Advise on how to sell or find new home for my ducks

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EAWCinci

EAWCinci

In the Brooder
Mar 14, 2015
28
2
36
Loveland, Ohio


Hi! These are my female mallard ducks... Quackers and Lucky. They are about 1 year old. My son got them when they were babies and we raised them. On Christmas day Quackers laid her first egg!! They try to hatch their eggs, but of course they won't hatch... there's no male.

This is their cage for night time and when we're away:



During the winter we filled their pool and the floor of the cage with straw, and put tarps around 3 sides of the cage. We used a heat lamp to keep them warm during the freezing temperatures we get in Ohio.

I worry about them so much. They are pets.... and if they fly away, I don't think they could survive. I don't clip their wings because when they're out of the cage, they would need to get away from predators (my dog, my cats, hawks, racoons, etc). One night last fall they flew out of our yard and I thought they were gone. Worried me so, but they returned the next morning.

I've thought about trying to find them a different home... one where there are other ducks and maybe they can learn to protect themselves and fly south during the winter. I'm afraid to post an add on Craigslist or a place like that, because I don't know who might respond and maybe eat them or something. Maybe someone here can give me advise? Is there a thread for selling ducks?
 
Quote:
Hi I have a question for you, I was considering possibly adding a mallard to our tiny flock. Do you know if cats are actually a danger to mallards?? I realize they're small, but I have also had bantam chickens in the past which were never bothered by cats during the day.

I am debating whether I might need to clip the wing feathers.

Thanks!
 
I have 2 cats, and they ignore our ducks pretty much. They are happy not to be bothered by them. If the ducks moved close to our cats, the cats move away... but the cats have known the ducks since they were babies... so I don't know if that makes a difference.
 
I suspect they won't be able to learn to be wild. They need to be protected and cared for as pets. Glad you posted here on the Duck Forum. Please feel free to post a little more about them, what you feed them, just little stories - - - someone near you may be able to take them in.
 
Amiga, I'm finding that out. I talked to a naturalist at a county park near us about taking them, because they have a lot of Mallards in their lake, but they said they wouldn't be accepted by the other ducks, and they thought my ducks would bother the park visitors. Besides that, the more I think about rehoming them, the sadder I get. Unless I find a really good home for them.... they're staying with me. They seem happy with here, and th made it through the winter fine. What do they eat? I feed them crumbled grain for poultry that I buy at a local tractor supply store. I've also given them Kale, spinach, leaf lettuce, fresh mealy worms, dried mealy worms, feeder fish and crickets.
 
Sounds like you are doing a good job.

Please don't feel bad for them if you clip their wings and keep them in a secure space. If the space is large enough, and really secure, and you spend regular time with them, and provide care if they are ill or injured - really, I don't think that is such a bad life for ducks.

Of course, I am prejudiced - I have a flock of Runners and Buffs, and while I do let them go outside their pen with supervision - and therefore if a predator comes out of nowhere we are in trouble - they stay in very secure areas when I am not right with them. I do keep a sharp eye out, and my ears open, for potential trouble, and so do they. Part of my point is that I am a fallible human being, and we all make mistakes. I pray every day that I do not make a mistake that is fatal for them.

The other part of my point is that we do need to do what we can for them to be secure.

I am wondering if you have half inch metal hardware cloth around the bottom of that lovely pen. I don't know if the photo does not show it, or if there is none. I would add that - raccoons will reach through the chain link and pull the ducks out bit by bit. Very harsh image, but I know it happens, and you care so much for them . . . .
 
Hello fellow Ohioan!

Let me just say that I think you're doing a great job. They can't ever really be wild mallards, but you are providing them with everything they need. I have a similar set up for the outside pen for our ducks, one of which is a male mallard. We adopted him last fall. He was raised by humans so there's no way he can ever live free, so we keep his wings clipped and he seems quite content to hang with his pekin girlfriend all day. I think that if they don't know any different, then it probably doesn't bother them much. Plus, they are really hardy, tough ducks! They can handle our lovely Ohio winters, no sweat.

You're doing a great job. Now you get to enjoy the companionship (and eggs!) of your feathered friends =]
 
Our cage has chicken wire around the bottom and outside and the top, and covers the space at the top of the door. No raccoons or dogs could get in, but we do have problems with starlings flying in and eating their food!

I'm not sure I want to clip their wings. There's the risk of them flying away, but I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to escape a predator. I keep an eye on them when they're out, but not constantly. Last fall when they flew out of our yard, I found them the next morning in our neighbor's yard. :)
 

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