Can I get ducklings for my lonely duck?

Date sort Score sort
Tori1133

Tori1133

Songster
Jan 25, 2021
68
107
111
Griffith, Ontario
Hey guys! So last spring I bought 4 welsh harlequin ducklings, we recently lost all but one female to a predator attack :(

My one female has been hanging out with the chickens but I can tell she is lonely and I really want to get her some new duck friends asap. I’ve been searching kijiji and all over the internet to try and find some full grown welsh harlequins for sale near me (Ottawa Ontario) but have found nothing so far.

I know this is probably a long shot but do you think it would be possible to buy a few ducklings and put them with her? Would she like them or try to hurt them or just not notice them at all? Do you think there’s any chance she might adopt/befriend them? I’ve been finding people selling ducklings all over the place but no adults, so the thought just came to my mind that maybe it could actually work. I have a feeling the answer is no lol but wanted to check anyway. I’m more familiar with chickens and I know this would rarely work with a chicken but I guess I had a bit of hope that maybe ducks are different lol.
 
I would think that you would have to wait until your ducklings are about 8 weeks old before putting them together. In the past my full grown ducks have been afraid of my ducklings, and I've had to introduce them slowly when they're full grown. You could always try for another breed full grown female duck, if you can find one. Otherwise the ducklings will grow pretty fast. You just want to keep in mind that you want to end up with more females than males - usually it's one male to about 4 females to prevent over-mating. Also, were you able to resolve the issue so you don't have to worry about further predator attacks?
 
CoriM said:
I would think that you would have to wait until your ducklings are about 8 weeks old before putting them together. In the past my full grown ducks have been afraid of my ducklings, and I've had to introduce them slowly when they're full grown. You could always try for another breed full grown female duck, if you can find one. Otherwise the ducklings will grow pretty fast. You just want to keep in mind that you want to end up with more females than males - usually it's one male to about 4 females to prevent over-mating. Also, were you able to resolve the issue so you don't have to worry about further predator attacks?
Click to expand...
Ah yes that’s basically what I figured. I don’t want to leave my duck alone for that long so I’ll continue my search for some adults for her. I was aware of the ratios for male/female, I actually was talking to one guy who has runner ducks for sale but he will only sell me them 1:1 male/female. He has been trying to convince me that his runner duck males are more gentle than other breeds and so I can have more of them… which I’m skeptical of lol. Have you ever heard of runners being described that way or is he just trying to offload his unwanted males on people? And yeah I’m pretty open to other breeds, I was just mainly trying to stick to lightweight egg layers since I don’t really plan to eat the ducks, I’d like to save a little money on feed with a smaller breed.

Also yes and no with the predator issue. The issue isn’t the predator getting into any of my coops - I haven’t ever had a single break in so I think they’re pretty solid. But I love to let my ducks free range. This has gone perfectly fine during the day as they’re ranging right around our house and we tend to coop them all up if we have to be away for the day. But we have a big river running through our backyard, which is awesome for the ducks, but they took a liking to sleeping on the water and we were struggling to get them to come home at night which is when the losses occurred. So the problem is not yet solved but I did a bunch of reading on some other forums on here from people having a similar struggle with their free range ducks and I think I know what I need to do to train them now! So I feel hopeful about that.
 
Oh good, Im glad you're getting a handle on the predator situation! Haha on the runners - I think @Miss Lydia might have more info. on runner males. I have had two myself - hatchery mistakes as I ordered females. One of them was quite large and was a blue runner - that one was very aggressive and trying to mate a lot his first season. I did cull him. The 2nd one was a fawn and white guy and quite a bit smaller and sweeter. I culled him because he was constantly going after my one older females and scaring her, but he was a good male and I sometimes wish I had made it work to keep him. I think it's just one of those things where each case is different.
 
Miss Lydia said:
My Runner isn’t hard on his females he has 9 but if he had only a couple he would be. Drakes are so hormone driven 1 drake to at least 4 female and up would be best.
Click to expand...
Okay yeah that’s what I was thinking too. I wanted to have at least 3 females but that’s good to know that you’d say at least 4. This guy is only willing to sell me 2 females if I also take two males which would leave me with 3 females for only 2 males. So sounds like I’ll have to turn him down :/
 
Tori1133 said:
Okay yeah that’s what I was thinking too. I wanted to have at least 3 females but that’s good to know that you’d say at least 4. This guy is only willing to sell me 2 females if I also take two males which would leave me with 3 females for only 2 males. So sounds like I’ll have to turn him down :/
Click to expand...
Have you tried adoption rather than buying adult ducks? There are a number of duck rescue organizations -- I would think there is one in Ontario. Try searching for "wildlife sanctuaries near me" or "duck rescue near me". There is a facebook group Rescue Ducks where you might advertise that you are looking to adopt ducks rescued near you. https://www.facebook.com/groups/388169774565866
 
Tori1133 said:
Oh interesting! I just clicked your link and I should mention - I am in Canada. So I can’t join that group because it’s US specific. But that’s a good idea and I’ll check to see if I can find a Canadian version. Thanks!!
Click to expand...
I put out a call on the rescue ducks group page.

I found a number of potential leads on line.

https://www.birdsnow.com/login.htm arranges adoptions and takes enquiries from Canada.

Woodlands Wildlife Sanctuary in Ontario might offer advice if they don't adopt out ducks [they don't talk about duck adoptions]. They may be able to tell you which if any organizations or rehabbers take in domestic ducks.

Flying Hope arranges adoptions for companion birds [aka pets]. They likely mean parrots and parakeets, but contact them and ask! https://flyinghope.weebly.com/

Similarly, cherished wings is parots and birds -- but contact hem and ask
https://cherishedwings.ca/contact-us

Another search came up with:
https://www.ontariowildliferescue.ca/wildlifecentres/?care=bird these are for wildlife but domestic ducks get abandoned on ponds and in parks, so contact them all and ask!

https://www.ontario.ca/page/rescue-sick-injured-or-abandoned-wild-animal ask them which rehabbers might havre taken in abandoned ducks. I don;t know your situation in Canada but in FLrida where I live, it is illegal for wildlife rehabbers to take in muscovy and many wont take abandoned domestic ducks as they cannto release them to the wild. But there are persons who the rehabbers know who take in muscovy and domestic ducks. If asked they will tell if they think the enquiry is genuine

https://www.ontario.ca/page/find-wildlife-rehabilitator
Ottawa Valley Wild Bird Care Centre, Nepean, ON
Located within the Stony Swamp Conservation Area, the Wild Bird Care Centre takes in around 3,000 birds annually, all of them brought to the centre by caring citizens. With a resource centre — complete with observation windows — it’s also open to the public daily from noon until 3pm.
Ontario SPCA website has a section:

Animals Available for Adoption through our Community Partners​

lastly: https://eriewildliferescue.ca/
 

Similar threads

JewelBirds
    • Like
Can a Muscovy Raise Other Duck Breeds?
Replies
5
Views
443
Miss Lydia
Miss Lydia
Lolame777
    • Love
    • Like
I recently purchased these ducks and not sure what breed they are
Replies
4
Views
492
Lolame777
Lolame777
L
Ducklings with adults?
Replies
5
Views
164
Lacash72
L
EllieandOlive
    • Love
What breeds are these two 'assorted' ducklings?
2
Replies
10
Views
1K
EllieandOlive
EllieandOlive
SeaSea47
    • Like
Introducing Ducklings to Drakes
Replies
8
Views
777
Luv Ducks
L

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom