Advice on re-homing a Mallard

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Chicalina said:
I have raised wild mallards before. They all eventually left home of their own accord to live in the wild when they matured. Some came back for visits for a while. It wasn't all at once, just on and off over a few months after they first stretched their wings. I had 12 of them!

I would keep him outside, no more sofa snuggles. provide shelter but not a locked in coop. Don't clip his wings. Start reducing his food so he needs to go looking for some. He needs other ducks so when he reaches sexual maturity (about nowish or very soon) then he will probably go off looking for females anyway. You need to dehumanise him a bit too to help him survive.

He is a wild bird in his genes, not a domesticated one. He needs to be wild to thrive and not kept as a pet. I wouldn't try to restrain him or rehome him because of that.
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Hi Chicalina,
Thank you so much for your reply! I understand everything you’re saying, and we’ve been back and forth about this. We can’t get any good guidance from the wild life places here in Fl, because they don’t want Mallards released. My only concern for him is that he has only been around us, and the duck in his giant mirror. I know that wild instinct is strong, but will he know to find other ducks and do his thing? I just want him to have a good chance. Thank you so much for your input.
 
Trust me, ducks know how to be ducks. Wild mallards have such a strong natural instinct, to fly, flock, forage, find a mate, etc. You cannot undo that with one duck's human upbringing. It has taken thousands of years of domestication to create our domestic breeds and they still know how to be ducks!

I have had many ducks raised by broody hens, and they just know how to swim and want to swim from day one. Much to the mama hen's horror when her babies start jumping in a water bowl!

Unless you are desperate to get rid of him quickly, I'm suggesting you let him take off when he decides. He will come back, but his visits will become less frequent until the point where you know he is happier somewhere else. This is my experience anyway. I did have a few stragglers iirc, after the bulk of them had left home, so after a few weeks I took them down to the local river about 3 miles away and released them. They could easily have found their way back home, and some did visit but none of them moved back in.

And you can encourage him to 'fly the nest' so to speak by making it less homely, less full of tasty food, and you can prepare him for the outside world by reducing his close contact with humans.

I would never recommend this for a pet duck of a domestic breed who has had centuries of dependence built into its breeding. This is a wild duck.

If he just won't leave within a few more weeks then come back and we can help you think of another strategy.
 
Chicalina said:
Trust me, ducks know how to be ducks. Wild mallards have such a strong natural instinct, to fly, flock, forage, find a mate, etc. You cannot undo that with one duck's human upbringing. It has taken thousands of years of domestication to create our domestic breeds and they still know how to be ducks!

I have had many ducks raised by broody hens, and they just know how to swim and want to swim from day one. Much to the mama hen's horror when her babies start jumping in a water bowl!

Unless you are desperate to get rid of him quickly, I'm suggesting you let him take off when he decides. He will come back, but his visits will become less frequent until the point where you know he is happier somewhere else. This is my experience anyway. I did have a few stragglers iirc, after the bulk of them had left home, so after a few weeks I took them down to the local river about 3 miles away and released them. They could easily have found their way back home, and some did visit but none of them moved back in.

And you can encourage him to 'fly the nest' so to speak by making it less homely, less full of tasty food, and you can prepare him for the outside world by reducing his close contact with humans.

I would never recommend this for a pet duck of a domestic breed who has had centuries of dependence built into its breeding. This is a wild duck.

If he just won't leave within a few more weeks then come back and we can help you think of another strategy.
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Thank you so much, again. I respect your experience with these guys, and appreciate your input. I just wish we could offer him more of an adjustment period, where he could be around other ducks like him, and take off when he’s ready, rather than be alone (in a perfect world). We were hoping to find that in the wildlife rehabs here, but in Florida that does not exist for Mallards.
Just a side note... we think he’s a male from everything we’ve been reading. Although his coloring hasn’t changed yet, he still has a more yellow bill and raspy quack. Do you have any thoughts on that from the photos?
 

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