Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[Anniebee]

Anyone know ducks who can tell me what type this is? Origin unknown.

Not into ducks as such, but as soon as I saw the pic, I thought ' wood duck ' ... Lots around our area - some have hatched, hidden in our garden before too.

Wouldn't put a lot of money on it, but wood duck is my guess / thought.

Cheers,

 

[Teila]

Howdy friends

*Sigh* well I guess we were long overdue for a discussion on snakes .. no comment needed from me and this should pretty well cover it ….

ChristieB aaaaw, beautiful picture of some beautiful bubs!

Howdy mrz hen nice to meet you and welcome to the thread. Yep, I am getting 4-5 eggs per day from 6 little banties so pretty happy here.

appps I am sorry to hear you are battling with the rain, again. I used to enjoy the rain until I got chickens

K Spot good to hear that Casanova is fighting and improving …. Eeeeew at those pics! Lol

Aaaaw Sidhe13 that little ducky is adorable! I know zip about ducks except that they quack

Love the duck pics Fancy!

I am still waiting for my CrowAway CD [hopefully tomorrow] and still warring with the cawing

I was in the kitchen when I heard a tapping on the glass .. Chimee and Syba heard it also

 

[Anniebee]

Does that mean I have to hand him in? He is kind of imprinted on me now and definitely my wee baby!

A bit of a dilemma there Sidhe13 .... if your little duckling has imprinted on you, thinks your its' mother, then I would guess it does not come under the no-no which is never to 'capture' a bird or any native creature from the wild, to keep as a pet.

That being said, you did not actively 'capture' it ... it kind of just happened - in your own garden / land. If it were me, I would probably keep it - and put it in a box at night ( while it is still this size ) and if it's cold, a wrapped hot water bottle to add some warmth to the box.

I too live in Victoria, so had a quick squiz at the following link : http://www.rspcavic.org/health-and-behaviour/native-and-introduced-animals/ .... a 'general enquiry' call to the RSPCA or to the
Avicultural Society in Victoria - might be good to find out if you need a permit. No need to give your name or address, even if they ask. That's not being sneaky - it's your right to privacy, especially as you are trying to figure out what best to do.

Another link about caring for a wild duckling ( or ducks ) is here : http://www.birdcare.asn.au/pdf/ducks.pdf

I know they are social birds, and might like a playmate. S/he needs water and they feed on grass and garden litter (?). Apparently they do not eat 'insects' etc. A few crumbs only of bread every other day, and lettuce, weeds etc pulled out of the garden ( change every day ) ...

It's possible ( probable ) that your little 'baby' will one day just take off into the wide blue yonder, after the wings have grown fully. Which will leave you

I guess you could buy a baby breeding duckling ( is that possible ? ) as a little friend for your wood duck ( 95% sure now that is what it is ) .... and clip wings when they have fully grown.

Just a few thoughts ---

Good luck - with the duck ....

 

[Kleonaptra]

I have rescued and kept many wilds. No one is checking your backyard. WIRES disowned me when I refused to break the necks of ferals I found, even if keeping them as a pet kept them from breeding in the feral population. I wish I could do pics from my phone, in my album of embedded pics there's some of my mynah bird. Most hated animal in Australia best pet ever.

 

[Sidhe13]

Thanks guys! Yea a lady down the road picked him up. He rolled past her house in a wind gust. She kept him in a box on the lawn to see if his mama would come but she didn't. We don't have any water sources nearby so can't make a guess as to his home...
I knocked together a smaller brooder for him and he has a buddy and better food arriving on Friday. He is eating soaked and mashed pellets mixed with handrearing mix. He loves to splash in a bowl of water and gets to eat bits of green. We he is not following me he loves to snuggle his lion soft toy which is full of wheat so can be heated.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Amazing video! Love it!
Those aren't purebred pacific blacks. They must have been diluted at some point. The purebred is very shy and furtive. Its illegal (in nsw anyway) to let your call ducks fly because they are attempting to keep the breed pure. As much as I agree, and love them, I think its a lost battle already.

No momma isn't pure, but I have plenty of purebreds here and they are by no means shy, quite the opposite, the chooks chase them off their feed. In the morning there will be upwards of 50 wood chucks on the front lawn but as soon as I open the door they fly away. They nest in the gum trees along the river bank and the massive trees along the driveway. The sea eagle trains his young to hunt first on plover, then on and rabbit and then finally on ducks .

 

[Kleonaptra]

No momma isn't pure, but I have plenty of purebreds here and they are by no means shy, quite the opposite, the chooks chase them off their feed. In the morning there will be upwards of 50 wood chucks on the front lawn but as soon as I open the door they fly away. They nest in the gum trees along the river bank and the massive trees along the driveway. The sea eagle trains his young to hunt first on plover, then on and rabbit and then finally on ducks .

Oh honey. Send em my way. I adore the pacific black but they are too shy to join my flock.
Cant believe I forgot to mention this before, wood ducks cant have too much fatty protien. I had one once and I fed him the same as my other ducks, a really rich seed mix. He died before he was one of a heart attack. There was some stress from local dogs that contributed (and killed one of my girls and left another with a broken wing) but it wasn't till after the fact I researched their specific food requirements. They need bugs. Mine loved lettuce. I think poultry mix would be ok but it needs to be balanced with salad and free range pick.

 

[Kleonaptra]

Whoops that feed info was for @Sidhe13

 

[satay]

Howdy friends *Sigh* well I guess we were long overdue for a discussion on snakes .. no comment needed from me and this should pretty well cover it …. ChristieB aaaaw, beautiful picture of some beautiful bubs! Howdy mrz hen nice to meet you and welcome to the thread. Yep, I am getting 4-5 eggs per day from 6 little banties so pretty happy here. appps I am sorry to hear you are battling with the rain, again. I used to enjoy the rain until I got chickens K Spot good to hear that Casanova is fighting and improving …. Eeeeew at those pics! Lol Aaaaw Sidhe13 that little ducky is adorable! I know zip about ducks except that they quack Love the duck pics Fancy! I am still waiting for my CrowAway CD [hopefully tomorrow] and still warring with the cawing I was in the kitchen when I heard a tapping on the glass .. Chimee and Syba heard it also

I love stick insects but my brave as tradie hubby is terrified of them I heard a scream once coming out of the shower and then a dash down the hallway. I go in and find a stick insect he wouldn't go back in til I removed it. Then again that's me with grasshoppers

 

[Kleonaptra]

I love a mantis. Always saving them from my birds