The Migratory/Ornamental Waterfowl INFO Thread

[Matapatos]

That is awesome! Congrats! The adults I'm sure will be ok, as long as they feel safe and have access to food and water 24/7, they will start eating. The duckling, I dunno. I haven't dealt with a single duckling before, I've always had 5 or 6. Maybe call the people you got it from and see what they say. I'm sure lots of people on here will know what to do as well... Just give it some time and let it settle down, I'm sure it'll start eating! Prob not when you're looking though!

Keep us updated and we wanna see pics!

Travis

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

That's great!
And yes just like Travis said, they'll settle down and go to it pretty soon, how old is the duckling? If it'svery small you will need to brood it til it feathers up a little, if it is feathered, you'll be fine



Oh and Travis, the quail should be fine in there, I use to keep pheasants in with mine all the time, just keep domestic birds out of there. The ducks will be fine, if anything it'll be the quail with problems, but they should be fine too

 

[Matapatos]

I just got some day olds last week, I love Valley Quail! They are the coolest birds! I had some before, but they were in with pigeons and died pretty quick, those scum bags of the sky killed em with dirtiness!

I can't wait to get my other ducks though! But, patience is a virtue and I guess I better work on it, we just found out we're having a baby this January!

Thanks for the info on the sun, I have noticed them sitting in the shade right next to the pond now. Before they used to sit in whatever shade they could find, but now they are happier since they can sit right next to the pond. BBB, What are some things I can do with my birds, conservation-wise? Is there anything I can do to contribute to the wildlife in my area by raising waterfowl? I have heard of some wild Mandarins on the local river, but releasing a non-native species isn't considered contributing, rather destructive. I am just wondering, but I guess that would only apply to native species, wouldn't it?

Some more info on what can be done with the birds we raise would be helpful. Enjoyment, breeding, selling for profit, etc. But what else can we do with them? Also that would be species specific...

Travis

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

Quote:
Yep domestic fowl will kill wild fowl in a heartbeat with disease, those type of quail actually are very sensitive and really do best in cages off the ground, scaled, mountain, valley, gambles, mearns all those are best off ground to be honest.

As for what to do to help conservation wise, there's nothing you can do legally, it is illegal to release any captive raised fowl without specialized permits which outside zoological facilities, you just arent going to get, and yes, non native species like mandarins are more detrimental than any help, they dont belong here, and many can cross breed with actual native birds and cause more harm than good. The best thing, if you have a lot of property, is to make it wild waterfowl friendly, ponds nest boxes, food, etc and actually help the native population. I have had all sorts of birds get out over the years, and most just arent cut out for wild life any more, they be either on top of the aviary or passing the fence trying to get back in. So, best thing to do with them is breed them, enjoy them, and sell the offspring, one thing about it, is with captive birds, we are assuring that there will always be these species, many went extinct due to over hunting back before the days of aviculture, which could have prevented that.

Congrats on the new comer too!!

 

[KansasKid]

All the mandarins are juvenile except for the small duckling which my guess is at the least a couple weeks old, i hate to have it alone inside my brood box but i can't put it with my other domestic ducklings besides the fact that it is 97˚ at 10am here! and my brood box is in the barn with little air moving through besides the fan pointed at the horses. The seller actually had all of his young mandarins in the same enclosure and were getting along fine so maybe i could keep them together? But there will be definite pictures of the little guy/gal and the juveniles Monday.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

I would brood him for a few more weeks if it were me just to be safe, if he's that small

 

[KansasKid]

editing-

 

[KansasKid]

Man my head has been up in the clouds this week, that duckling that i said was probably 2 weeks old is a lot older. I just haven't had a chance to pick it up and observe it, it is starting to grow feathers already!

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

oh yeah, it's just now old enough to not worry too much about all that then.
You can definately see who the boy is in the pics too, look like some very nice young birds you ended up with there. If I were to guess, I'd say the little on is a female too, if so, you'll need to get at least 1 more male, sounds like another road trip, lol
Congrats oh and happy birthday too

 

[1lpoock]

What makes you think the little one is a female already? Is there something to look for?