Mallard Duck Information

[Emelyn]

Hello everyone! Hope you guys are having a great day so far! Unfortunately many threads are being shut down by staff because people have some questions about the ducks that are against the laws such as keeping them as pets or stealing their eggs to hatch themselves. So below I'll answer some of your guys questions and give you guys some essential information about mallards

Can I own a Mallard duck as a pet?
Unfortunately not wild ones as those are protect under the "Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918" but if you have a permit you may keep them. Don't worry though guys! You can have a domesticated Mallard that may be for sale in your local farm/hatchery store or online. If you wanna rush and get an adult pair for breeding here's a link (it's usually not available unfortunately but maybe it will one day!) https://www.californiahatchery.com/Adult-Mallard-Duck-Pair_p_272.html or you are okay with the wait and you want to have adorable little ducklings that you can watch grow here's 2 more links: https://www.cacklehatchery.com/product/mallard-duck/ https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/flying_mallard.html


Can you own any parts of Mallard ducks?
No unless you have a permit

Why can't I take any of the eggs from their nest?
The female mallard will not return to the nest if a human interferes with it unfortunately. If you are REALLY desperate to hatch some mallards try looking on craigslist for sale or click this link- https://www.metzerfarms.com/purchase-duck-hatching-eggs.html

Well hope this helped you all!


*This forum is mine and please do not steal this forum and claim it's yours if you find someone copying and pasting my forum without consent please tell me. I'll tell the person to remove it or report it for copyright. Thank you for understanding

 

[GranderTheGander]

You can't take eggs from their nests because it is illegal. I'm sure there are mallard females who would return to their nest and sit even though a human may have taken eggs, while they were off the nest. Being free is a wild duck's birthright. They should not be held captive, and their eggs should not be stolen. What you buy from the CL may very well be wild mallard ducklings, and it's doubtful the seller is going to confess that fact. How is it they can even sell mallard eggs and ducklings at farms? They must have at least originally come from wild mallards.

 

[Emelyn]

You can't take eggs from their nests because it is illegal. I'm sure there are mallard females who would return to their nest and sit even though a human may have taken eggs, while they were off the nest. Being free is a wild duck's birthright. They should not be held captive, and their eggs should not be stolen. What you buy from the CL may very well be wild mallard ducklings, and it's doubtful the seller is going to confess that fact. How is it they can even sell mallard eggs and ducklings at farms? They must have at least originally come from wild mallards.

I stated that you can not take eggs. I disagree with the mallard females though as they MAY recognize human scent. Also mallard eggs and ducklings come from other DOMESTICATED mallards which means they were bred to have somewhat different features such as how they aren't as scared as humans. They did originally come from wild mallards but that was long,long ago

 

[GranderTheGander]

Birds don't have a strong sense of smell. That's why the idea you can't put baby birds back in the nest because the mother bird would reject them, due to human scent, is a myth. I would bet wild mallard mothers would even return to sitting on a nest even if a raccoon swiped eggs, as long as the nest isn't a mess or destroyed. What I am proposing is there is no way you could know for sure any mallard duckling or eggs you buy didn't recently come from wild mallards. Wild mallards who live in developed areas aren't particularly afraid of humans, as long as the humans aren't trying to harm them or chase them away. No wild creature has adapted so well to the overdevelopment of the wetlands than mallards.

 

[Emelyn]

Birds don't have a strong sense of smell. That's why the idea you can't put baby birds back in the nest because the mother bird would reject them, due to human scent, is a myth. I would bet wild mallard mothers would even return to sitting on a nest even if a raccoon swiped eggs, as long as the nest isn't a mess or destroyed. What I am proposing is there is no way you could know for sure any mallard duckling or eggs you buy didn't recently come from wild mallards. Wild mallards who live in developed areas aren't particularly afraid of humans, as long as the humans aren't trying to harm them or chase them away. No wild creature has adapted so well to the overdevelopment of the wetlands than mallards.

True...maybe I should delete this thread then

 

[GranderTheGander]

True...maybe I should delete this thread then

No, don't do that. I'm not trying to be combative, either. The whole purpose of forums is discussion and proposing what one believes to be true or not.

 

[swampfox440]

In my opinion . If you are a racoon that destroys over 50% of the ground nesting birds and a lot of tree cavity nesters also, it is perfectly legal . They are also permitted to destroy veery thrush , wild turkey , wood cock , ruffed grouse , killdeer , your garbage can , your chicken flock ,nests of any kind . Do you know why the racoons don't need a permit ? The answer is they have no money to pay the greedy politicians off . They aren't worried about the ducks or anything else If they would let racoons do this . Oh ! and you better have a hunting license , a duck stamp , a deer tag , a turkey stamp, a permit to breath , a permit to void , go figure !

 

[Emelyn]

No, don't do that. I'm not trying to be combative, either. The whole purpose of forums is discussion and proposing what one believes to be true or not.

I'll wait to see what others have to say and if a lot of people agree with you then I'll edit this

 

[swampfox440]

True...maybe I should delete this thread then

No don't delete please you were just trying to help others thank you . Mark

 

[abellchicken]

My mallard has started laying. She has 8 eggs beside my porch. How long should I wait to see if she sits or should I go ahead and throw them in the incubator?