Domestic Wild Ducks At Park During Winter

[LondonKallie]

I know 2 different parks near me that have a bunch of domestic ducks, peking, some cayuga and other breeds I know aren't able to fly. Theres a TON of Muscovy ducks but I read online they can fly. Will these other breeds be okay during the winter if they cant fly away? If all the muscovy ducks fly away, the ones that cannot will they slowly be picked off by wildlife? I live in Texas, so of course we aren't going to drop into HUGE cold fronts, but as my ducks lay in their coop tonight with their heat lamps I cant help but wonder about these other poor ducks out there. What typically happens?

 

[KaleIAm]

My personal belief is that domestic animals should have food, shelter, veterinary care, and protection from predators or other threats to the best of their owners knowledge and ability. Obviously other people are absolutely entitled to have other opinions.

Because of my personal beliefs I would rescue these ducks, or find a rescue organization who could help. I adopted 3 rescue ducks who were abandoned on a pond. We live near Seattle where it rarely freezes, but my adopted ducks were in bad shape. They were underweight, had mites, infectious bronchitis, had been overmated and were bloody with their flight and tail feathers broken. 5 years later one still has medical issues from that damage. I also wonder about the mallard gene pool - it can't be great for them to be breeding with domestic ducks.

I am in Washington state, and I contacted Washington State Department of Agriculture who told me there were no laws prohibiting rescuing abandoned domestic ducks. Just to make sure they are actually abandoned and aren't on private property. They also warned me about rescue ducks giving diseases to my existing flocks. And about zoonotic diseases. If you are interested I can send you the email. Your laws could be different, but the disease information will likely be the same.

 

[EverythingDucks]

You could try to catch them and either keep them or eventually have them rehomed.
If you want to catch them I recommend setting up a gate like this and getting them all in it.

You'll first have to earn their trust to lure them in.
Try to get as many in at once so you dont scare the rest away. Once they'll all in, close the gate, and use a large blanket or tarp to cover the top. Then use a large dog crate or some sort of carrier and push it up against the gate and open it. Toss some food into it. Once you get a few in, shut the gate and door. You can then have someone take the crate back home while someone else stays with the remaining ducks. Repeat the process until you have all the ducks safe.

Dont introduce them to your flock right away. You'll have to check to be sure they dont have any issues and fix thos to keep your own flock healthy, and of course to help the abandoned ducks.

 

[LondonKallie]

Unless your parents are leaping with joy at the idea of duck rescue it is probably best to find a rescue or other private individuals who are willing to rescue the ducks. Especially because the work doesn't end after bringing the ducks home. You'd be flabbergasted to learn how much I've spent on my rescue ducks' veterinary bills. They are worth it - it isn't their fault they were abandoned. But in my experience rescue can be a bigger financial commitment than your average duck.

Hopefully your parents will feel comfortable with you looking into rescues.

yeah, they've just limited me to how many animals of each species on our property. I'm going to look at some duck rescues around here and see if I can let them know about these two places.

 

[SerrarGett]

I know 2 different parks near me that have a bunch of domestic ducks, peking, some cayuga and other breeds I know aren't able to fly. Theres a TON of Muscovy ducks but I read online they can fly. Will these other breeds be okay during the winter if they cant fly away? If all the muscovy ducks fly away, the ones that cannot will they slowly be picked off by wildlife? I live in Texas, so of course we aren't going to drop into HUGE cold fronts, but as my ducks lay in their coop tonight with their heat lamps I cant help but wonder about these other poor ducks out there. What typically happens?

I've seen some domestic ducks in the canal in my area. It was obvious they didn't belong, considering the other ducks in the area are different shades of brown while these ones are white. I wasn't close enough to distinguish the breed, but they could definitely fly. It's just weird to think people could dump their pets to fend for themselves. Once you do that, you are forcing your pet on someone else or guaranteeing it's death. It's sad.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

They aren't going to freeze in texas. In Montana where we have stretches of -20f, we didn't give heat lamps and none ever died from the cold

 

[KaleIAm]

I know my parents would kill me if I brought home a bunch of ducks, but if I could find a rescue out here that might be a better idea. I believe my laws are pretty similar as long as they are domestic breeds.

Unless your parents are leaping with joy at the idea of duck rescue it is probably best to find a rescue or other private individuals who are willing to rescue the ducks. Especially because the work doesn't end after bringing the ducks home. You'd be flabbergasted to learn how much I've spent on my rescue ducks' veterinary bills. They are worth it - it isn't their fault they were abandoned. But in my experience rescue can be a bigger financial commitment than your average duck.

Hopefully your parents will feel comfortable with you looking into rescues.

 

[LondonKallie]

Yes but they’re also re-populating like crazy. So it’s like. The first problem is dumping the duck the second one is how much these guys mate and have babies everywhere.

 

[LondonKallie]

I'd Like to know this as well

well honestly, if I know some of these guys might make it I might have to go catch some to bring home for the winter because thats just awful and I know there's so many people in our area who just dumped this summer.

 

[Crestcrazy2]

well honestly, if I know some of these guys might make it I might have to go catch some to bring home for the winter because thats just awful and I know there's so many people in our area who just dumped this summer.

Yeah I can't believe anyone would dump any animal!!