New to this

[newdaddy]

we found an abandoned mallards nest about two months ago in my mother In laws backyard. all of the eggs had been opened and eaten, by a predator,.. except for one. We had zero experience with this but we took the egg home and incubated it and Sully hatched out after the 26th day that we had him/her ( we are still unable to determine sex)
But he is now24 days old and is following us and playing in the tub and kiddie pool. Im just about to finish his coop outdoors and begin to transfer his habitat. here are a couple of questions. should we get him a mate or two.. Ive read that Ducks are very social... he seems to be.... also. we live in the Phoenix,AZ area. temps can reach 115 out here and while we do have wild ducks in the parks and ponds down the road. is there anything I can be doing to keep him more comfortable? ( he has a play pool. any advice for us newbies would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mnferalkitty]

Ducks prefer a buddy it does not have to be a mallard, for hot days I have fans that I can place in the coop, I also freeze water in empty milk jugs and place them around coop or in shaded areas and I have seen my ducks and chickens lay by these on hot days. I wouldn't say the mallard needs a mate just a buddy/friend

 

[ducklover87]

Cngrats on successfully saving and hatching sully. Sully should be getting to the age where his peeps are turning in to quacks. This happens at around 4 to 5 weeks. The females make a loud quack while the males will sound more raspy, almost as if they have a sore throat. I would wait until you know what breed sully is. If she's a girl you could get a few girls and a boy if you want to have babies or if you don't you could jut get all girls. If he's a boy is go with girls. Some people do very well with an all boy flock but that can lead to problems depending on the drake. Make sure sully has lots of shade to get out of the heat and lots of access to water. Changing the water throughout the day will help to keep it colder. Also I've heard of people turning on sprinklers during extreme heat. Sometimes during the summer i like to cut up fresh strawberries and stick them in a freezer bag and fill it with water. Then after it freezes i take it out and put it in their pool. It gives them something to play with while cooling them and the water down. Here's a few links that I hope you will find useful. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/750869/raising-and-caring-for-ducklings. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/242460/the-ultimate-list-of-duck-treats-and-supplements.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

Last year when it was super hot, I would hook the old school garden sprinkler up to the hose, and my ducks absolutely loved it.