NEW PICS***PLEASE HELP What breed of duck is this? E. Coast, Australia

[goosedragon]

Quote:
Probably not, 22C should be warm enough, I assume the duckling can get away from the heat bag if it wants to.

 

[Countedsorrow]

Yup. And its a bit warmer tonight too - I hadn't been using my wildlife heat pad as
it worried me - the label said it heats to 10C above room temp but
I really didnt want the heat pad getting up to 40C - 50C (110F+) during the morning...

Thanks again!

 

[keeperofthehearth]

Looks like a Muscovy to me. Black/White Duclair Pied. Verrrrry Pretty one at that! Muscovies are very addictive.

Looks pretty young as I don't see any feathers but just fuzzy down in your pic. You should see some feathering coming in by 3-4wks. They are quiet, don't quack, but peep,coo, twitter. The girls will keep their pretty little voices but the boys will have a voice change as they mature at about 13-14 wks or so and begin to hiss only.

 

[chickensioux]

Dear Countedsorrow, what a beautiful little duckling. So lucky to have found you. I would just add that little darling into your flock. If that is a muscovy (I have 2) they are awesome ducks! Very quiet, sweet and funny. Good luck with that little angel. I would love an excuse to come to Australia and pick it up......

 

[angiepangie]

hiya!
yeah he's a Musky!
Cute little bugger's.
are you with 'wires'
we are on the central coast too, and only yesterday had a call from a lady who wants musky ducklings.... can give you her number if you like?

 

[cheekychick]

*waves to Angie*

Countedsorrow - Angie is who I first turned to when I started with ducks

She should be able to help you with anything you may need to know, and even lives somewhere near you which is a bonus too

 

[angiepangie]

hey cheeky!
yeah, well, we only have one muscovy Drake, mac daddy left (and leroy, he is a mix breed) and 3 chickens after the fox came thru and devastated our flock, last friday

We have decided not to get anymore untill we own our own block of land, then we can build and fence (and electrify) till our hearts are content.
anyway, good luck with your peep peep (duckling)

sing out if you have any trouble re homing him...
did anyone say what to feed him?
we fed ours duckling mash, but if you dont want to buy a whole sack for one duckling (fair enough) you can feed him hard boiled , mashed egg, lettuce leaves, weet bix, they seem to like tomato too, dont feed them bread! contrary to what the wider public think... bread is actually terribly bad for ducks. As he gets older introduce him to a molassed grain etc

 

[Countedsorrow]

Thanks for your help angiepangie!

No I am not with WIRES, I am with another wildlife rescue group
(which I won't name here as one of the members is known
for scouring posts and taking up issue with absolutely everything)

I have been feeding the ducky the same diet as I feed the wild ducks who come
into care - duckling particularly enjoyed the live insects

Yup, I often have to let well meaning public know about the bread
when we go to pick up wildlife from them - common misconception.

Thanks for the offer of passing on the ladies number, but I think I might suss out someone locally - I am sure
she is probably fine (and I hope you are not referring to yourself

),
but I have issues with people who ring wildlife groups looking for "free pets".
(And it happens a lot - someone rang asking if they could have a kookaburra...hello, totally illegal)

PS

For anyone wondering (and I can't believe I have to say it) - no, we don't keep the wildlife as pets -
that is the total opposite to what we do, animals are rehabilitated and released in one way or another.
Just thought I better mention it as, I can't believe how many people have asked me that this week!!!!)
Considering hubby and I have personally rescued 200+ this year, thats an awfully big backyard to keep everything in!

Thanks again angiepangie, and everyone else for all your help,

I really appreciate it
- will def. contact you guys if I can't rehome this gorgeous duckling

 

[angiepangie]

ha! there is always one (or two) arnt there?
anyway, glad you are on to it.
and nope, i wasn't volunteering to home him, we are going to hold off till we own a small block. It was just too upsetting to find our animals, that we have hand raised, and grain fed, and ... y'know... LOVED ! slaughtered by one bloody fox.
so yeah, well wait till we are in a better position.
I only mentioned 'wires' as we are thinking of joining. we live on the door step of a national park, and have plenty of quiet spaces, and equipment to care for sick or injured animals, Thought it would be educational for my daughter, as well as having good photo opportunities for my photographer hubby <3 and not to mention rewarding to release an animal back into it's natural habitat.
you sound like an awesome volunteer! 200 animals! wow! you must sleep great at night

 

[Countedsorrow]

It is so worth it angie pangie!
And WIRES is a great organisation too, we did some
training with them and found them to be so helpful,
knowledgable and well organised.

My only tip would be to start out slow - we lose so many rescuers because
they say yes to everything - and then burn out in a few weeks -
there are always animals to be rescued, but you soon learn you can't do all of them.

And I am into photography too -
how could you not be, when you have cuties like this 6wk old tawny frogmouth?

As for sleeping well at night - that depends on how many birds we have!

hehe
BTW I would say 70-80% 0f rescues are birds - so as long as you love birds you will be fine