Help! Found a duck hatchling and I don't know ducks!

[Jaggs]

Earlier today I found what looks to be a 1-3 day old duck hatchling. There is no nest, mother, or other ducklings. This was at home on our farm. We haven't seen any ducks in the area ever and we are surprised to find this one as we have 2 yard dogs who regularly run the yard.

So I brought it inside, and made a temporary brood er. I do have chickens, so I'm not totally foreign to this. Currently it is in a 10 gallon aquarium with a heat lamp, cool area, ground up chick starter and a low lying water dish. He does seem content and from its markings may be a mallard duck.

Please....what do I do next? Is it possible to trick a hen into mothering it? We do want to keep it btw.

 

[Orca5094]

The best thing would probably be to find a wildlife rehabber in your area that can take it in since it's a wild species. They may have other ducklings it can go with and then be released back into the wild when it's old enough.

If that's somehow not an option: Do you have a hen with chicks about the same size? If so, you can try what I call a "shake and bake". Take all of her chicks together in a box and add in the duckling. Then release all babies together back to her at the same time. Hopefully she won't notice the new one (they can't count after all). As long as it follows the chicks back to their mom, it might be ok. Definitely worth a try at least.

You're doing everything right so far! Good luck with the introduction, otherwise I'd suggest trying to get it a friend or two jif you need to hand-raise in your brooder.