PLEASE HELP! My duckling; Gypsy. What breed am I? How old am I?

[run_trip_fall]

the Black bellied whistling duck has an orange bill and legs, Gypsy has a black bill and grey/blue feet & legs

 

[desertdarlene]

Here's a link to ones that look a little younger than yours:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/slingher/4860433921/

The babies have blue bills.

 

[run_trip_fall]

well D.D. thanks for your help we have a winner the markings on the back and sides of his head are identical. i will do my research and if you'd like ill keep you posted on how he's doing. Any duckie advise i need to know? Also, any idea how a flightless duckling ended up alone in my neighborhood that doesnt have any water other than ditches. We have a park about 2 miles away that has lots of ducks and geese but none of the black bellied.

 

[katharinad]

Predators know where to look for ducks, and mother ducks very often put their nests far away from it. Ducks don't need water, just water for drinking. We ended up with a wild duckling on our property 1/4 of a mile from the lake. Eventually the moms will lead them back to the water. I wonder if the mom is still around. She may be shy and is hiding. We did put the baby we have found into a cat crate onto our parking lot, where we let it cry for hours. Mom never showed, and we later found her and another duckling dead on the road. We did raise the wild duck and she eventually flew back into the wild. Was a wonderful experience. Had a wild duck fly into the duck yard a couple of days ago. We think it may be the wild duckling, now full grown.

 

[desertdarlene]

Good luck! We don't have those ducks, here, either, which was the reason behind my first response.

I assume you take care of it just like any other duckling that age. Other people can help with that. Just be careful as sometimes you can get in trouble for having possession of wildlife if you don't have a rehabber's license.

 

[katharinad]

That is so true. I called the local fish and wild life office and they allowed me to raise the duckling, but not to keep it. They said I must file paperwork with them, if the duck does not leave by itself in 4 months. I was not allowed to have lots of contact with it at all. She still followed us around, but it was wonderful to see her flying around. In fall she left and joined the wild ducks, what we wanted to happen any way. Check your ducks feet. Wild ducks hatched and raised in captivity with a license have to have one of their back toe removed or have some markings in the webbing.

 

[MysticalMom]

I'm with desertdarlene. I think it's a 2 or 3 week old whistling duck.( but maybe a fulvous whistling duck? ) Look at those long legs, the face stripes and the way it's way it's feathers are coming in that pretty brown. Cool find! I can't wait to see pics as it grows up.

 

[tia]

Do you have a bird treatment center there that takes in injured wild birds and returns them to the wild? You might check with them to see if you are able to keep it. It could be that they could take it, make sure it can get its own food, and release it back into the wild when it is big enough. It is very cool looking, but it will be very lonesome if you only have one duck. I took in a mallard duckling that was found. I am trying to introduce it into my runner flock and it is going pretty slow. It is pretty good one on one with my runners, but when I put it in with the whole flock they run away from it. It wants friends so bad - my heart goes out to him.

 

[pirtykitty]

He /She is a black bellied whistling tree duck.. they have long legs and neck. and whistle instead of quack. the females have a different whistle than the males.. You are going to love it... I had them for several years...

 

[pirtykitty]

he /she will start to fly at 6 weeks.. and will migrate in the fall. Fred and Louise Flew off the end of September last year after. They are proably molting again right now where ever they are . and wiil migrate with the other ones they are with again this year. I'm hoping they come back for a visit... I know of a some people in Belmead who feed a flock of about 50 wild whistling ducks..
the wild ones fly over off and on during the year because we live close to Lake Waco..