Odd duck showed up, UPDATE pics of a buddy!

[maizey]

Well the duck isnt odd...only it's circumstances. This white duck just showed up in our neighborhood lake. Don't know if he arrived by choice or chance but he's ( or she?) is all alone, swimming around one particular area of a 22 acre lake, and quacking a lot. I don't know ducks, but chickens are social...does it need a friend? food? Nobody seems to be feeding it...can it forage for itself? If I need to do something for it..WHAT should I do? Any advice to a chicken person from you ducky folks? Thanks

 

[duckyfromoz]

First of all....can you get a photo of said duck and post it here??? I know its a real long shot...but I know of people posting here that have had ducks fly off. Having said that - most likely someone dumped her nearby and she has walked to the lake if she is a domestic- or that she flew in by herself- possibly injured - if she is a muscovy. As far as feeding..identifying what she is first might also help with that. She may have different needs depending on if she was previously someones pet or always wild and free to forage.

 

[desertdarlene]

We had an adorable white mallard that showed up and fit right in with the wild mallards. I know he flew in because I saw him fly and he flew very well. Then, he left. But, in your case, it does help if you can identify a breed. If it's a pekin, for example, she might have been dropped off there and be in distress. Can you get her to respond to food?

 

[Parrotchick]

If it's a loud quack that you can hear from a distance, it's most likely a female. Males have wimpy little squeaky raspy voices. (Unless it's a Muscovy, the ducks that have the red warty looking stuff around their bills-especially pronounced on the males. You can barely hear their quacks-the boys' sounds like a hiss and the girls' are tiny little squeaks). Pekins are the white ducks that look like the AFLAC duck and they're generally bigger than typical wild mallards and they're too heavy to fly. If you can't get a photo up here, try Googling Pekin, Muscovy, white mallard to see. Domestic white mallards and muscovies can fly some but not nearly so well as their wild counterparts.

That being said, ducks are social animals and HATE to be alone. A domestic duck will try to latch onto whatever other waterfowl available: ducks if there are others, and if not they often join the Canada Geese. I had a pair of ducks and when one died, the other moped around with the chickens until I brought her home some new duck friends.

If you think it's a domestic duck that is lost or abandoned, you can try Craigslist or local ads to find its owner or a new owner if it's catchable. Some ducks are more outgoing than others, but in my experience most of them are nervous nellies when you first encounter them. Even my own ducks that I've had since day olds all scatter when I first come out the door, then inch back to see what goodies I might have. You can try luring her with thawed frozen peas ("duckie crack") or grapes or even chicken scratch.

If you end up catching and keeping her, there's tons of info on BYC, but you'll want at least duck friend. They can get along fine with chickens but they love water and are much messier. You don't need a pond; they'll appreciate a kiddie pool but even a bucket of water will suffice so they can dunk their heads (necessary for them to keep the gunk out of their "noses")

Lots of people get cute little duckies at the farm stores at this time of year, then find out they grow up super fast and are really messy, so they abandon them at local waterways thinking they can fend for themselves. It's really quite sad, since there are umpteen kinds of predators such as dogs, foxes, hawks. Little ones get munched by snapping turtles. White ducks don't even have the camouflage to protect them better. Easter is kind of late this year, but since you're in warmer Dixie, maybe they start earlier selling ducklings.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[maizey]

ok, im trying to load a pic now. It wouldnt let me get very close to it, but i did observe that it went up to a lady and her daughter that live right on the lake so maybe it is theirs. I dunno. Looked like they might have been feeding it. There is no way i can bring it home.. I may or may not be technically allowed to have the chickens i have. The lake is about 25 feet from my front yard so I can assist the duck.. but no way im bringing it home. Geez, hubby was already giving me the stink eye when I went down to get the pic. Stand by for pics. I love BYC but why do they make loading the pics so complicated!

 

[maizey]

i really hope those worked!

 

[desertdarlene]

Yeah, that looks like a female pekin. Probably either a drop off or wandered in from a neighbor's house. They don't really fly and they don't really wander that far on foot.

 

[NewHopePoultry]

Female pekin
Someone probly dumped her.
The city park in the town next to me is full of pekins and other pet ducks that people dumped.

 

[maizey]

ok, so what to do? do I feed her or can she forage? What do you feed ducks? Besides the aformentioned thawed peas. The feed stores just got their chicks in early this month so she wouldnt have come from this years batch. Now here is how my mind is working..im thinking i should go get a couple of ducklings, raise them until they are old enough and send them in as company..bad idea? My hubby would kill me, but aside from that minor detail...what to do?

 

[pringle]

Quote:
Very bad idea,you are just sending more ducks to there deaths.You can try feeding it gamebird or duck food on the shore and see if it comes.Sadly I think its going to fall to predation soon.