Yesterday I saw my dog retrieve something from the pool. I thought it was a gopher and went to take it away from her, and it was a tiny little Mallard! About the size of a mouse. He wasn't injured. I put him in a big box with a towel, an ashtray of water and a heat lamp. The feed store sold us "Livestock Feed" pellets for him. This doesn't seem right to me somehow. We have chickens.....Can I give him the Layena Crumbles I give them? Also, he was really squalking and jumping around his box, so I'm holding him in a towel on my chest, and he immediately went to sleep. Is this bad? We have searched our entire property, looking for his family, or eggshells. We can't find anything. We've never seen ducks anywhere near here! It's such a mystery how he got in our pool!
Tiny as a mouse sounds like you might have a mallard colored call duck. No it is not bad! It has imprinted on you, and wants to be close to you. If it becomes a problem then I would reccomend getting another duckling for it to bond with. If it isn't a problem then you have a very loyal little pet on your hands that will follow you around : ) They do make duck daipers and I've heard that they are not messy to clean up. You just change the lining. As far as feed livestock feed and chicken feed are not right! The ratios are both off. I will pm you a recipe that is not costley.
Quote:Kudos to you and your dog for rescuing the little guy! I think pellets are too big for such a small duck. Most chicken feed would be OK, as long as it's not medicated. If you can, look for a local waterfowl rescue if you can't keep the duckling yourself or if it seems too lonely. I am guessing he fell into your pool from a predatory. He was probably taken from his family and accidently dropped by a hawk or owl etc. I'd love to see a photo of your duck, maybe someone here could help you identify him. Good luck!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I had a little duck! I used to have an adult duck (he blew in on Hurricane Fran and stayed) I loved that duck. He was so funny! He would hop for food, and if you tossed him food, he caught it every time. He would come to the house and quack until I came out and fed him. Followed me like a dog. His name was Porky ('cos' he was such a pig).We had him 8 years until he was killed by an owl.
Sounds like a mallard duckling. Call ducks are small but mallards are not much bigger. You can feed it layer crumbles until you get something else, it's better than nothing. If your feed store carries Purina Flock Raiser that's what I would get for it.
The layena would be much better than livestock pellets. Ducks need more niacin than chickens do, so either get a bit of brewer's yeast and add a little pinch to his meals, or else buy some liquid niacin (made for human babies) and put a drop into his drinking water. If you buy the vitamins, don't buy the ones labeled "non-flush" or "time release". Get just plain niacin drops. IMO, the brewer's yeast is easier.
