One lone Mallard

[MCO]

Hi we hatched two mallards and the female flew away last month and left the male alone. He waddles around outside our chicken coop with our three small seramas all day and sleeps outside their coop instead of his duck coop but can't be left alone with them when they free range because he sometimes snaps at them. I feel like he's lonely and I can tell he's not happy lately (I think?) because he is softly quacking more and seems restless. There's a big lake nearby in the center of town with mallards should I bring him there? It appears the female flew there as we biked there and I could've sworn one was her We are in NJ i'm worried if I don't do it now they'll all migrate before I can. He is four months old and was hatched here. I considered getting a silkie duck male for him to have a friend but not sure that's best for him, we don't have a big yard and he doesn't have alot of space here as it is (we ordered small silkie duck eggs but received mallard eggs, but we love him and want what's best for him). Any suggestions? Thank you in advance.

 

[KathiQuacks]

Human-raised ducks, even breeds like the mallard, really should not be released into the wild. They don’t have proper instincts or survival knowledge.

If you’re not wanting to keep him, the best thing you could do is post around online and find him another loving human-home with other ducks.