HELP! FOUND HIM

[BabyFaceNinja]

My nina found this duck at the San Juaquin river. They tried to put him back in yhe water but he lost his mom and kept bumping into things. Ive had one Swedish black duck once so they gave him to me. I dont know what to feed him, ive had him since 5 pm yesterday. I looked it up but it didnt give me a straight answer but i seen that it said something s egg yolks. So far its the only thing he'll let me put in his mouth. My sister is a vet tech and she said to give hom soft cat food but he wouldnt let me get it near him. Anyone know what i can feed him so i dont lose him. I also dont know what kind of duck he is. Or if its a she or a he. Anyone know anything i can know about them

 

[Amiga]

Might be a wood duck duckling.

If egg yolks work, keep feeding him that. It appears he may have an infection . . . swelling near the bill. That could be affecting his or her ability to eat. The little one needs a vet, I think. Be sure to keep him relatively warm, but give him a way to move away from heat (I am thinking, 75F for temperature).

Getting him to a wildlife rehabber a.s.a.p. would probably be the best thing.

I would also put some poultry NutriDrench in his water. And give him or her time in lukewarm water in the bathtub, no soap. Constant supervision - little is too young to be left alone in water.

 

[Pyxis]

I'm glad that you rescued him. For feed he needs a starter feed from a feed store. Don't try to force feed him. A problem you're facing is that he looks to be a wood duck duckling, and they are notoriously hard to get to eat if there is not another domestic duckling or chick living with them to 'teach' them how to eat when not in a wild setting. Duck starter from Mazuri seems to be the preferred starter for wood ducks but you may have a hard time finding that in a feed store, so a regular chick starter will do in a pinch. He also needs a heat source like a heat lamp that he can get under when he gets cold, if you don't already have that for him.

Since he is a wild duck, he is illegal for you to own. You should try to find a wildlife rehabber to take him in and raise him with the goal of returning him to the wild. If you keep him, you could face fines and other legal repercussions. I'm not trying to scare you, I just want you to be aware. He looks like he's a wood duck too so he'll be pretty conspicuous and very obviously not a domestic duck.

Also if you kept him, he will be able to fly and you would have to keep his wings clipped. Being raised by you he would have no idea how to care for himself in the wild and would likely either starve to death or be picked off by predators. And he will fly off if his wings aren't clipped and not be able to find his way back to you. So you'll need to keep him clipped or build an aviary. But I strongly suggest you go the wildlife rehabber route instead.

 

[Kiaton]

It's a mallard, you won't be able to know the gender for a few more months. Give him waterfowl starter, from your local feed store, but if they don't have it get chick starter (18-20% protein) and plenty of water. I also suggest getting vitamins and electrolytes (also at the feed store) and niacin, since ducklings needs a higher percentage of it than chicks.

 

[0wen]

Most of the times when animals are 'orphaned' or 'lost' they really aren't - until someone takes them home but since it's been 24+ hours, looks like taking him home isn't really an option.

Ducks (chickens, etc) generally don't do very well as solitary animals, but it's also risky introducing it to say, a feed store duck because of illness, disease, etc. You could get feed for it at a feed store however, so it may be worth visiting. I'd do a search for animal rehabilitation or rescue groups in your area and surrender the bird to them. You could call Fish & Wildlife or Animal Control and turn the animal over - depending on the mood of them, it may result in a citation or fine but they may be able to help the animal survive.

Food isn't his only need. He'll need grit, water, housing, etc. See the above suggestion about contacting someone who will take the animal.

Suggest to the people who 'found' him, not to take animals out of their environment. Often, it eventually kills them.

 

[Amiga]

I suspect this little one may have been abandoned due to the infection. Just a guess.

 

[ravensgait]

That's a little Wood duck, as pointed out above they can be tough to get going . What they will eat is things that move , most use live meal worms you can find them at pet stores, petco, petsmart etc. seems kind of gross but many a baby wood duck started on meal worms. Give them straight at first to get some food in him . After a day or two get them damp and mix them in starter feed and hopefully soon he will get the idea that the starter feed is food .Good luck .