Baby wood duck won't eat

[rioreptiles]

I just posted somewhere else in the forum about my experience raising an abandoned wood duck egg that hatched about a week after I got it. Luckily I breed lizards and farm my own live feeders, so I figured out baby wood ducks would eat live super worms right away. My local feed store didn't have the Mazuri Waterfowl Starter, so I tried the Mazuri Insectivore that I had on hand for the lizards and my baby wood duck loved it. Everything I read about them said they ate a lot of invertebrates in the wild, so it only made sense to feed him insects and to try the insectivore diet. Now he's 4 months old at still eats the Mazuri, but he loves and prefers live dubia roaches that we feed the lizards. If you want to try some small super worms, we have an online store at beardeddragon.co and ship them all over the place. Now I'm trying to find somewhere to purchase a female wood duck if anyone knows where to get just one. Hope this helps, Cheryl

 

[NOLA Chicks]

Thanks for the update, sorry you're down to one baby. I'm not sure about wood ducks, but I think you can tell that they're males after a few months. They will still be gray, but have more white markings under the chin. Females will develop a distinct eye ring.

Thanks! I'll bide my time and see what happens. S/he is still doing terrific. I went out yesterday morning and they were all lined up on the low perch I have in the coop....chick, chick, duck, chick. It was so cute.

 

[NOLA Chicks]

I just posted somewhere else in the forum about my experience raising an abandoned wood duck egg that hatched about a week after I got it. Luckily I breed lizards and farm my own live feeders, so I figured out baby wood ducks would eat live super worms right away. My local feed store didn't have the Mazuri Waterfowl Starter, so I tried the Mazuri Insectivore that I had on hand for the lizards and my baby wood duck loved it. Everything I read about them said they ate a lot of invertebrates in the wild, so it only made sense to feed him insects and to try the insectivore diet. Now he's 4 months old at still eats the Mazuri, but he loves and prefers live dubia roaches that we feed the lizards. If you want to try some small super worms, we have an online store at beardeddragon.co and ship them all over the place. Now I'm trying to find somewhere to purchase a female wood duck if anyone knows where to get just one. Hope this helps, Cheryl

Great information Cheryl. I would agree with you based on what I've read and seen so far. I gave them (chicks too) some live crickets yesterday and they gobbled them up. I'll definitely check out your store for the super worms.

 

[oldmike]

I had access to some wood duck eggs and hatched them in an incubator. I have hatched many mallards, Canada geese, guineas, chickens, etc., but I was unprepared for how wild the wood ducks would be. They refused to eat or drink. After 2 days, I borrowed a week old baby chick from a friend and put it in with the ducklings. That tactic worked like a charm and the ducklings thrived after that. The chick taught them how to eat and drink, but it also got a little wild itself, I guess from seeing the way the ducks behaved around people. Good luck.

 

[Jason1221]

I had someone bring a wood duckling in to my work and i offered to raise it I have it in a box with another production red chick that is a little older is this okay?Does anyone have any tips on raising this little guy?

 

[WebbedSite]

I know this is an old post but I wanted to share my success with getting Wood Duck ducklings to eat, in hopes it can help someone else. I had 9 hatch and 9 all ate within several hours of moving them from the incubator to the brooder. I used Mazuri Waterfowl Starter and Happy Hen Treats Mealworm Frenzy, 100% Natural Dried Mealworms. I soaked the Mazuri Starter in warm water to get it mushy. Then added more water to get it soupy. I crushed the dried mealworms and sprinkled them on top. I crushed them where they were small pieces. I sprinkled them on top of the soupy Mazuri Starter. When I placed it in the brooder, I swirled the mixture around where the movement caught their attention. A majority of them started eating immediately. The others I dipped their bill in it, just enough to get them a little taste. I also took some of the mushy mixture and smeared it on the walls of the brooder. They seem to think that was the best! :O) You can also take some soaked Mazuri and sprinkle it on the floor of the brooder. If you crush the mealworms up in really small pieces, you can sprinkle that on the ducklings themselves and they make sure to remove it from their buddies.
I know from experience that when you have a situation where you don't have time to plan for it, getting your hands on Mazuri Waterfowl Starter can take several days. The Happy Hen Treats are much easier to get quickly, as most feed stores and pet stores keep them in stock. Tractor Supply has them all the time. Just the mealworms could buy some time until you could get them Mazuri Starter as soon as possible. You can also order directly from Mazuri's website and they have pretty fast shipping. Trust me on feeding the Mazuri feeds to waterfowl, it has been a life saver to some of my other adult ducks that had egg laying issues on other feeds. Also, I have called and emailed Mazuri with questions on feeding different birds. They are VERY knowledgeable and helpful as well as quick to respond.
A couple of other things that have helped me keep their brooder clean and dry. I use a 75 gallon aquarium for my brooder. I have my heat lamp on one end. I use pine shavings as the base of the brooder, then cover the shavings with washable non slip shelf liner. You can get it in rolls and cut it to fit whatever size you need. It is soft, can be washed and the small holes in it let the moisture soak into the shavings below. Just make sure when you trim the liner you don't leave any "fringy" pieces on the edge that they can pick at. You can also take a plastic tray and line it with the shelf liner. Then keep their food mixture and water on it. Easy clean up.
I hope my experience with Woodie babies can help!

 

[starr1374]

I know this is an old post, but I am going to put this out there for future people needing help. A friend rescued 15 tiny wood ducks yesterday. She contacted me and I brought them home and put them under a heat lamp (I keep a lot of chicks). However, they will drink, but not eat. As of this morning, I have already lost 2. I called wildlife fisheries to get some info to help me. First, she said NO wood shavings. Newspaper ONLY. The dust in the shavings will kill them. It gets in their lungs. Second, they only eat in daylight. I am going to get a white bulb for my heat lamp instead of the red. Third, she said to "peck, peck, with your finger like the mama". She said to put starter pellets on the newspaper and mimic the mom with your finger. I tried it once, but to no avail. I will be leaving shortly to get the white bulb and I will post updates on here.

 

[WebbedSite]

I read the post about NO wood shavings for baby Wood Ducks due to the dust killing them. I have never had any Wood ducklings die from starting them on large flake pine shavings. About housing them on newspaper, I've always been told it is slippery when wet and can cause leg problems.
As far as getting them to eat for the first time, mine seemed to prefer floating food(Mazuri Waterfowl Starter) and crumbled dried mealworms that were floating as well. Swirling the mixture with my finger to get the movement, got their attention and their curiosity got them dabbling in it. That led them to eating it. Also, smearing the mixture on the walls of the brooder helped get them started. If you get the dried mealworms, you can crumbled them into small pieces and sprinkle them on the babies. They will curiously pick them off each other and discover they are quite tasty. The food in the water has been the biggest winner with mine. If feeding a starter feed dry, make sure it's a crumble or a very small size like the Mazuri Starter. To get them started though, a very watery mixture would be best to prevent choking if the kibble size is too big.

 

[SueRich]

I gound a baby wood duck on the road. Its not eating. Can someone tell me how to force feed it?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I gound a baby wood duck on the road. Its not eating. Can someone tell me how to force feed it?

Bless you for taking it in. I think it's hard to get them to eat but I think if you go to this thread you'll get more help since it's wild duckling.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/46/ornamental-fowl-swans-etc