Mandarins: will they come back or will they be gone forever?

[tiktilaok]

E.L.A.T.E.D!!!!

Thanks everyone for appeciating of what little i can do to somehow mimic their natural habitat

 

[tiktilaok]

Actually, i do clipping of wings too as the last resort.. Very seldom, i must say.
Or if i am not that confident enough that wont fly and wander off. We do what needs to be done.

But i clip feathers to a minimum just so that they could fly so high and eventually maintain being air borne..

I honestly avoid clipping as much as possible because i think i am making them lesser of a bird... Plus, no matter how neatly a clipping is done, i still dont like how they look...No pun intended.., Just my personal opinion..

And as for the turtles, they are box turtles and a few red eared sliders.

But i clip feathers to a minimum just so that they could NOT fly so high and eventually maintain being air borne..

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Love your garden, I hate clipping, and I let them fly except if they try to use the road in front of the house as a landing strip. (I agree it LOOKS like a great landing strip, even has lines, but the mad waving I do to stop cars from killing them is not me waving them in for an authorized landing!)

 

[tiktilaok]

Love your garden, I hate clipping, and I let them fly except if they try to use the road in front of the house as a landing strip. (I agree it LOOKS like a great landing strip, even has lines, but the mad waving I do to stop cars from killing them is not me waving them in for an authorized landing!)

I feel you.... And it seems i can you as you describe the situation. Done the exact thing, but not with these ducks - with dogs...
Its like deja vu suddenly while reading your comment. All the emotions flooded me instantly... Panic, fear, strength, and everything else! Hahaha..
During that time, you feel invinsible as well... Stopping and waving and signaling vehicles to stop or slow down., not thinking of the danger that you too are facing.

There was a time that i had to run in tje middle of a highway stopping those big commuter buses and trucks. After that, i felt weak to my knees when i realized that disaster couldve easily happen with just a minute muscalculation from the either me or the drivers..

And.... Ooooh... Sorry for a long reply...

 

[ColtHandorf]

@MGG might be able to assist you. Or @The Phantom.

 

[tiktilaok]

@MGG might be able to assist you. Or @The Phantom.

Thanks a lot! Looking forward to that

 

[The Phantom]

Hi there! Recently, i have been thinking of acquiring a pair (or more) of mandarin ducks.

Im still in the process of researching and reading stuff about them.
Considering them not being totally domesticated ducks, i learned that their initial response to anything that would startle or scare them would be FLIGHT, instead of FIGHT.

With that being said, i am wondering if they would still come back to their place/enclosure after flying away, or if they would prefer to wander off?

Im asking this since i have a few heads of 2 wild duck species (Anas luzonica and Dendrocygna arcuata) . All of them are neither wing clipped nor pinioned. Their place is also not netted. What i do is i temporarily place them in a smaller cage inside their enclosure for a month or so. After that, i let them loose.

Sometimes, a duck or 2 will occasionally fly away after being startled and they are nowhere to be found. But after a few hours or a few days, they'd be back.

Im curious to know if mandarins will behave the same way.

Thanks a lot in advance!


Just sharing a few photos....

Beautiful Philippines!
Unfortunately I highly doubt the mandarins would hang around or ever come back. They are one of the flightiest ducks. If they were pinioned that would be best or if you netted the pen

 

[raingarden]

I have always wanted mandarins but the price and logistics of getting them make it impossible. Even if we could get a permit for them. the permit would require that they remain confined forever. Your Luzons and Whistlers would be even more difficult to acquire. They are beautiful.

I think you already know what you have to do and the risks involved. They would have to be confined long enough to make sure they are completely dependent on you and your food, and are comfortable being there. Despite the warning to not let ducks get too fat for health reasons, I suspect a fat and happy duck is less likely to take flight. It's just too much trouble. If you let one from a pair out and it took off, it would be much more likely to return than if the pair took off together. Sounds scary to me and I wouldn't do it unless they were easy to replace. Maybe they are easy to replace there.

 

[tiktilaok]

I have always wanted mandarins but the price and logistics of getting them make it impossible. Even if we could get a permit for them. the permit would require that they remain confined forever. Your Luzons and Whistlers would be even more difficult to acquire. They are beautiful.

I think you already know what you have to do and the risks involved. They would have to be confined long enough to make sure they are completely dependent on you and your food, and are comfortable being there. Despite the warning to not let ducks get too fat for health reasons, I suspect a fat and happy duck is less likely to take flight. It's just too much trouble. If you let one from a pair out and it took off, it would be much more likely to return than if the pair took off together. Sounds scary to me and I wouldn't do it unless they were easy to replace. Maybe they are easy to replace there.

The latest addition was 4 A. luzonensis juveniles. After their quarantine, i placed them for 1 week in an area just next to the pond before releasing them together with the rest of the ducks.

For the last few days, i have seen some of the juvies who overshoot as they fly from the planted area to the pond, or vv.

After realizing the situation, that said duck immmediately flies on their own back to their enclosure.

So far, with their current status, i could somehow say that im confident enough that they may fly, but wont wander off

i hope i am right.....

 

[tiktilaok]

Beautiful Philippines!
Unfortunately I highly doubt the mandarins would hang around or ever come back. They are one of the flightiest ducks. If they were pinioned that would be best or if you netted the pen

I see... With that said, maybe now is not the time for me to acquire mandarins. Or maybe mandarins arent just right for me...!

Thanks a lot for shedding light on my concern!