Help me identify and care for

[BYC910]

Welcome to BYC!

I agree, Muscovy drake (boy), and he looks pretty young so he can probably fly a little.

And I forgot so what she said .

 

[aquatech]

Weather doesn't affect ducks much, at least not ours. They'll sit right out in blowing snow like it's nothing.
If he's being fed he could possibly be just hanging around for that, he knows he'll get something there.
Don't feed bread.... it's really not that good for them in my opinion.
Maybe he has an owner but just got away?

If he has an owner, I don't know about it. He just hangs out and gets food from several neighbors, and they all feed him different things. Sometimes he disappears for a few days and then comes back.

I just want him to survive and if all I have to do is feed him, that's fine. So he can handle the cold weather? That's great.

 

[happy duck]

Yes just pick him up and take him to a nice warm place for winter(like a garage, garden shed or coop). Put extra straw in it so he can be warm!

 

[lomine]

I would not recommend trying to pick him up. Sounds like he doesn't want to be touched so I doubt he likes to be picked up. When drakes fight they bite, scratch with their claws, and throttle each other with their wings. Ever been hit in the face with the flapping wing of a 9 lb duck? I have and it did hurt. That was from a tame drake who was just moving his wing and Muscovy can be even bigger with bigger wings.

I don't think it's in a wild animals best interest to feed it but it sounds like your neighbors are already doing it. In this case an all flock or duck feed would be way better for him than bread and crackers. Unless you can get your neighbors to stop feeding him those things he will probably still go to them for those things first. He may or may not want to eat the feed. It's kind of like giving a kid the option to eat a cookie or a salad. He's going to go for the other stuff first.

Be aware that if everyone continues to feed him he may stick around for good and may eventually find a mate and bring her to the neighborhood. Muscovy can raise 3-4 clutches a year with up to 20 ducklings. It's just something to keep in mind.