10 Baby Wood Ducks (1st thought they were Mallards)

[Miss Lydia]

Oh my gosh I have seen pics and videos of Canada geese nest high up on lights at a ball park Mallards nesting on top of roofs in a city it’s crazy where they make their nests and no water around.

 

[ThreeOfSeven]

Oh my gosh I have seen pics and videos of Canada geese nest high up on lights at a ball park Mallards nesting on top of roofs in a city it’s crazy where they make their nests and no water around.

Am I overthinking this? Should I just release them from my yard where there's plenty of wooded space and more fresh water than the preserve? I can at least provide a food source to help them through the adjustment, if they choose to use it.

 

[wilwingswaterfowl]

Here's a pic I took a few minutes ago of 2 of the ducklings ... actually juveniles now, eh? A male (standing in back) and female (foreground), I believe. (I have 2 where the face and neck markings are more defined, so I'm guessing those are the males.)

They just passed 7 weeks, so we'll see if they're inclined to start flying in the next week or so.

Rethinking releasing them from the house, so they can access food and water if they want while locating and establishing at nearby fresh water source (there are 1 or 2 ponds nearby, albeit quite small). I also have a huge oak tree in the yard, and adult wood ducks LOVE acorns. As for my concern of peak people population on the island, only a few more weeks and then it's back to school, etc. I need to give it some more thought.

View attachment 1874215

There close to leaving, great looking birds. One of my Green wings started flying a couple days ago just under 5 weeks It's amazing how fast they grow.

 

[ThreeOfSeven]

There close to leaving, great looking birds. One of my Green wings started flying a couple days ago just under 5 weeks It's amazing how fast they grow.

Thanks! A lot of work, but it's been so much fun watching them grow. BTW, what's a "green wing"? (These are my 1st ducks, so I'm not familiar with the term.)

 

[wilwingswaterfowl]

Thanks! A lot of work, but it's been so much fun watching them grow. BTW, what's a "green wing"? (These are my 1st ducks, so I'm not familiar with the term.)

Green wing teal this video has Green wing and Cinnamon teal. the Green win has the brown and green head.

 

[Miss Lydia]

What about stray dogs. Also other preds if you start letting them out of their pen? Is there going to be fencing outside of their fence until they are flying well enough to get away from a threat? Or attack.

 

[ThreeOfSeven]

Green wing teal this video has Green wing and Cinnamon teal. the Green win has the brown and green head.

They're beautiful!

 

[wilwingswaterfowl]

What about stray dogs. Also other preds if you start letting them out of their pen? Is there going to be fencing outside of their fence until they are flying well enough to get away from a threat? Or attack.

My teal are captive bread they will never leave the aviary although I have no desire to make them flightless. I have permits to sell them and they are marked as such. I do have plans to expand it with time. Eventually I do want to get wood ducks also. Have yours made the high pitch call sound yet.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I was talking to @ThreeOfSeven sorry should have said. Your ducks are precious!!

 

[ThreeOfSeven]

What about stray dogs. Also other preds if you start letting them out of their pen? Is there going to be fencing outside of their fence until they are flying well enough to get away from a threat? Or attack.

A guy who raises wood ducks and releases (for hunting) said that all I needed to do was be sure they could fly well enough to get up into a tree (versus cover long distances). In the small pen they now occupy, I may not be able to get a good sense when they get to that level. I have an adjacent pen/run area. The space is pretty big. It's fenced (wood) with a row of chicken wire along the bottom (maybe up to 3-feet). The top and sides are enclosed with plastic netting. Maybe small birds can get through. Anyhow, this may be some place I can put them until they really get their wings, so to speak. I can create some perches and raised platforms.

The upside is that they will get better practice at flying. The downside is that it's minimally predator proof and I will never be able to catch them if I want to box them and move them to another area.

As for dogs, I'd like to think that most people keep them on leash or contained, although that's not always the case. <sigh>