Look what we found!

[DurhamDuck]

We had a surprise today...

When my kids went out to put our 10 Blue Swedish ducks and 2 Buff geese in for the night they found a small female (we think) mallard.

She isn't afraid of humans, so I don't think she's wild. She flew over our fence (scared the heck out of our flightless flock) and landed in our pond then stayed.

She's got a piece missing out of her bill in the front. Will she be OK?

This ever happen to anyone else?

Full story on our blog: http://durhamduckfarm.blogspot.com/2011/08/which-one-of-these-isnt-like-others.html

 

[ChickInDelight]

My 5 flying Mallards stay with my 2 non-flight Pekins. They all get along great.

Molly, one of my Mallard ducks, has a piece missing from her bill due to a snapping turtle. She does just fine.

I would guess she is an Easter baby - too early to tell sex. My Easter babies are just starting to show whick 2 are the drakes with gray underbellies, a slight ring around the neck, and green feathers sprouting on the head. If you see the underbellie moulting to grey, you have drake. So far - looks like you have little girl.

Congratulations.

 

[DurhamDuck]

Thank you!

We're hoping she decides to stay, we think she's beautiful.

 

[Miss Lydia]

very pretty! Congrats.

 

[duckyfromoz]

The missing piece of the bill may also be a missing piece of the puzzle as to how she came to be with you. If she is tame- an was living somewhere else as a pet- it could be that during a predator attack she has flown off and now cant find her way home. She may have landed in your yard as she thought she would be safe with your ducks... Whatever has happened you may never know for sure- but its lovely that you are prepared to take her in and feed her.

 

[DurhamDuck]

I am happy to announce that the sweet little mallard girl stayed all night. When we woke up this morning she was swimming around our pond waiting for us to let out our ducks. She is now happily swimming with our flock.

 

[FenDruadin]

Sweet! That's awesome. Now she has a family, and she can have predator protection at night.

I had a duck with a piece of bill missing on top--almost a third of her bill, you could see her tongue all the time. She was fine--never acted any different than the other ducks. She went with a group of girls she was raised with to a new home when I downsized my flock, but last I heard she was still healthy and happy. We never did find out what happened to her, she just came home one night like that. Someone suggested she may have gotten stuck under a rock or something while rooting for bugs, and broke her bill trying to get loose. Pretty sure, in her case, it wasn't a predator attack because everyone was acting totally normal that day, plus they were guarded by a very protective goose who would have taken some damage first if anything attacked.

Anyway, good luck with her. She's adorable!

 

[tbitt]

Quote:
Good News. Maybe after a few days she will go inside the safety of the house at night with the rest of the flock. If the geese will let her

 

[agregg15]

Quote:
Well you now have a free duck. You just saved about 4 or 5 dollars