Can I put a lone baby wood duck with my Mandarins?

[LALADY1101]

I rescued 2 baby wood ducks from my pond on May 20th. I think they jumped too soon and mama was no where around. They would have been eaten by largemouth bass had we not gotten to them. One of them died the next day, so I'm down to one. He/she looks so lonely and I feel so sorry for it. I have a pair of Mandarins and am wondering if they would allow it with them or would they hurt it?

 

[Wifezilla]

What are the ages of the ducks?

If it isn't safe to put the baby with the other ducks, get a mirror and a turkey feather duster and duct tape them to the inside of the brooder. It will snuggle with the feather duster for comfort and "talk" to the "other duck" in the mirror.

 

[LALADY1101]

My Mandies are a little over a year old. I put a stuffed duck in the brooder with the baby and he/she cuddles and sleeps with it. I'll try the mirror. We have another wood duck box with 10 eggs in it and I actually thought about trying to "steal" a couple of those babies when they hatch just so this one won't be alone. Really don't know if that's the right thing to do though. What do I do with the baby when it's older? Do I just turn it loose or will it not be able to care for itself after being raised by me? It's terrified of me although I feed and water and talk to it every day.

BTW I keep it in my dining room in large rubbermaid box. I'm going to change the box to a guinea pig cage this afternoon when I get home.

 

[Wifezilla]

I don't know much about wood ducks. I have domestics.

You might want to see if there is a wild life rescue that could take the wood duck.

 

[LALADY1101]

Thanks-I may do that.

 

[xke4]

Hi there, I rehab all the ducklings for the local wildlife centre and last year got a single one (wood duckling) in very late in the season. He was raised alone (although not very happy about it, he was quite feisty)for a number of weeks and did just fine. He was released along with the others and did just fine. You can read about him on my website. His name was Bobby.
www.cragganmorefarm.com