Please help! HURT DUCK

[hannahjhamilton]

Oh I'd always help an animal in need! And I adore ducks! We decided to keep miss daisy (we named her at the vet) and we're going to let her recover in our home and then stay in our back yard. The vet said she may never fully be able to walk well again and that she'll always have a limp so we thought it would be best to keep her safe in our yard and away from other animals. We will have a coop built for her! Looking forward to having a duck to come home to again! Does anyone have any advice on getting a duck to get used to you though? I'm thinking I should take some time out of each day to hold her in my lap (even though she doesn't like that now) I want her to get used to being held because I loved cuddling my other ducks!

 

[Virus]

I hope the surgery goes well! Most people would have over looked her, I'm glad you stepped in to help her.

 

[Virus]

She may never let you stay in her lap, even if she likes you. Domestic mallards don't usually like to be held and picked up, mine was raised from an egg and thinks he's a human and he still doesn't like it. Wild mallards are hard to tame, and you should clip her wing to keep her from flying away, with these leg problems she shouldn't be allowed to fly and get hurt. Sit outside with her and talk to her and let her come to you. And this is going to be hard but don't pick her up a lot, looming over her to grab her will freak her out and she'll be scared, pick her up if she's calm and doesn't cry out when you go near her. Try giving her live meeleworms from your hand or putting them in the ground in front of her, meeleworms are fav treats for ducks and chickens, mine go wild form them.

 

[hannahjhamilton]

Aww! Sad to hear that! My Pekens loved being held and would even give me hugs! They were so cute! Anyway- I'll talk to the vet tomorrow about clipping the wings. We had talked about it at dinner tonight and couldn't decided if it would be good to do or not, but now thinking about it, that make more sense because we don't want her flying away and not being able to defend herself. We also are going to pick up some meeleworms tomorrow! They gave her some at the vet and she liked them once she started to eat them. I'll try having her eat out of my hands and not pick her up right away. I just want her to become more friendly with me. Right now she likes to bite and hiss. She even bit the vet! Everyone just laughed. She's too cute to be angry! Do you know of any way to help ducks become less angry?

 

[Virus]

Well she's in pain and is in new places around these big scary loud humans so she's a little out of her element right now. Being around her will get her used to you and people in general and giving her those meeleworms will make her associate you with good things like yummy food. You could also put a shirt you've worn for a day or two where she sleeps so she can get used to your smell, though ducks aren't really smell based, they rely more on sight it will still make her a bit calmer. You'll want to move her as little as possible until she's better because shifting around will hurt and we don't want her associating you with pain. Try not to loom over her a lot, she feel like a hawk is trying to get her and she'll be scared. Speaking of that, a thing about mallards is that they still have a lot of their survival instincts so she may always run away from you, it's not that she doesn't like you, in the wild if something big is coming towards her, she'll run from it. Mallards don't get picked up in the wild so that will always probably be weird for her but not to worry, if she bounds to you is great! It's why I love mallards so much, they rely on and love you so much! Mine doesn't like to sit in my lap but her does like to perch on my shoulder and cuddle while I watch tv.

 

[hannahjhamilton]

Thank you! That's all very helpful advice! I can't wait to pick her up today! One more thing- do you have any other pets that your duck lives with? We have a house cat. She's a big lazy girl and wouldn't hurt a fly, but I haven't introduced them yet and probably won't until Daisy is recovered.

 

[PotatoWaffles]

You might look into getting her a friend. She's going to feel extremely lonely and stressed without one, and unless you can be out there nearly all the time with her, a little feathered friend might help her be calmer. An adult duck in need of a good home would be a great option. Or raise a couple from a feed store. Rural King near me has a minimum order of two (although it can be risky, as they are straight run and you could very well raise two males). You are already building a shelter for one duck, so what's one or two more?

 

[Virus]

I agree you should look into getting her a friend, but wait until she walks a bit better. Metzer Farms can send you two sexed mallard ducklings but it's a little pricey. Two would be best genders are up to you, most people keep one male two females. You could also buy her a baby pool with a ramp so she can swim and bathe. Or just get a tub and let her take a bath once a day. Ducks need water in order to oil their feathers correctly, mine hate it when their feather get dry.

 

[hannahjhamilton]

Yes we are going to look into getting her a friend. she has been matting (we can tell by the messing feather in her neck) so we're thinking maybe she'll lay eggs and we'll get some ducklings for her. Because of her hurt leg she has to stay dry for 2 week! I know she'll hate that. I'm going to get her a nice pool with a slide and ramp for her once the dr gives her the OK. do you think she would get along with other breeds? I love Pekens! Or would more malerds be the way to go? Again, I do have the kitty!

 

[Virus]

I don't think she would mind other breeds but they will be much bigger than her, if they could hurt her. Females of other breeds might be ok but if you plan on getting a drake I wpuld get a mallard, though you probably shouldn't get a drake at all he might hurt her trying to breed her. Your cat should be fine but I wouldn't leave them alone together, most cats won't attack a full grown duck but you never know.