Mastodawn

MyrddinEmerys ☘️🌹🌷

On the off chance anyone that follows me knows someone or has been in this situation, my daughter and I rescued a duckling this morning trying to cross a busy main road. We searched both sides where it could have come from, no mom or siblings in sight. I’m striking out on finding any rehabbers who take waterfowl, so if anyone has advice on how to take care of this cutie, if the last place I called won’t take it, I’d appreciate it. Gratuitous pic of a duckling in a cup holder. #duckling #wildlife

MyrddinEmerys ☘️🌹🌷Jul 10, 2023

I have raised chickens, so I am slightly familiar with raising birds, just not ducklings. I really have no idea if it is similar.

MyrddinEmerys ☘️🌹🌷Jul 11, 2023

We just got back from going to a bunch of ponds/lakes trying to find ant mother ducks and either they have all grown, or we picked the wrong ones, no moms and babies. There were ducks, just all childless. I don’t if that is because he’s a later duckling or what. Since there are no bodies of water close by where it was found, I have no idea where to even look for his mom. Frustrating. I’m going to try to keep finding a rehabber and take care of him. Thank you all for the advice and reblogs.

Roger Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys If you're in Calgary, you could call 311 and there's a good chance someone there could point you in the right direction.

Josh, or whatever Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys @aral I’m genuinely sorry I don’t know anyone, but I am overjoyed with this picture.

GreenSkyOverMe (Monika)Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys Help ⬆️ #DucksOfMastodon #BirdsOfMastodon

Christine Schuhmann Jul 10, 2023

Try looking on youtube, there are a lot of wildlife rehabbing types there that document how they take care of ducklings.

What I know: Feed them by putting very small pieces of salad in a bowl of water so they can feed off the surface.

dinosauce Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys hi, my grandpa fed ducks so I know some about those cuties. Here are those:
* prepare them a small pond (obviously). They are able to live without that as far as I've seen but it'd be good for them. However please be aware of that you may need to change water frequently, as ducks often shit on water.
* You can feed them with grain. note that they may consume a huge amount of those whilst growing and they also like leftovers from plants, grass etc.

Groms Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys feedit oatmeal coyld help eventuallzy mixed with water prepare a dry and a wetspace...

joel b Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys so cute! My friend has raised ducklings before. They generally need a little house outside with some shade and he feeds them in a kiddie pool with some kind of healthy green plants sprinkled on the surface of the water. I can ask him for more details if you like. I believe they are often preyed upon by other birds so you may have to protect them from the sky if you aren’t ready to have the ‘circle of life’ conversation just yet.

nantucketlit Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys A duckholder!

ethan Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys I've heard, and at least one source agrees, that mother ducks may instinctually adopt any nearby ducklings.

https://fowlguide.com/abandoned-ducklings/

Here’s How to Care for an Abandoned Duckling | Fowl Guide

If you live in a large wooded area, have a pool, or live in a remote location, you've probably had a family of ducks wander…

Fowl Guide

Alison Meeks Jul 11, 2023

@strangebirds @MyrddinEmerys Can confirm as a friend has a rescue for ducks and has a couple females who will take care of ducklings needing moms.

Madison Jul 11, 2023

@strangebirds I've seen it happen with ducklings I've rescued from a storm drain in the past!

@MyrddinEmerys when I helped out at a wildlife rehab we kept our ducklings on a small room lined with tarp. We had a small kiddy pool and we change the water often. We fed them regular duck feed and supplemented it with clovers that we found outside. We also make sure to keep our interactions to a minimum so the ducklings would not imprint on us.

Hope you can find a wildlife rehab to take it in soon.

quixote Jul 11, 2023

@RandomStickman @MyrddinEmerys Found a set of orphaned wood ducklings once. So, of course we took them home.

Ducks do imprint but the critical period is very early, so likely not a prob.

Filled the bathtub for the critters, fed them earthworms and bugs and veg and sprouted grain (they're not going to find official duck food when they're on their own!)

Within a week they were hell on wheels, so we returned them to the city park pond they had to be from. They didn't even wave goodbye!

vandys Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys Starter feed seemed to work OK for the one rescue we handled. He eventually matured enough to start flying, and then--one day he was just gone.

Wild ducks just naturally grow wild as they mature, even if they trust you as a duckling. I don't know if his instincts were good enough to survive, but I feel like we gave him a chance.

Ours showed up after a huge windstorm; we suspect it separated him from his mother by enough distance that they didn't reconnect.

Good luck!

joel b Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys update: so my friend who has raised ducklings says your little one here is only a few days old.

tyx Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys As soon as possible open google maps, look for a pond nearby the place, where it happened, bring duckling there, check if there are ducks with ducklings, leave small guy at the shore for an hour wile keeping an eye on it. Chances are it will start squeaking and parents (or random ducks it works like this in many species) will come. IDK about US species - in Europe this works, tried many times. Don't try this if it's more than several days have passed. Feed the small one before doing so and give some water obvsly.

KidneyPunch Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys I raise ducks! Lil bud is going to need a heat lamp for a bit, they sell crumble duck food at the local feed store. Fresh water daily and the occasional swim in a kiddie pool will make your new one very happy.

Jeroen Baert Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys duckling in cupholder appreciation post

miyelsh Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys can you check on maps to see if there was a nearby pond from where you picked up the duckling? That might be where the mother is.

Evan B XYZ 🎨Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys I tried to rescue a batch of about 8-9 ducklings all moving as one unit. Wildlife/bird refuges refused to take them in for various reasons - including bird flu. Best bet is to try and slip it in with a momma duck and her ducklings and hopefully she doesn't notice.

A cool crab wearing shades Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys best thing to do is find a duck hen with ducklings and let her hear the baby peeping, like broody hens she'll take it right in.

Threenotch Jul 10, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys any mama duck will immediately take in the stray.

PirateJoie Jul 11, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys incredibly CUTE gratuitous photo, Sir!

Ponddrop Jul 11, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys make sure they ALWAYS have access to a dish of water, particularly when eating, that is at least deep enough for them to submerge their entire bill. They can’t eat well without water. They can eat greens, veggies chopped up, and bugs of course, and small amounts of oatmeal mash. The duckling should also be kept in a warm place without drafts. If you have it for more than a few days, consider getting waterfowl crumble from a feed store

ChookMother 🇦🇺🦘Jul 11, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys I raised this little chick on its own. I used a desk lamp at night to keep it warm and during the day a small PET bottle of very warm water with a bed sock over the bottle to be its "mother". I added a second bed sock to be the mother's wing and the chick knew exactly what to - dived under the wing.

He grew up to be an enormous healthy rooster, now living his best life on a farm with his own harem of hens.

Sunkissed340 Jul 12, 2023

@MyrddinEmerys 🩵🩵🩵🩵🩵