Just rescued a wild Mallard duckling...looking for insight on raising it.

[IvanK]

Hi! Ok, so I've got loads of chickens, turkeys and muscovy ducks on my farm but about an hour ago mother nature threw me a curve ball...one of my cats showed up with a baby duck in it's mouth! I was horrified and at first thought it had somehow gotten into one of my brooders but it was clear it was not a muscovy.
I scared the cat off and the duckling is still alive and quite spirited...albeit cold and terrified. I've ID'd it as a Mallard chick and it must have strayed away from it's nest along the river where we live.
Fortunately I have a few turkey chicks sharing a large brooder with some muscovy hatchlings so I took the little cutey and introduced it to the tiny flock of fluff. Everyone involved seems pleased enough.
Now aside from a wildlife rehabilitation center that I could take this chick to, I'm capable of raising this duckling but don't know much about mallards other than they're aquatic and need more water than muscovies. I'd like to think it'll be a nice addition to my farm for years to come and that I could give it a nice home. Am I thinking about this all wrong? Are there any challenges that I'll face or that this duckling will face moving forward? The fact that it was born wild shouldn't inhibit it's ability to become a member of my current flock should it?
I've been culling roosters all day (I never get used to it) so in some way, I'd like to see the arrival of this duckling as my way of giving life back.
Any thoughts, advice or ideas?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Maybe some of the waterfowl folks can give you advice.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/ducks.42/

 

[IvanK]

Maybe some of the waterfowl folks can give you advice.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/ducks.42/

Thanks....didn't realize there was a "Duck" topic. I'll post there.

 

[FrozenRed]

There shouldn't be any problems with integration and such however I would be very careful of illness. Not only do wild birds carry things domestic birds do not as well as the other way around but cats mouths are full of deadly bacteria to the fragile immune system of a baby bird or water fowl this can lead to all sorts of side effects and more often than not death. Be sure to watch it closely for any sickness and quarantine may be for the best if possible.

 

[IvanK]

There shouldn't be any problems with integration and such however I would be very careful of illness. Not only do wild birds carry things domestic birds do not as well as the other way around but cats mouths are full of deadly bacteria to the fragile immune system of a baby bird or water fowl this can lead to all sorts of side effects and more often than not death. Be sure to watch it closely for any sickness and quarantine may be for the best if possible.

Yeah I thought of this. My birds all free range in the same general territory as wild birds (geese, ducks etc) so I'm not too concerned about foreign disease transmission. It is still a concern though and I will keep an eye on things. The duckling can't be more than 3 or 4 days old so hopefully it didn't have time to pick up a contagion.
We couldn't find any puncture marks on the duckling so the cat I think was still in "play/toy" mode. Again, I'll keep watching for signs of infection because I could have missed something.
Your input is much appreciated.