My friend hatched a duckling

[Min27]

It started a month ago when my friend (we met in university and keep in contact through Facebook) found an egg on her porch and started incubating it. On her Facebook she reported its progress. A couple of days ago it hatched, and now she has a baby wood duck (named Basil).

Although she loves ducks, and I should be happy for her, I'm concerned because I've heard ducks are rather high maintenance pets and I don't know if she has a pond for it to swim in. I don't think she knows how to take care of a duck. Also, if she hatched the egg the duck will think she's its mother. She might not be able to release it into the wild when it grows up.

 

[qwackers]

It probably couldn't go back into the wild as like you said they will latch on to the first thing it see's and will follow you everywhere if it's you. you don't necessarily need a pond though it's always good. A kiddies paddling pool is ok, but obviously the water will need changing a lot. Hope this helps!?

 

[Miss Lydia]

It started a month ago when my friend (we met in university and keep in contact through Facebook) found an egg on her porch and started incubating it. On her Facebook she reported its progress. A couple of days ago it hatched, and now she has a baby wood duck (named Basil).

Although she loves ducks, and I should be happy for her, I'm concerned because I've heard ducks are rather high maintenance pets and I don't know if she has a pond for it to swim in. I don't think she knows how to take care of a duck. Also, if she hatched the egg the duck will think she's its mother. She might not be able to release it into the wild when it grows up.

Please post here and then send to your friend the info you get, from all I have read just keeping a wild duckling alive is an effort. So hopefully someone on this thread can better help you. https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/46/ornamental-fowl-swans-etc

 

[shicks0211]

awww..that is so cute! how strange that it was on her porch. I find them all the time in the waters edge as we live on the lake and the ducks just lay them where ever. I've gotten them out, if they haven't been in the water too long i've had good luck hatching them ..i keep them under a heat lamp for a while and as they get their feathers i let them live on the lake..i feed them, but they eat fish and plants too..and of course everyone else around the lake feeds them ...good luck to her..so much fun!

 

[Min27]

Thanks everyone. I think she has a creek or river near her place, and the duck just came up and laid the egg (which sounds strange)



Quote: That's what I'm a bit worried about. Wild ducks might have different needs from domesticated ones.


Quote: Thanks. That is helpful to know.

 

[carcar80]

A wood duck- wow. I think we could give much better advice with a nice pic of him/her. Haha

 

[Min27]

I sourced these from my friend's facebook page. She took lots of photos, but some of them have her in them.

 

[qwackers]

Aw it's so cute!thanks for the photos!

 

[Teloka]

hahahah! Hi Min. I didn't know you were on this website too. I'm sorry to see you have so little faith in my bird handling skills and cross posted without asking me or contacting me about it first with your concerns, but I guess you were just trying to get information to help. I of course can't be sure if Basil will make it (especially because the egg may have been abandoned for a reason), but he's going strong at the moment and I am doing my very best to ensure his safety, happiness and of course well being.

To answer your concerns from the person herself;

Yes, I know how to raise ducks. I have raised ducklings to ducks, chickens to hens, and Goslings to Geese. I've also raised Guinea Fowl but I dunno what to call them as babies, haha. I also hand raised my two parrots; I wouldn't have taken this task on if I didn't have any experience!

Yes, we have a very large natural dam on our property as we live on acreage, and we also have a pool AND I also have a large bath which I've taught my previous domestic ducks to swim in
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Yes, regular ducks need water to swim in a lot HOWEVER the Native Austrailan Wood Duck is a dabbling duck, and is more like a goose. It is not much of a swimmer and swimming is not as important to them as foraging in the natural grasses (which we have been doing since yesterday).

Yes, wild ducks have different needs but I have made myself aware of them before he hatched. I've been in contact with my local wild life foundations and rehab centres (who rear a lot of wood ducks and pacific blacks) and I've been researching intensively to see what his unique needs are-- one of them being the above that swimming is not suggested or crucial in the first week or two, unlike other domestic ducks, which sounds like something you yourself might not have known. I will of course teach him to swim, but he will probably prefer to start slow and spend time in the grass instead. Another thing is that he needs fresh greens to eat, rather than just the regular duck starter feed, as the Aussie Wood Duck is primarily a grasses and herbs eater, with a few insects here and there. He has been favouring these greens so far, although he has the ready availability of his choice of greens and oatmeals.

I do not intend to force him to stay and will not be clipping his wings or caging him against his will, however, if he survives to adulthood and fledges there will always be a place here for him. He has imprinted on me, yes, but when he fledges his wild instincts are likely to take over and tell him to strike out on his own. Australian Wood Ducks are apparently fairly good at rehabilitating into the wild. As he grows older I will do my best to try and teach him all the skills he will need (he is already practising his foraging skills when I sprinkle tiny broccoli flowers across the ground for him and on our outings into the garden). If he does not wish to return to the wild, there is plenty of room here for him.

So, I do know what I'm doing and I'm doing it to the best of my ability, and Basil is doing very well already. I received a lot of help and support during his incubation period from the BYC community, especially when it started to look like he was having difficulties, but he hatched out perfectly fine on his own albeit a little late.

If you want to read more about his incubation, hatch, or see more photos of him and the updates I am reporting to our friends on the forum, you can check out the thread I posted a while back about it when he was partway through incubation: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/750468/new-australian-hatching-mystery-egg-at-home .

Hope that eases your mind a bit! Next time, please ask me first if you have any concerns or anything, and before posting my photos and such on a website which you didn't know I was a member of.

 

[carcar80]

*Gorgeous* baby!! Teloka- sounds like you've covered all your bases, glad to hear you've got this....
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Ooh look- snack bar!! :awkward exit: