Mallard ducks

Greg Neely

Hatching
Oct 24, 2020
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A neighbor incubated 5 Mallard ducklings. After they became a nuisance he released them on my pond. I’ve cared for them all summer and now they come close to me for food.
Ive built them a coop but they have no interest in going in.
My question is this. Will they ever tame down or because of the breed
always remain feral ? One has an injured wing and is not able to fly.
The others seem to fly from one side of the pond to the other without
issue.
Hoping someone has had similar experience.
 
:welcome In my experience their retained 'wild' instinct is dependent upon the number of generations removed from the wild. Is there a pen attached to the coop ? If so I would feed them there each evening and pen them up. If you are in an area where the pond will freeze, they will be very vulnerable to predation.
 
:welcome I think it's great you have taken an interest in trying to help these cute like ducks. It's unfortunate the person who released them was clueless to what happens to ducks that are released like that.

I agree with sourland, if you had a pen of some sort attached to your coop where you feed them, you should be able to catch them that way so you can help them better.

It sounds to me you have a duck rescue project in motion and that's great. Once you have them in a safe environment and keep caring for them, they will start to tame down for you. Not sure if they will let you just pick them up, but they will let you be close to them without being frightened of you. Food is the key and treats like peas and mealworms will seal the deal! :)

Best of luck and please keep us updated on your progress, pictures too if possible. :) Everyone likes a happy ending to a duck rescue story. :celebrate
 

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