Found a sick/injured female mallard duck at the beach, help please

[Itz_ya_blitz]

So today me and my boyfriend went to the beach and as soon as we got there we found a female mallard sitting under a willow tree twitching her head uncontrollably and visibly stressed, now for some more context it was 33°c out and it was packed full of people, I’m not sure if she has heat exhaustion or if a kid may have injured the duck even though I don’t see any physical injuries, I’ve taken her home, given her a cold bath, food and water as well as some space to not stress her out too much, she seems a tad better now but she’s still lethargic, twitching her head a bit, only eating and drinking a little here and there and popping a decent amount, I’m not sure what exactly wrong but I want to try my best to help her, she is currently in a cardboard box with a blanket, food and water, she still hasn’t tried to fly and isn’t too scared for me to come up to her and touch her if needed. before anyone recommends the vet, I am currently 19 and unable to get employment and my parents refuse to bring her since to them she’s “just a wild animal” so I’m looking for the best recommendations and home remedies on what to do to help.

 

[FrostRanger]

Call a wildlife rehaber as it is likely illegal for you to keep her

 

[Anon112]

There's a chance she was hit by a car. As much as possible, try to stay out of her space, as stress is a major killer of injured/sick wild animals. You should search for a wildlife rescue, as suggested above.

 

[Itz_ya_blitz]

Call a wildlife rehaber as it is likely illegal for you to keep her

I’ll call one in the morning since it’s 12am at the moment but thank you I didn’t even think to call one

 

[Debbie292d]

It is a violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 for you to keep her, so please do call your state Department of Natural Resources or wildlife rehab as suggested above.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Shhh... take a picture first!