Starting out as a duck mama

[Mamasaurusrex2]

Hello. I have a made a couple post about some orphaned ducklings I have been feeding and watching over for 5 weeks now. They live in the creek behind my house. They started coming to my door waiting to be fed but lately they stay by the creek and wait for me. They come when I call and eat out of my hand. I have been told one of them is a rouen, the others I believe are mallards though they are a bit bigger than the other mallards at the same age but perhaps that is because I'm feeding them?

Anyway, we are considering giving the rouen a forever home. I'd love to keep them all, but I know that if they are wild mallards it's not legal to do so. If we do keep the rouen we will make sure to get her a friend or two. I have mixed feelings because she seems happy where she is, and I'd hate to take her from her friends but as I understand it rouens can not fly and that leaves her vulnerable to predators, which there are around here. So I have been thinking it over a lot, we had hoped to get ducks in the future anyway, but where on earth do I start if we do this? I know they need a secure house at night, like a chicken coop. Do they need a run for the day or are they safe roaming the backyard without supervision? A kiddie pool to swim in? I have lots of reading to do still but I'd love any advice from people here please!

 

[FluffTheDuck]

Those two in the front look like rouens to me! I’m so jealous. I’ve always wanted rouens. They are all females too so congratulations!!

A kiddie pool looks great to me. They are NEVER safe left alone without supervision (you, fence, roof, etc is supervision for ducks) Hawks, owls, dogs, cats, minks, skunks, possums, raccoons, etc will eat ducks. I would put them in a run. Or you could chance it by not giving them a run or something to protect them.

Congratulations on your new babies!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Were you able to determine the Mallards are wild? toe docked or web punched?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Maybe they are all Rouens and this is a mama and ducklings need a good look at the faces of the two smaller ones.

 

[Mamasaurusrex2]

Were you able to determine the Mallards are wild? toe docked or web punched?

I looked at their feet and they have their back toe and it didn't look like the web was punched. of course I'm not totally sure what I'm looking at but I think they are not marked. My husband said maybe they are half mallard, half rouen. Lol. There are 5 large ponds in a nature reserve this creek connects to and there are a lot of different breeds of domestic ducks out there that hang out with the wild ducks.

 

[Mamasaurusrex2]

Maybe they are all Rouens and this is a mama and ducklings need a good look at the faces of the two smaller ones.

Aw, nope they are all the same age. I've been feeding them for 5 weeks and they were mostly fuzz when they showed up lol. I've been loving watching their feathers come in. I can't figure out how they were all together if one is a rouen and the rest are wild. There was originally 5 but two had injured legs so I took them to the bird rescue. Now, two days ago they have picked up another lone duckling, just a bit younger than they are.

Here is a pic of the day they showed up in front of my house. They were playing in some water next to my mailbox and we gave them some duck food we had to feed the ducks at the ponds on occasion. That evening they walked right up to my patio when I was sitting outside and started squeaking at me, thus began our relationship lol. They have grown so much!

 

[Mamasaurusrex2]

Those two in the front look like rouens to me! I’m so jealous. I’ve always wanted rouens. They are all females too so congratulations!!

A kiddie pool looks great to me. They are NEVER safe left alone without supervision (you, fence, roof, etc is supervision for ducks) Hawks, owls, dogs, cats, minks, skunks, possums, raccoons, etc will eat ducks. I would put them in a run. Or you could chance it by not giving them a run or something to protect them.

Congratulations on your new babies!

Thank you! We have a fence but we still need to get the side between ours and the neighbor's yard up. I was worried about hawks, they fly over and a lot and I see all the ducks run into the creek when they do. I like the idea of a run so they are safe. Whst kind of house do you use for nighttime?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Wild duck aren’t that brave I really wonder if someone had them all and set them out together.

 

[Mamasaurusrex2]

Wild duck aren’ that brave I really wonder if someone had them all and set them out together.

That's what I thought as well! The ones at the ponds are used to people feeding them so they are pretty friendly but only the big domestic ones will eat from your hand out there. The ones on the creek behind my house though are very wild and not trusting. These just appeared one day, with no mama and were very comfortable around people. The day before I saw them my husband said one got stuck in our yard and (baby geese have gotten under the fence a few times, I guess that's what happened) and he had to let it out and he said they followed him around when he went fishing out there. I can't imagine wild orphaned ducklings doing that! It took them a couple days before they would eat from my hand but to come to my door several times a day like that seems brave. We can pet them though they don't totally like it and move away, they don't get scared and leave either.

There is a mama mallard and her 8 babies close in age to these that come up when I feed them now. They have gotten pretty used to me and come up when they see me, but they still behave wild and aren't trusting like these.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Have you noticed the feet of the smaller ones? Hatchery mark them before they sell them but someone could have hatched these also.The Rouen was def someone’s duck at one time.