Duckling Identification help!!

[trixieplain]

I just brought home a new duckling and who I purchased it from had no idea what breed it is. It's chocolate brown with a yellow ring around its neck and a little into its breast and very faint white eyeliner. The bill is a mottled yellow and bluish/greenish color. Any ideas?

 

[DUCKOBSESSED]

A pic would be a great help.

 

[trixieplain]

Sorryyy. I was letting them get to know each other when I posted that. So the mystery duck is obviously the non-mallard lol.
I couldn't get a picture of its feet but they are dark, not quite black.

 

[trixieplain]

I'm not sure if it helps but the Mystery Duck is only 2-3 days older than my mallard, which is going on 3 days old since I watched it hatch.

 

[desertdarlene]

It's the popular "Cute Duckling Breed", so cute! But, seriously, I think it's a mixed domestic breed, nothing specific.

 

[trixieplain]

That's not surprising. The farm I got it from has a lot of ducks but the woman also has a lot of, what she called, critically endangered ducks. She hinted that she might want it back if it was one of those. The little guy just popped up one day with no mom to claim it so she had no idea where it came from.

Any guesses would still be appreciated!

 

[desertdarlene]

The "critically endangered" thing with poultry has to do with the number of people breeding a particular breed. I've seen some fairly common breeds being listed as endangered, so they're not necessarily all that special.

But, I don't think you have anything to worry about in your case.

 

[WildWestChick]

The closest breed I think it looks like is possibly a black or dark blue Swedish duck, but that's just a guess!

 

[trixieplain]

Darlene, thank you! I wasn't sure what she meant by that. This is my first foray into owning ducks. I've always had chickens. But I hatched my own egg successfully in an incubator!

 

[trixieplain]

Also, if anyone has any ideas as to why Mystery Duckling is always lying down? It's eating and drinking just fine but when it's in the brooder it takes a few steps then plops down? Outside the brooder and splash time it moves around just fine. Flaps its wings and preens and chases the other duckling around. Is it just a lazy duckling during down time?