what type of duckling is this?

[outsageous]

So the other day I took upon the responsibility of raising a little duckling. I’m taking good care of it, & I’ve gotten everything pretty much down, but I’m still not sure what type of duck it is or how old it is. I’m guessing that it’s a wood duck, & around 4 weeks. I need some expert opinions though. Pictures are attached.

 

[outsageous]

 

[Miss Lydia]

@ThreeOfSeven is raising some orphaned wood ducks hopefully she’ll get this tag.

 

[ThreeOfSeven]

Yes, looks a lot like one of my babies. Mine are 2 weeks old. Freakishly shy and skittish. I can't hold them. A local wildlife/bird photographer tells me that they are like that in nature. Here's a recent picture of my babies taken a few days ago.

 

[ThreeOfSeven]

Welcome! You're duckling is beautiful! What state are you in?

 

[outsageous]

Yes, looks a lot like one of my babies. Mine are 2 weeks old. Freakishly shy and skittish. I can't hold them. A local wildlife/bird photographer tells me that they are like that in nature. Here's a recent picture of my babies taken a few days ago.

View attachment 1834302

Aw, yours are adorable! They do look almost identical, markings and all. My little guy is extremely skittish too, but he’s taken to me so much that he barely lets me put him down. He loves to curl up on my neck & get underneath my hair. Nobody else can touch him. I guess he thinks I’m mama lol. He’s also very quiet. He seems to have more feathers than yours though, on the tail and all, & he looks a bit bigger, so I guess he is older. Maybe 3 or 4 weeks, like I said before. I’m in Florida. I was thinking about getting another duckling to keep him company, but I’m unsure about that because he is wild. I am actually struggling with where to keep him right now, because everything but in my arms seems to stress him out so much. What are you keeping yours in?

 

[Miss Lydia]

@ThreeOfSeven

 

[ThreeOfSeven]

Aw, yours are adorable! They do look almost identical, markings and all. My little guy is extremely skittish too, but he’s taken to me so much that he barely lets me put him down. He loves to curl up on my neck & get underneath my hair. Nobody else can touch him. I guess he thinks I’m mama lol. He’s also very quiet. He seems to have more feathers than yours though, on the tail and all, & he looks a bit bigger, so I guess he is older. Maybe 3 or 4 weeks, like I said before. I’m in Florida, & I found him alone out in my grandma’s front yard. It was weird because we don’t normally see ducks around. He had holes in the webbings of his feet, & there were crows around mimicking duck calls so I’m assuming he was snatched by them. I looked everywhere for a mother or some siblings, but there was nothing. I was thinking about getting another duckling to keep him company, but I’m unsure about that because he is wild. I am actually struggling with where to keep him right now. I tried a basket, a terrarium (probably weird, I know, but it was a really nice setup), a box, but everything but in my arms seems to stress him out so much. What are you keeping yours in?

Aww, sounds so sweet! One thing I read recently is that *domesticated* wildfowl will have holes in their webbing, but that's all I know about that. I assume it's to help tell the difference between domestically raised and wild ducks that are protected by law.

My babies are imprinted or attached to each other. Maybe yours has attached to you because there are no other ducklings around. (Forgive me, this is my 1st experience with ducks, so I'm doing a lot of guessing.)

I keep my babies is a huge Rubbermaid type box with pine shavings bedding. The box has holes in the bottom (more like cracks because it's so old), and that helps excess water drain out. My five are REAL MESSY. I have a low-sitting shallow dish in with them. They can splash about, and they also dip their food into the water. Next to the water dish, I have a jar-top with their food. Because they mess around in the water so much, I have to change their bedding every day. It gets completely soaked, and if I don't change it, mold starts to grow, and that's bad for their health.

My babies spend time outside. I have a 3-foot high dog exercise pen that I lined with window/door screening. It's in my garden, so dogs are other critters can't get to the babies. They have a large plant tray for swimming and bathing. I also put food out there with them. I'm very careful about it getting too hot for them or the sun heating up the water too much.

Here's a recent video showing the shallow water dish and food dish (jar top). The water is green because it's from a local pond and duckweed is floating on top.

Here's a video of them enjoying an outside swim. I make sure that they have a very shady side and that the water stays in the shade. This way, they can self-regulate how warm they want to be.

 

[outsageous]

Aww, sounds so sweet! One thing I read recently is that *domesticated* wildfowl will have holes in their webbing, but that's all I know about that. I assume it's to help tell the difference between domestically raised and wild ducks that are protected by law.

My babies are imprinted or attached to each other. Maybe yours has attached to you because there are no other ducklings around. (Forgive me, this is my 1st experience with ducks, so I'm doing a lot of guessing.)

I keep my babies is a huge Rubbermaid type box with pine shavings bedding. The box has holes in the bottom (more like cracks because it's so old), and that helps excess water drain out. My five are REAL MESSY. I have a low-sitting shallow dish in with them. They can splash about, and they also dip their food into the water. Next to the water dish, I have a jar-top with their food. Because they mess around in the water so much, I have to change their bedding every day. It gets completely soaked, and if I don't change it, mold starts to grow, and that's bad for their health.

My babies spend time outside. I have a 3-foot high dog exercise pen that I lined with window/door screening. It's in my garden, so dogs are other critters can't get to the babies. They have a large plant tray for swimming and bathing. I also put food out there with them. I'm very careful about it getting too hot for them or the sun heating up the water too much.

Here's a recent video showing the shallow water dish and food dish (jar top). The water is green because it's from a local pond and duckweed is floating on top.

Here's a video of them enjoying an outside swim. I make sure that they have a very shady side and that the water stays in the shade. This way, they can self-regulate how warm they want to be.

The holes in the feet did make me wonder if he was marked or something & belonged to someone & maybe just got away, but I don’t know. Also, I think my issues with keeping him in a certain place isn’t really the place, but that he’s alone & without any other ducklings. He just gets so scared, but it’s completely different when he’s with me. I guess he has bonded with me to some extent, probably because I saved him & because he’s really got nothing else. The set up I had him in last night has a lower area with some water just deep enough to go up to his belly over a layer of pond rocks, & that builds up with a big rock as a dry, flat surface. I built him a hide out of bark from an oak tree that had a perfect entrance hole in it, & put an extra piece of flat wood underneath to be sure it was comfortable for him. I put some wood chips inside too. I would take a picture of it but I don’t want to disturb the little guy sleeping on my chest right now. It looked like ducky heaven to me, & at first he seemed to think the same thing, but eventually he started freaking out & running back & forth in the water in a frenzy. I kept having to get up & take him out to dry him & calm him down. I thought he would get used to it, but he definitely hasn’t. He seemed to like the hide but he was just too curious & unfamiliar with the territory. I was trying to simulate a natural habitat, but I guess it just wasn’t right. I might just use that as a place for him to play in, but mainly keep him with me like he has been. Tomorrow I think I might go to try to get him a companion. I’m also going to start fixing the pen I had outside (Hurricane Michael destroyed it), so I can take him out there & start easing him back into nature some. I just want to make him as happy & comfortable as possible.
Thanks so much for your help so far. Seeing what you’ve done with yours is really helpful for me because I’m new to this too.

 

[Miss Lydia]

A mirror will help him a lot they love to interact with the mirror. You may never be able to release him though since he is so dependent on you.