Unexpected New Duck Mom. Help!

[LadyHawk_2006]

How’s River doing this evening @LadyHawk_2006

He's doing very well ^_^ We got him some pellets and he just inhaled them. Happy quacks, tail wiggles, and food and water flying everywhere. The duck treats he said no thank you to. I guess we'll take those to the park next time for the wild birds

Strangely, I had someone on Facebook try to tell me that he is absolutely not a Khaki Campbell, but that he is actually a Koloa Hawaiian Duck. She insisted that I contact authorities because they are extremely endangered and he must have come from some sort of breeding program. I'm pretty sure that everyone here has more knowledge on the subject than her (also, one of my personal friends has a KC and she was the one to tell me that's what he was), and I looked up the duck she was talking about and it did not match. Also, there is just no way that a critically endangered duck that is only found in Hawaii is ever going to find itself in a city park in Rhode Island in January. Anyway... I'm so grateful for all the knowledge and experience here!

 

[LadyHawk_2006]

I love people like you!

When I could see he was hurt, distressed, alone, and obviously very used to humans, I just couldn't leave him. Then I found out he was a domestic and there was just no other option. My husband and I are suckers for animals in need that wander into our lives like that, and the vast majority of our pets have always been rescues that turned up desperate for help

 

[Miss Lydia]

Another reason I don't go on face book. But I am so happy he's happy and you all are happy. Boy they sure are messy though aren't they? lol
What treat did you get for him? it may take a while for him to even recognize a treat if he's never had any. But that's great he ate. Poop looks healthy? You could try shredding some romaine lettuce and putting it in his water. He's going to need to clean out his nares a lot so give him something he can dunk his head into but not climb into. Keep his eyes healthy too.
We need more pics to when you get time. We love rescue stories.

 

[DucksOhio]

God bless you for rescuing this sweet duck!
The coloring and feather pattern does look like KC, but if it’s a male, it might be a younger one. Head is usually darker, and I don’t see the curly black tail feathers.
He is in great hands, thanks to you.

 

[thumper650]

When I could see he was hurt, distressed, alone, and obviously very used to humans, I just couldn't leave him. Then I found out he was a domestic and there was just no other option. My husband and I are suckers for animals in need that wander into our lives like that, and the vast majority of our pets have always been rescues that turned up desperate for help

There’s a lot of “suckers for animals” on here. I have 8 ducks to prove it from various circumstances. Thanks again for taking in this rare Hawaiian duck

 

[LadyHawk_2006]

Thanks everyone! He's still doing great, and now that he's got good food and water, he's very fiesty. He loves sitting on us while he preens after his bath, mostly prefers to be a hands-off bird. I got him some duck treats, but he kind of beaked them and said no. He does love peas and pasta (in moderation!) so far, and he just devours those pellets. We are working on making a space for him so he doesn't have to live in the tub anymore. My parents gave us their spare dog crate so he can sleep there at night and when we go out, and I've put cardboard around the sides to make him feel safer, and keep some of the mess inside the crate.

He really doesn't seem any more messy than any other bird I've had. I was worried at first, but after watching him, he's just kind of a typical bird. They are all terrible mess makers, it seems to make them happy Also, I agree with DucksOhio that I'm still not sure whether he's a male or female, and I was thinking the exact same thing about him possibly being younger than we think. So, I've told my kids we can call the duck him, her, or it until he either lays an egg, or grows a curly tail feather, at which point we will know for sure!

 

[thumper650]

Does it quack? You can tell by the sound, usually. Check out youtube for some sounds. Raspy cigarette smoking quack is a boy. Girls are louder and higher pitch. My khaki campbell girl is VERY loud when she wants to be.
Also dried meal worms are a good treat. Expensive, but good.

 

[LadyHawk_2006]

Does it quack? You can tell by the sound, usually. Check out youtube for some sounds. Raspy cigarette smoking quack is a boy. Girls are louder and higher pitch. My khaki campbell girl is VERY loud when she wants to be.
Also dried meal worms are a good treat. Expensive, but good.

So far there have only been quiet quacks. Even the loudest ones were only just "hey where'd you go?" kind of quacks, or "I'm not in the mood to be touched" quacks. I can't say that they sounded raspy, but I'm mentally comparing it to mallard quacks, and I don't know if that's the proper benchmark to use. Here he is with my girls after his bath

 

[LadyHawk_2006]

I should have taken a pic of him before he poo'ed the water all nasty, but he didn't seem to care. He still seems to get waterlogged faster than I would expect, but he also seems to be grooming better. When I first picked him up, he hadn't seemed to have preened himself for a while. It's really hard, not knowing anything about his background. He seemed both attracted to and terrified of the lake where we found him. He wanted to go in, but just couldn't bring himself to do it, so when I started giving him baths, I just filled it so it went up to his belly, but today I filled it all the way up and he was paddling around like a champ!

ETA: Wow, I use the word "seems" a lot. I should work on that. Where's my thesaurus? ROFL

 

[Miss Lydia]

He/she is beautiful and looks 100% better that those first pics. I want to say if this is a drake you’ll begin to see some changes in temperament he may start getting a little aggressive, might want to try mating the girls and you an dh too. But there are ways to teach him to behave himself. Just for now enjoy him. But I didn’t want you to freak out if you noticed him getting a little weird lol. Most of us who have drakes love them dearly but know we have to train them or get rid of them and I know you don’t want to do that to him. There are members on here who have drakes and we all can help with this. @thumper650 has mainly drakes he’ll def be one who can help. I have 3 drakes. Others too. Thanks for keeping us updated. Looks like your girls are happy with him.