Seeking home for 7 Mallard ducks (Corona, Southern California - Riverside, Orange County, Inland Empire area)

[jimmabey]

I have been caring for 7 Mallard ducks (3 males and 4 females) in my backyard in Corona for the past 2 years. I work in Irvine and with the traffic and commute times I need to move closer to work. I want to find a good home for these 7 ducks first though. Any suggestions? Are there any duck sanctuaries or duck ponds that might accept these ducks? I am hoping to put them into a good situation. Thank you in advance for any advice or suggestions. Jim Mabey.

 

[aart]

Are they wild mallards?

 

[jimmabey]

They sure act wild, but 2 were bought online and 5 are babies from the two parents. They forage around, dig up the lawn and eat worms and bugs and are noisy as all heck when I am late replacing their water which I do in the morning and again at night. I have seen them fight off an opossum that lives near my backyard. I think the opossum manages to break/eat their eggs since I saw evidence of that. We have had coyotes attack and kill two neighbor cats over the past year. Next door neighbor got one on video jumping the fence. And yet the ducks remain. They are tough and can bite hard. Some nights I hear them making tons of noise and suspect something out there bothering them and then usually in the morning several or more of them ended up outside of the fence and I round them up and put them back in. My daughter had offered to move back home from out of state after mom got Covid and became bedridden after being in a Covid Isolation unit. Mom was on hospice and declining and my daughter ordered two mallard ducklings online. It made mom happy and was a nice distraction, but as with any pet, a huge responsibility and a ton of work to care for which I ended up having to do. As mom declined, it became too much for my daughter and she moved out of state again, leaving me alone with the ducks and mom. I was busy with mom at work and didn't notice that they laid eggs in the corner of a little house I made for them. One morning when I went out to give them fresh water (which I have to do twice daily) I saw baby ducklings walking around behind their momma duck. After that I tried to remove any eggs, but usually the eggs are broken or there are none which I suspect is the opossums doing. I bought two large 3' fences that I connected together. I have to move them around my back lawn once a week to give the grass that they dig up looking for food and that they poo on and trample a chance to come back. I feel bad when I have to work late or when I'm up late and get up late. They are out there making tons of noise quacking and yelling out wanting their fresh water and food pellets. Any advice about a refuge or rescue that might be able to help me find a home for them is greatly appreciated. Regards, Jim Mabey.

 

[aart]

Any advice about a refuge or rescue that might be able to help me find a home for them is greatly appreciated.

Google for a local home for them....
...and add your city and state to the title of this thread.

 

[jimmabey]

Thank you. I live in Corona, CA, Southern California. I will try to update the thread title if it allows me. I have been trying to find a home for them for over 6 months. I have been Googling (using the duck duck go search engine haha) and calling and emailing leads I find. I am glad I found this site today.

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. Try posting this in the California state threads.

 

[ruthhope]

You have your hands full, @jimmabey. Here are some suggestions for finding a new home for your ducks.

1. Advertise on Backyardchickens, with photos. Search for the California thread -- I think there are two north and south.

2. Advertise on Nextdoor.com and Facebook. If there is a local news page on Facebook, advertise there. If there is swipswap use that

3. Contact your local wildlife rehabber as they have networks of contacts and may know of someone who will take your ducks.

4. Try your chapter of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to animals and your Humane Society. They may be able to arrange adoptions

Good luck!