Rescued hurricane duckling

[Maureen Shulenburg]

Hi, we found a lone duck egg after Irma. It was chirping and pecking from the inside so I made a crack and this cute little Muscovy duckling burst out and practically jumped in my hand and said" Mommy"!!!!!! Lol needless to say , we are not sure if it is male or female so we have settled on 'Silly Goose's for a name for now. He is growing quite rapid and it's time to get going on making him a safe place to live. We by no means plan on having " ducks" just a duck. We live in a very wild animal populated area along the Suwannee River near fresh water springs. We would like to incorporate a natural habitat in our yard but keep him safe. I don't take in animals without doing research first and as luck has it have been wanting a duck for a long time. I raised tropical birds for a long time and know that this is a whole new ball game. This little guy/ or girl is already part of our family and we will do whatever necessary for him to be happy and healthy. I would appreciate any suggestions on moving forward on building and adapting a great long-term low maintenance home for shim that we can incorporate into our woodsy landscape. Thanks, Mommy!!!!! Lol

 

[biophiliac]

Photos of the proposed site will help get you thhe best suggestions.

and

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Don't know how much space you have (and let me say I have never owned a duck), but the man I get my chickens from also has ducks. He has a smallish mid size pond (Large swimming pool size) in his area and keeps ducks. The pond has a floating house for the ducks, tethered to the bottom of the pond in the middle of the pond. This, I am told protects the ducks from predators. He lives in a fairly wild area. Good luck with your new friend and welcome to this site, you will probably get lots of helpful information here from very friendly people, try going to Forums and search for ducks or duck habitat. you will probably find lots of info. Thanks for joining us and let us know how your little one is doing and what you decide about the habitat.

 

[Natalie783]

If you would like to, to keep your duck safe at night, you could do something a little similar to a chicken coop. A small little shed/coop that you could put your duck in at night and close the door just to make sure to predators can get to him. I don't know if people do this with ducks, i've only had experience with chickens so...

 

[chickens really]

I have a 10x10 dog run that is covered and a extra large dog house....You can really make it look nice by planting native shrubs around it....That way he will be safe...Then you can free range him as you supervise...

 

[Maureen Shulenburg]

Photos of the proposed site will help get you thhe best suggestions.

and

 

[Maureen Shulenburg]

That is a fantastic idea, we are deliberating on the perfect spot so as soon as a desision is made I shall post some. Thank you!