Surprise! I now have a duck! Now what?

[sepaditty1]

My neighbor knocked on my door this morning with a baby duck in his hands. He was working a job yesterday and there was a pond. One lonely, solitary, scared little duckling. Still partially green from Easter dye (presumably.)

So, neighbor knows this little baby can't survive on his own. And knows that I have a flock of chickens and a weakness for any animal ever. Of course I couldn't turn duckling away so...now what?

Right at this moment I stuck him under my bloody mama. Her babies are just starting to hatch so I'm hoping she'll just take him in. Is that a long term solution? Can I just treat him like a chicken? What do they eat? How much water do we need? I don't have a pond. Will the chickens be nice to him? Will he be nice to my chickens? What about my goats? Do ducks and goats coexist?

Please help!

 

[sepaditty1]

My neighbor knocked on my door this morning with a baby duck in his hands. He was working a job yesterday and there was a pond. One lonely, solitary, scared little duckling. Still partially green from Easter dye (presumably.)

So, neighbor knows this little baby can't survive on his own. And knows that I have a flock of chickens and a weakness for any animal ever. Of course I couldn't turn duckling away so...now what?

Right at this moment I stuck him under my bloody mama. Her babies are just starting to hatch so I'm hoping she'll just take him in. Is that a long term solution? Can I just treat him like a chicken? What do they eat? How much water do we need? I don't have a pond. Will the chickens be nice to him? Will he be nice to my chickens? What about my goats? Do ducks and goats coexist?

Please help!

 

[sepaditty1]

That is supposed to say broody mama. Not bloody. That would be weird.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

the mother may take them in.Watch her closely.If he grows up ib the flock they can get along.Regardless of if he doesnt he could still get along.Goats and ducks get along and sometines do nit even acknwoledge the fact that their there.

Just buy him a kitty pool.Keep it clean and fresh.Also just feed him all flock feed.

I should also mention that he may not like the hen.He'll have to adapt to chickens.If I were you I would buy another duckling.

 

[lomine]

How old is this duckling? If he is too old he may not bond with the chicken. Like, TwoRoos said, you are just going to have to watch closely and wait to see what happens.

Raising a duckling is basically like raising chicks. The key difference in terms of dietary needs is that a duckling needs more niacin than a chick. I believe many have raised ducklings and chicks together so I assume that means the additional niacin is not harmful to the chicks. This link has the basics including a bit about adding niacin https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/750869/raising-and-caring-for-ducklings#post_10611711

I'm glad the little duckling ended up with someone who cares. Shame on whoever dumped him at that pond.

 

[sepaditty1]

I am not familiar enough with ducklings to guess how old he is, but since he still has some color, I am guessing he was hatched for Easter. So just about a month old. Still pretty fuzzy.

The hen didn't want to have much to do with duckie. Or vice versa. He's sort of been on his own. Went to the local feed store to see about getting him a buddy. They only carry chickens. So I guess he's just going to be the lone ranger.

 

[PotatoWaffles]

Could you post a picture? It would help to see how old he is. A month old duckling would be very large, over half grown with lots of teen feathers. Maybe he is green from freshly mowed grass?

 

[sepaditty1]

Hmmm...hadn't thougt of that. I'll put a picture up when i get home.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Not all ducks grow the sane.Mallards are bantams and I suppose if you found a wild duckling its probably a mallard.Khakis at a mobth old do not grow very large.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Spend time with it.Try to get him to imprint on you or at least trust you.