Wild Mallard Duckling

[backyard quacker]

I have wild Mallards in my backyard and one of them has angel wing. I caught it without netting as gently as possible and wrapped its wing. My question is how long should I leave the wing wrapped, they turned six weeks old yesterday. The poor little guy looks depressed without his brothers and sisters!

 

[Emelyn]

I have wild Mallards in my backyard and one of them has angel wing. I caught it without netting as gently as possible and wrapped its wing. My question is how long should I leave the wing wrapped, they turned six weeks old yesterday. The poor little guy looks depressed without his brothers and sisters!

I know you wanted to do the right thing (I love your idea too) but if you live in the U.S there are many laws prohibiting people from catching wild mallard ducks. You MUST give the duckling to your local wildlife conservation area before you may be fined. You may only touch or take mallard ducklings if you have a permit. The law about mallard ducks is below.

Mallards are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. It is illegal for any person to take, possess, transport, sell, or purchase them or their parts, such as feathers, nests, or eggs, without a permit. Active nests with eggs or chicks may not be purposely touched or destroyed without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Inactive (empty) nests do not require a permit to destroy, provided no possession occurs during or after the destruction. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not issue permits to remove Mallards, eggs, nor nests that are occupying a pool or an enclosed area.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I completely agree. You need to contact the closest wildlife sanctuary.