caring for them. I love to watch mother ducks leading the little string of baby ducks, especially when the mom stops short and there's a baby duck pile-up behind her. (My sister lives near a pond and there's a lot of that activity every spring.) Lots of confused quacking and the mother has to staighten up the line, then off they go.

[FlyingSquirrel]

110. Speaking of cats...

another stray has shown up at my house. I don't want to be a cat collector. I've already rescued two - one from the pound and one from the street. But I feel so guilty not helping it. I did give it some food though.

Well, maybe if it shows up again tomorrow I'll consider it. (My wife is dead-set against it though) The kids of course want to keep it.

[donheld]

111. I'm glad this all ended well

This shows you have a good heart and some others here have crappy souls.

[saracat]

114. Thank you donheld. People amaze me sometimes and not always in a good way!

[Moochy]

116. Glad Momma duck, got her baby back baby back baby back

:) I never thought this thread was allegory for a second. And yes pictures would have improved it immensely. Lolcats keep the snark out of any thread, they are like anti-snark guardians.

[bluedawg12]

117. I thought LOL Ferrets were anti-snark guard?

[rucky]

121. Is this a metaphor for something? n/t

[danimich1]

124. If your cat bit the bird, it's in trouble

There is a bacteria in cats' saliva that will kill the bird. If the bird was bitten, or if you're unsure if it was bitten or not, you need to get that bird to a wildlife rehabber asap. If you don't know where there is a wildlife rehabber, call all the local vets, and someone should know. You can also do a google search to find one. I used to run a wildlife rehabilitation center, so I do know what will happen if this bird doesn't get on some antibiotics. If you're 100% certain that the bird wasn't bitten, you can return it to it's mother quickly. She should take it back since most birds don't have a sense of smell. You can always watch to make sure. If she doesn't take it, or if you can't find the mother, then again, call a rehabber.

[PoliticalAmazon]

130. I had a mother duck who sat on a hen's eggs and hatched her chicks....

and the proceeded to raise the chicks as her own. Luckily, there was no pond in the egg-laying enclosure which is where the chickens would usually nest and brood. Otherwise, there might have been a very unhappy ending.

Anyway, the duck didn't seem to recognize that her babies were chicks, and the chicks didn't realize that the mother was a duck. So they seem to be flexible when it comes to their babies.