Mallard ducklings 911

[Islandliving]

Oh gosh I really need help. I have 5 3 week old ducklings and the mom who is being a great mom. They have been living in my salt water pool with ramps to enter and exit. Of course now they just jump out. But they sleep on the ramp at night 2 inches from the water.
Every week they leave for 24 hours and then return. We will on an inland waterway and today I saw them jumping off the dock one at a time. Mom was in the water coaxing them to jump the 8 feet. We have a wall with rocks behind the house to hold up bulkhead etc and I put drop cloths on them to make it easier to climb up. I know this is long. My question is about the food. Been doing the chick starter. Oatmeal , brewers yeast, and crack corn. Mealworms as their snack. Changing water 10 times a day. Just really need to know how much to feed. They will not eat kale. No peas. No watermelon. Just need to make sure they will be healthy. My plan is to keep them until they can fly. Scared to death of predators at night. It’s consuming my life. My husband says I need to relocate them. But I’m not.
Any suggestions, ideas, thoughts will be greatly appreciated.
Oh and this is her 6 clutch in 4 years. She usually takes them down to the marsh and they are all killed immediately. So I was determined she was going to have some babies live. It’s a loooong story.

 

[The_BirdNerd]

Wow ok, that is a pretty stressful situation you’re in. This is probably irrelevant but are these ducks wild? If so it’d be best to leave them be with their mom so she can teach them basic things such as to scavenge for food. It is very nice that you’ve been keeping them fed and well watered, maybe wait till someone who knows more about ducks than me arrives here for some tips. Good luck!

 

[Islandliving]

Wow ok, that is a pretty stressful situation you’re in. This is probably irrelevant but are these ducks wild? If so it’d be best to leave them be with their mom so she can teach them basic things such as to scavenge for food. It is very nice that you’ve been keeping them fed and well watered, maybe wait till someone who knows more about ducks than me arrives here for some tips. Good luck!

Yes so STRESSFUL! They are wild. Having a hard time because no one here in Charleston SC cares about mallards. I have been trying for 4 years to help this mama but they all say “ it’s wildlife... got to let them do what they do”. It’s so sad. I really want them to survive. They are really thriving. Diving under the water and doing just what mom did and had them lined up preening at 3 days old. Not kidding.
I’m afraid if I don’t feed they will stay in the marsh and get separated or worse.
I don’t talk to them. Just to the mom to warn her when I’m coming. Pool guys are cleaning pool 3 days a week and yard people are back on schedule every week. Mama just takes them into bushes.
Thank you for responding.

 

[The_BirdNerd]

Yes so STRESSFUL! They are wild. Having a hard time because no one here in Charleston SC cares about mallards. I have been trying for 4 years to help this mama but they all say “ it’s wildlife... got to let them do what they do”. It’s so sad. I really want them to survive. They are really thriving. Diving under the water and doing just what mom did and had them lined up preening at 3 days old. Not kidding.
I’m afraid if I don’t feed they will stay in the marsh and get separated or worse.
I don’t talk to them. Just to the mom to warn her when I’m coming. Pool guys are cleaning pool 3 days a week and yard people are back on schedule every week. Mama just takes them into bushes.
Thank you for responding.

All good, and it sounds like the mom is doing well with her young by having you around to look out for them. If you’re worried about predators, and this is entirely up to you and the ducks, you could buy or build a cheap, small dog house and leave some grass clippings in there as bedding. It’s just an option for them if the nights are cold or if there’s predators lurking about but there’s no guarantee that they’ll use it, but if you place food and water inside then maybe they’ll see it as shelter.

Also it is so, so sad that no one cares about the poor mallards. A lot of people I know don’t even like birds and dislike it when I bring up the subject about mine. Just think of it this way, at least you care and are doing your best. Hopefully this duck and her little ducklings succeed in life because of your compassion