Do wild ducks leave their mom? If so, when?

[ktrayn]

7 baby ducks hatched in the pond behind my house and I've watched them grow over the past few months. There's the mom, 3 females and 4 males. I noticed they started flying a few weeks ago. They have stayed together the whole time but this morning I noticed one of the males missing. D of you think he went to another neighborhood pond? Is it normal for them to leave their mom? There are no other ducks in the pond so do they all eventually leave? I'm trying to understand because I'm now worried something happened to him. Can anyone she'd some light on their behavior in the wild? Do you think he will ever come back? Do they normally move around from pond to pond?

 

[PINOAK RIDGE]

Where are you located and what breed of duck are we talking about?

 

[chickens really]

Yes.....Wild Ducks leave the Mothers at a young age....The Drakes are usually the first to venture off.....He probably left and is on another pond.....Wild Ducks do not mate for life, they mate for a season......

Have no worries.....A few will come back in the spring to continue using your pond as a place to raise their Ducklings.....



Cheers!

 

[ktrayn]

Where are you located and what breed of duck are we talking about? 

I'm located in Tampa Florida and the ducks are Muscovy. I'm such a huge animal lover and to think something bad happened to him is breaking my heart.
I have noticed as the 4 males got older they would get a little more aggressive with each other.
I love to watch them. I have fed them corn on occasion but want to be very careful not to make them dependant on me for food. Is that bad? Should I not give them corn as a treat?

 

[ktrayn]

Yes.....Wild Ducks leave the Mothers at a young age....The Drakes are usually the first to venture off.....He probably left and is on another pond.....Wild Ducks do not mate for life, they mate for a season......

Have no worries.....A few will come back in the spring to continue using your pond as a place to raise their Ducklings.....



Cheers!

That's such a relief. Thank you sooo much!

 

[chickens really]

Quote:

Now you know.......


Cheers!!

 

[ktrayn]

I'm located in Tampa Florida and the ducks are Muscovy. I'm such a huge animal lover and to think something bad happened to him is breaking my heart.
I have noticed as the 4 males got older they would get a little more aggressive with each other.
I love to watch them. I have fed them corn on occasion but want to be very careful not to make them dependant on me for food. Is that bad? Should I not give them corn as a treat?

Is it OK to feed them corn?

 

[junebuggena]

Corn is not very nutrient dense, so don't make it a regular thing. A better option is black oil sunflower seeds. And the Muscovies in you area are likely escapees from a domesticated flock. They are not native to Florida.

 

[PINOAK RIDGE]

Junebuggena, is correct. Muscovy ducks are not a wild species native to Florida. Most likely they are escapees or someone "turned them loose" once their cuteness wore off.

Ducks are an amazing and hearty species. One of the animals that if the babies loose their mother at an early age, they actually have a chance at survival due to their strong instincts. They are a flock animal and the babies will naturally stay together until after fledgling stage. True wild ducks still leave their mother and go off to find mates of their own. Often the females will return to the area where they were raised and bring back a mate, but it can depend on bird population density. Males tend to travel farther abroad and not return to the hatching area. Think of it as mother natures way of limiting inbreeding, which can be detrimental to the species.

Corn is often given to waterfowl and they like. Commercial feed often has a corn base already. Other treat options could be: peas, cheerios, crickets, meal worms, minnows and more.

Isn't it amazing how a large heavy muscovy drake can flush and take flight? Muscovies are good flyers and often surprise people, as they see them as big heavy domestic ducks and often think this duck is too big to fly.

Hope this helps and keep enjoying the ducks.

 

[ktrayn]

Wow, thanks for all the information, I really appreciate it. I'm definitely going to buy them some alternative treats besides corn. I did give the peas a few times but they didn't really like it as much as the corn. I'm going to try to find some crickets and mealworms at the pet store.

They do seem really friendly and sweet, not really wild but since they don't belong to anyone I thought they were wild. I really enjoy them, my little shin tzu Chloe and I go out and look for them every morning. Sometimes we have to check several times before they show up.

Thanks again for the help.

Here's a link to my you tube, a few really short videos of the ducks:

Kristin