Abandoned duckling

[Ami91]

We found a baby duckling the other day. I first want to say I know it was abandoned as we were fishing and we watched mom leave it with his other ducklings so before we went home we took it with us. I’ve been doing a lot of googling and I think we are capable of taking care of this baby. But I was hoping to find some help in identifying the type of duck and possibly its gender.
any suggestions or tips are welcome and appreciated as far as food water bedding body temperature all that that.

 

[fatty and friends]

that is not a wild duck, so if possible rescue his siblings from the wild as well

he will NEED atleast one other duck to be happy

 

[SolarDuck]

Yes that is certainly a domestic duck and not wild so if there are more and you can rescue all of them. As far as food I would feed whatever waterfowl or all flock feed you are able to find locally at a farm or feed store. If you can't find anything locally you could order mazuri waterfowl starter on chewy.com

Make sure you always provide a water dish deep enough for the duckling to dunk its head completely, but one that the duckling cannot jump into and swim around. For bedding you could use pine or aspen shavings, or hay straw. Temperature should be regulated with some kind of heating element. In a pinch you can get a cheap reptile ceramic heat plate from Walmart and set up a bin for the duckling with the heat by bulb on one side of it so the duckling can choose to be on the warm or less warm side. While you only have one duckling be sure to provide a mirror and a stuffed animal for snuggling. Look into either getting another duckling to be friends with it, or finding a good home for it with other ducks.

Best of luck!

 

[L0rraine]

Re water - do keep a close eye on it. They love to swim, but if they can’t get out of it they will get cold and drown faster than you would imagine and it’s heart breaking.
For their regular drinking water source just make sure it’s shallow enough to get out of.

 

[Ami91]

Thanks for the response! My boyfriend and kids went looking for a companion duck but came home with three chicks Do you think that’s sufficient? Currently we have the little guy (he’s been dubbed rocky balboa ) in a laundry basket with one side of the basket it’s bedding which is a heated up rice pack under T-shirt and a shallow bowl with some food in it andwith a jar lid of water too on the other side. We set up a heater in between the chicks and duckling hoping that will keep them warm ? Our litttle rocky is sweet as can be. I thought it was a mallard? How do you know it’s not wild? The mom went swimming off with her other ducklings the day that we found him and we watched them swim and eat all evening but maybe it wasn’t hers after all ?

Yes that is certainly a domestic duck and not wild so if there are more and you can rescue all of them. As far as food I would feed whatever waterfowl or all flock feed you are able to find locally at a farm or feed store. If you can't find anything locally you could order mazuri waterfowl starter on chewy.com


Make sure you always provide a water dish deep enough for the duckling to dunk its head completely, but one that the duckling cannot jump into and swim around. For bedding you could use pine or aspen shavings, or hay straw. Temperature should be regulated with some kind of heating element. In a pinch you can get a cheap reptile ceramic heat plate from Walmart and set up a bin for the duckling with the heat by bulb on one side of it so the duckling can choose to be on the warm or less warm side. While you only have one duckling be sure to provide a mirror and a stuffed animal for snuggling. Look into either getting another duckling to be friends with it, or finding a good home for it with other ducks.

Best of luck!

 

[Miss Lydia]

All kinds of good info here including setting up a brooder.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/ducks.30/
Did the mama duck look like a wild mallard?
Rocky is def not wild and is sure precious. Chicks can work as friends but in the long run another duckling would be best, maybe check craigs list?