Just checking again for the 100th time.. not mallard right?

[Fangeddeer]

Every time I take her out everyone comments on me having a hen mallard. Makes me super nervous bc she looks like one without the stripes..

 

[gtaus]

Not quite sure what you are nervous about. Looks like a young mallard hen to me, too. Hard to tell in your photo, but here is a Google photo of a Mallard hen that looks a little older with more color developed in the wings.

BTW, I noticed you have the duck tethered to a string or rope. Just wanted to mentioned that I live on a lake and we let the ducks and geese swim out in the lake all the time when I had them. But we had them trained to come home when we called them in to feed. Every time we fed them, we gave out our duck call so they associated our duck call with food. Even when they swam far out into the lake, they would still come flying back home for free food.

 

[Holdthechicken]

Not quite sure what you are nervous about. Looks like a young mallard hen to me, too. Hard to tell in your photo, but here is a Google photo of a Mallard hen that looks a little older with more color developed in the wings.

View attachment 3642997

BTW, I noticed you have the duck tethered to a string or rope. Just wanted to mentioned that I live on a lake and we let the ducks and geese swim out in the lake all the time when I had them. But we had them trained to come home when we called them in to feed. Every time we fed them, we gave out our duck call so they associated our duck call with food. Even when they swam far out into the lake, they would still come flying back home for free food.

I’m pretty sure in the US it’s illegal to keep mallard ducks, since they are a wild migratory bird.

OP, did you get her from the wild?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I’m pretty sure in the US it’s illegal to keep mallard ducks, since they are a wild migratory bird.

OP, did you get her from the wild?

You can buy them from specific people with paperwork. Usually they have a back toe clipped to show it was hatched in captivity. I think North Dakota is the only one that outright says you can't ship there

 

[Holdthechicken]

You can buy them from specific people with paperwork. Usually they have a back toe clipped to show it was hatched in captivity. I think North Dakota is the only one that outright says you can't ship there

Good to know. Years back I had a neighbor that got reported for having some mallards, but they had found a nest that the mama had been obviously killed by a predator, so they raised them. I think in the end they had to turn them over to a wildlife rescue.. so I assumed that’s what OP meant by “nervous”.

 

[JedJackson]

There are wild Mallards, which are illegal to keep, and domestic Mallards, which are legal to keep. The bird in question is definitely not a wild Mallard and I don't think it is a domestic one, either. Looks like maybe a mixed breed to me.

 

[MyParadiseFalls]

Khaki Campbell or KC cross?

 

[gtaus]

I’m pretty sure in the US it’s illegal to keep mallard ducks, since they are a wild migratory bird.

OP, did you get her from the wild?

You can buy Mallard ducks from the store. That's what I did when I had ducks and geese. But I asked our local Department of Natural Resources (DNR) if I could get my Mallards banded to track them, but was told they would not do it for "domestic" Mallards because they only banded wild Mallards. I guess the gene pool is not exactly the same?

Anyways, you can buy Mallard ducks from a store, but you cannot capture and keep wild Mallards. That means, of course, you need to keep your receipt for purchasing your store-bought Mallards, so you don't face any possible fines.

I let my Mallards fly south for the winter, but I had some ducks returning to build nests on my property for a few years afterwards. Don't know if they were my "domestic" Mallards, or not, as I live on a lake. But I like to think some of my birds survived the flight down south in the winter and back again the next year to nest where they grew up.

 

[gtaus]

The bird in question is definitely not a wild Mallard and I don't think it is a domestic one, either. Looks like maybe a mixed breed to me.

It would help if we knew the origin of the bird. Also, the age of the bird. Colors come in with age.

I don't disagree that, if the bird is domestic, it might be a mixed breed. But I see more Mallard traits than not. I have never seen a wild mixed breed Mallard, but if I did, I would probably not recognize it as a Mallard.

 

[StinkyAcres]

but here is a Google photo of a Mallard hen that looks a little older with more color developed in the wings.

That is a male Mallard in eclipse (summer/nonbreeding) plumage. You can tell by the yellow bill, reddish breast, and curled tail feathers.