Baby Mallard!

[CBLKim]

My daughters friend wanted to "pet" a baby duck while her mom was running around a local lake. So she caught it and the momma duck ran off with all her other babies. I now have a crying baby in a cage with water, food, and a heat lamp in my home. I know how to take care of babies thats not my issue but Im wondering if the momma duck would want it back? Its really young (less than three days) it still has its egg tooth. If I walk around the lake will she recognize its voice and do something so I will know that is the momma duck? Im not sure how many nests there are at this lake but Im sure there is more than one because the path around it is a mile and a half. Will it be better off I just go buy a couple friends for it?

 

[La Mike]

They shouldnt have taken it but now that they have I would try to return it as soon as possible. On the other hand if you want ducks then I would get it some company. It only has a 25% chance to grow up in the wild. Maybe you could get it to flying stage and return it

 

[CBLKim]

Oh believe me she knows very well that she shouldnt have taken it!! I have 17 ducks right now and more eggs in my incubator I just wasnt ready to adopt a baby right this minute. I would be much happier if it was with its Mommy and not crying in my house.

I just dont want to spend my whole day walking in circles around the lake hoping the momma duck will show some sort of recognition.

 

[CBLKim]

Oh my goodness!! Its breaking my heart listening to it cry!! I hope we (the duckling and I) can make it through the night.

 

[xIndigoSkyx]

You will trust me I did this with golden eye ducklings that had fallen out of there tree. I got the two so fat it was hard for them to fly! They will live and we tried findin there mommy for them but we had no lick whatso ever so we raised them but sadly this fall the flew south for winter and I haven't seen them since

 

[Stormy Autumn]

If you can find the mom, she'll probably take it back. Aren't ducks kind of known for adopting lost ducklings? She probably wouldn't even care if it was hers or not.

 

[desertdarlene]

You can also try to find another female with ducklings around the same age and see if they will accept it. Generally, they have to be in breeding mode to accept ducklings and it's really iffy. Females without ducklings will not adopt it and will attack the baby, so be careful.

You can also buy a little friend for it around the same age.

Poor little guy.

 

[FireTigeris]

Put it in her room and make all care her problem, including the funeral...

No, not really...

I'd take it back and try to get all the ducks over with treats (at the pond) and let it go, watching to see what happened (IE- Ready to rescue baby duck back)...

Momma or Aunty or someone should take the duckling back.


((I have had this done to me, I NEVER forgot the lesson, it seemed cruel- I cried- but I STOLE an animal that I couldn't take care of (robin)- it wasn't rescue it was thief it was the animal that paid the price))

 

[DuckLover9138]

It's not your fault. I know it must really feel bad hearing the sad sound it makes when it is alone.

Don't return it though it is far easier to dump it back at the lake and hope it will be adopted. Chances are, it won't happen. If you put it randomly with another duck, there is no certainty that it will accept it as its own. Even if it does temporally accept it, you don't know when it might reject it in the future. Ducks like other species have adapted to reject Brood Parasitism. You might as well as raise it and release it after 3-4 month. If its a Mallard, it will be able to fly and live in the wild after a few month. At any point the foster mother decides to reject it, it won't survive on its own. Some ducks will even drown the baby before you can rescue it. Even with a mom, the fatality is at least 50% before it reaches adulthood. You never see 5-6 grown ducks following their mother. They had a new article (though news isn't always reliable) of how a duck mother went to Fox News headquarters and with all the protection she got from the Fox people including a guy standing to guard them against crows and hawks and a wooden owl, she still lost most of her ducklings. In the wild, it has zero chance to survive as a duckling without any protection. It needs water for protection, but its oil glands are not developed and its feather will get wet and it will drown after being in the water for too long. I am not making this up, you can search on the internet about any of it to confirm for yourself.

(I never tried this, but I think it will stop calling for its mother around 4-5 days.)

 

[FireTigeris]

If you raise it you cannot release it....

its against the law, it would be considered 'captive' and/or 'domestic' at so many days (some random number that is arbitrarily decided by uncle sam) in your house and unreleasable... in most states ...