Help! I've lost my mallard.....!

[alexwilko]

Evening all!

I need some help please! I have 2 call ducks (male & female) she is sitting on her eggs & hasn't been out much in last few days & his lordship has decided to go visiting over the fence! He is a very social thing, if the back door is open he doesn't miss the chance to come in the house & potter round with me, following me everywhere I go (caught him sitting on the back of the couch this morning having a doze!!) Now at 6/6.30pm tonight he was pottering round the kitchen with me whilst I was making tea I went out to the put him in his coop with the female & he has gone!! I'm petrified the foxes will get him, I've shouted him & can't hear him at all! Can ducks find their way home does anyone know? I spoke with a neighbour before & she said on Friday she has her back door open & she turned round & he had pottered in to her kitchen! He hasn't done anything like this before, he seems so lost without the female at his side, like I said he just wants to be in the house with us all the time at the moment.....

He is a lovely stupid thing & I'm so upset, I can't settle knowing he is out there on his own in the dark!

Fingers crossed he is back tomorrow . X

 

[Buck Oakes]

He'll be back soon, male ducks don't like to leave there females for long when they're in a nest, becuase they feel like they need to help protect so I bet u have nothing to worry about, but I hope he didn't get eaten by one of your neighbors dogs! That would be sister pus, oh I'm sorry I houldnt have said that I don't want you to worry about anything else.

 

[desertdarlene]

He might come back, they like to stay where there's steady food, too. You might want to clip his wings if you don't want him to fly off. Mallards like to fly away, especially if there's other mallards nearby.

 

[alexwilko]

We found the little bugger!!! I had a very stressful & sleepless night thinking he was going to be eaten or end up in someone's oven as he is a little fatty! I took the kids knocking on all our neighbours doors but no-one had seen him, so as we were about to leave to visit family for the weekend I thought I would pop kids, dog and all our bags in to the car & have a drive round & knock on a few neighbours doors behind our house, after half an hour I was about to give up & turned up a road to head home & there was a commotion in the road & there the stupid bugger was quacking away in the middle of the road! He had stopped all the traffic, had a lady trying to catch him like he was dog & being stalked by a rather large cat!!!

So Mario has been confined to his pen for the time we are away (hubby is at home on night shifts) until I get back tomorrow then operate wing clipping starts! I'm not going thru that again! Ha ha the things these ducks put us thru!

Now I have the issue of her ladyship sitting on her eggs I've no idea what I'm going to do with her! How do I know when the chicks are ready to come out? Will see know? Will mario attack them? Oh god the list is endless of my concerns! x

 

[Buck Oakes]

No the male won't attack the babies at all, all male ducks know which babies are theirs like with my muscovies the male never sees his babies because I hatch them in an incubator but he knows so when I take the babies out for a stroll I'm also usually followed by a heard of male ducks because thy feel like they need to help protect them .

 

[Buck Oakes]

When the babies are fixing to come out the mother will put in a calm face but you can see the females nervous twirks like how she is more visualant and more fast in her actions to get back to the nest, that is if she gets off of them at all

 

[Buck Oakes]

And also if u want to raise some babies on your own I would recommend to only take 1-4 possibly only 1-6 , it's also better if u take some babies, it makes your bond stronger with your ducks

As for not knowing for what your gonna do the mother will know , don't worry it'll be fine