A lonely duckling

[flash5153]

I tried to hatch 2 duck eggs under a broody chicken. Well 1 hatched the other did not. Now I have a week old ,or so, duckling in my basement.
My first experience with ducks. Im not sure what I am going to do with it.lol Seemed like a good idea at the time. I know they are social animals so we bring it upstairs daily and play with it. And the kittens seem to like it too.

Its a lot of fun but what am I going to do when it gets bigger?? I can put it in with my chickens but its really not ideal for a duck,,is it?
Or I can try to find someone who wants it. Not really sure what to do. I got the eggs from the neighbors free ranging ducks. They laid several eggs in the yard. So I could let it go and see if it will join them.
What are your thoughts?? Here's a few pictures.

 

[TLWR]

I'm going to say that since you hatched it, you either find it a new home or that's your new duck to figure out how to make work.
What do your chickens do - duck my be happy as a clam to hang out with your chickens all day and snooze beneath them a night. Duckling is going to need a friend - either cat, chicken, another duckling/duck, you, etc.
Good luck

 

[katharinad]

You cannot let it loose either. The adult ducks next door will kill it. Winter is also around the corner and it is not feathered in nor does it have down feathers yet. You will need to keep it for at least 4 month before it is winter ready. It also needs to be at least 12 weeks old before you let it run with the adult ducks next door so it can fend for itself.

 

[flash5153]

Quote:
Well I wasnt planning on just letting it go,,to die. lol I am going to raise it in the house until it gets old enough and feathered enough to go out to the chicken coop. At the minimum. Then,,,Guess I will see how the chickens act with it. Or I could hatch a few more duck eggs and build another pen.
Ducks are some of the cuttiest babies one can ever see. I was really hoping both eggs hatched just so he had a playmate,but we put a mirror in with him and do get it out to play,,,often.

 

[katharinad]

I didn't mean it in a bad way, but you will be surprised how many people act stupid. You read it all the time on this board, and it is scary at times. I just wanted to make sure that you are aware of it.

The duck can grow up without a feathered friends as long as it can interact with someone. You actually have an advantage later on when you get more ducks, because you have one that is people oriented and it will teach the others too. You can have the duck live with the chicken once it is older, even though there may be some getting used to each other. I've just started to use my duck eggs, after not having ducks for a long period of time. Made a cake I used to make with chicken eggs and it was so much better. My husband loves the eggs for breakfast. I would have them for breakfast too, but I cannot handle eggs early in the morning since I had stomach surgery. It's kind of strange, but I use them for everything else.

 

[desertdarlene]

Having a mirror is a great idea. Many people have single ducks/ducklings. Just be aware that Chuck will want to be around you all the time and when you're gone, he will peep for you until you come back.

 

[flash5153]

Quote:
Not taken in a bad way. I wonder if I have a female??Hoping.... How can I tell??

I noticed a duck has to flip everything it eats all over the place as it eats.And also if I put its food in a small glass of water it will mill around a eat it up with its whole head under water,,lol. kinda cool. It prefers it that way.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Once it gets big enough to go outside, put it in a pen where it can see the other ducks. I don't think it would have a problem with the neighbor's ducks 'killing' it, but it will probably think it is a person.

Why didn't you leave it with the hen? She could have taken care of it just fine.

 

[Happyflower]

I gave my rescue duck a small beanie baby to be with. Sounds funny, but now that it is fully grown and completely free range, she still hangs around her "stuffy" by the pond. I bought a bunch at Goodwill and alternated them while the others were washed.