Planning Ahead - Releasing Mallard Ducklings

[megamilez]

Hey all,

So as you know already, I rescued a couple mallard ducklings about 2 weeks ago. (Boy have they grown quickly just like you said!)

From what I've read, at around 8 weeks, they can be self-sufficient and released back into "the wild". I had a few questions and want any input you can provide just to make sure I do this correctly.

The first thing I read about was taking them to a body of water early in the day and giving them time to settle in. Then check back every day with supplemental food to ensure they are eating enough. Is this correct?

Also, I wish I could release them from my backyard (I live in a regular neighborhood) so there is a chance they'd find their way back one day (or stop by for food lol) - but that is obviously a selfish thing that I wouldn't do if releasing them at a body of water is absolutely necessary.

Next, is the fact that I'm not quite sure that I can just release them and they're good to go. Will they be fine from the moment they are released? Finding food? Recognizing and evading predators?

Have any of you done this before? Any additional steps and input will be really appreciated!

Miles

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

I wouldn't release them without more info.. @007Sean ?

 

[megamilez]

I wouldn't release them without more info.. @007Sean ?

Info, like?

 

[The Dapper Duck]

Well this might be a little cynical of an opinion, but you've most likely killed them already. They won't know how to fend for themselves or evade predators or avoid a decoy spread come October. It's a wonderful thought and takes someone with a good hear to rescue wild animals and rehab them (assuming you really did rescue them and not just accidentally steal them from mom, which happens a lot), but in the end we are talking about a prey species, and a hunted one at that. Just let them wander out as much as you can before it's time for them to go south. Hopefully they will find some local birds to be friends with who can... take them under their wing (my puns need no pardon). Is there a park nearby where you could drop them off? Or why not just keep them? Aside from the legal issues, but that hasn't been a problem so far and nobody is going to notice that they are wild vs domesticated "wild" mallards you can buy online.

 

[007Sean]

Well this might be a little cynical of an opinion, but you've most likely killed them already. They won't know how to fend for themselves or evade predators or avoid a decoy spread come October. It's a wonderful thought and takes someone with a good hear to rescue wild animals and rehab them (assuming you really did rescue them and not just accidentally steal them from mom, which happens a lot), but in the end we are talking about a prey species, and a hunted one at that. Just let them wander out as much as you can before it's time for them to go south. Hopefully they will find some local birds to be friends with who can... take them under their wing (my puns need no pardon). Is there a park nearby where you could drop them off? Or why not just keep them? Aside from the legal issues, but that hasn't been a problem so far and nobody is going to notice that they are wild vs domesticated "wild" mallards you can buy online.

X2

 

[Jpat]

ducks dont avoid decoy spreads

keep your eyes out for a pond with other wild mallards, your will be drawn to the wilds and ducky see ducky doo

are you in a warm part of the world?

even if they dont fly away even here in NS wild mallards spend the winter

 

[chickens really]

Here local wildlife rehabs release young Ducks and geese early. They have strong instincts to survive and migrate along with other Ducks. They will be fine.
Best wishes..

 

[The Dapper Duck]

ducks dont avoid decoy spreads

Obviously you're not a golfer Oh how I wish this was true, but I could show you otherwise any day after the opening weekend.

They have strong instincts to survive and migrate along with other Ducks. They will be fine.

They do indeed, but that's not a guarantee. Unless "fine" is that they will go back into the ecosystem into anonymity. Which I would agree is perfectly fine, since coyotes need to eat too. Slap some bands on them if you're curious, just make sure they won't be able to trace them back to you because technically it's a felony.

 

[danceswithronin]

I fully believe that animals can communicate in complex ways amongst themselves. If you're going to release them, I'd release them with another group of ducks, preferably of their type but any group of ducks that they can emulate and look to for survival skills. Plus anywhere that has a large group of ducks usually contains some kind of ecosystem that sustains them, so they should have some kind of food source.

That being said, I do wildlife rehab and accept that the animals I release back into the wild from infancy are at a disadvantage to those who were raised among their own kind. I released eight barn swallows last summer after their nests were pressure-washed off a building (I started with ten and lost the two youngest - they were from about four different nests). I released them in an area with lots of other barn swallows hoping they could be integrated into an existing flock, because they needed to learn things from those other swallows they couldn't learn from me - be that hunting moves, cultural cues, bird religion, whatever. But I also understand that in releasing them, I'm taking the chance that they will be almost immediately picked off by a predator or will starve to death. But that's a chance that every wild free thing has to take.

I think that some wildlife probably isn't able to reintegrate and dies fairly quickly after release. But I also think that some - especially more intelligent animals - are able to adapt on the fly if pressed. So if the alternative is life behind the bars of a cage, I'll let a wild animal take its chances if I can.

 

[chickens really]

Obviously you're not a golfer Oh how I wish this was true, but I could show you otherwise any day after the opening weekend.


They do indeed, but that's not a guarantee. Unless "fine" is that they will go back into the ecosystem into anonymity. Which I would agree is perfectly fine, since coyotes need to eat too. Slap some bands on them if you're curious, just make sure they won't be able to trace them back to you because technically it's a felony.

Well of course nothing is guaranteed..Although doing the right thing for them is releasing them back to the wild. It's illegal to keep migratory Birds. I once rescued a Runner and a Tiny Green Teal that needed to go to rehab. The Teal was released once mature.