A duck on a pond

That last picture is perfect! What a doll!

She is perfect!! Too sweet for words!

Just precious!!!

Just wanna kiss her until her fur falls off ;o)

ha! She's way cuter on the pond than she is in the bathtub.

So I put her in the grass today and she did not follow me. She did not run either, just sat there. What do you think duckmother… how long do you think it will take her to follow.

How far did you walk? If not very far, try walking a little greater distance and then call her.

Has she been in the grass before? Try sitting down with her and let her see you poke and probe the grass...then she may feel more comfortable. If she does start to enjoy herself outside in the graa, do not be surprised when she starts to run in a zig zag pattern...she is chasing a bug that you cannot see ;o)

what happened to the duckies mommy?

yah, she's been in the grass, but always just stood there. think she just needs to get used to it? I'll try tomorrow after the swim.

catz, I posted before on the daily thread. Here it is:
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=6795587

The longer version is that a mom with 10 babies wandered into a waste water clarifier tank and the babies went after. They couldn't get out. When they were found, two had died and one was half dead. We assume the drownings were because the ducks were climbing on top of each other to try and get out. I rushed that one home and got advice from margaretk and duckmother. Upon warming it up, it looked like it was going to make it, and we were all pleasantly surprised by that.

When I returned to the plant later in the day to perhaps locate the family and reunite the duckling, there was no mother. However, we heard the faint peep peep of this little girl, answering her sibling that we had previously rescued. So we searched the tank again and found her. So I went home with two. A few hours later, I went to get food for them. When I got home, I discovered that the first had passed. So now I just have this one. The nice man in the farming section at Farm and Fleet gave me free food and told me that he could take her at his farm, as he has other mallards there. So when she gets three weeks old, I plan on taking her there. If she is interested. If she hesitates, I guess I'll have her for a bit longer.

aww poor duckie

LOL Oh, she will hesitate! LOL

And what is she doing today?

Well Daddy duck-sat while Mommy went to see Grandma this morning. So we'll be taking a swim later on this afternoon and looking for bugs in the yard. :D

SO I had a panic attack about her last night at about midnight that I was going to lose her! Margaret talked me through it this morning. I'm better now!

Please take care of yourself, panic attacks happen with any of our animals, but you're doing a terrific job and we're all very proud of you.

That little girl just makes the most precious picture no matter what she's doing.

What happened?

NOTHING Happened, LOL. I just got all new mother about it and was worrying that I was going to lose her. Someone said "baby ducks are hard to raise, so don't get too attached."

Well, A) TOO LATE, and B) "My friend Kim who raises ducks said that mallards are tough guys!, so THERE" LOL.

I think i just was worried that she was doing so well that it would come as a shock to me if I lost her now.

Well wishes are sent your way for your adorable baby Mallard, Mrs. Ed.

Mallards are a hardy breed. Look how long they have been around ;o) I have gone through the "mother" thing so many times, so I understand!

I thought of that this morning. Cripes, if all of those can live down at the park , then seems one can live safely with me!

I'm going through today's photos. Look for something soon.

Oh boy!

I've spent some time looking for a rehabber in the area. The ones listed through the links on the forum told me that they usually take orphaned babies to the park where there are other babies and let them follow the other families. Somehow that information didn't sit well with me or with the expert (Duckmother). Maybe another rehabber will tell me something different. I know that it is in her best interest to get her back to the "wild" sooner than later.

I continue to get her into the wild of my back yard as often as possible. We did not get a chance to have a grass lesson, so we'll focus on that tomorrow before the pond.

Okay, here we go with today's pix… (a-h)

a.

b.

c.

d. This is part of the quick dunk she has begun to do.

e.

f. with the fish.

g. nice bum.

h. awww shucks.

Oh she is adorable!

Marna, How about D mailing jy over in the wildlife forum; maybe they would have some better advice?

Mrs. Ed, that duck is absolutely adorable. The fact that she is sassy makes her even more sweet! Great pictures. Gosh, all of that labor you put into the pond sure is paying off!

GG

okay, i'll look for that person.

I want the best for her, and I don't want the wildlife police knocking on my door. LOL.

She is really enjoying "her" body of water ;o) Don't you think sometimes that she is posing for you? Eliza and Khaki both posed for the camera...as a matter of fact, they considered themselves duck models. lol

Yes, Marna, talk to anyone and everyone. Especially, someone up North. I can only tell you how we do this in the South.

I'm glad to report that I found a rehabber about an hour away who I really like. As luck has it, she has a one month old duck and was looking for another duck to release it with. She said she would take this little cutie and slowly introduce it to her duck. I have not heard back from her yet about when that should happen. I'll be sad to see her go, but really happy that she will be taken care of by someone that knows what they are doing.


Now, this morning's lesson inthe grass was funny. I put her in the grass far from the pond. She pecked at grass and leaves and such, but basically made a bee line to the pond. Also something funny, a branch of a plant must have hit her in the butt and scared her and she high-tailed it across the pond. too funny.

I am glad that you found a good rehabber...I hope she calls.

It is always fun to watch baby ducks!!!!

That's going to be hard, but it is the best thing.....I know you will miss her.

She reminded me of you, Duckmother. She sent me a photo of her grandaughter with the duck.

best of luck to ya with your sweetie I had a sweetie baby bunny but it really was better off in the wild. But I have my pictures when I miss it.... So will you.

Janet

Glad to hear the good news! It will be sad to say goodbye to her.

Yes, that's great news that you've found someone that will be good to your baby. It will be good for both the babies to at least know each other.

I think we're all going to miss that little one when the day comes.

I believe I will have her for another 3-4 weeks before the duck introductions will happen. I can't imagine how much she will grow in that time.

Auntie Duckmother, you will be glad to hear that she followed me today. sigh.

I am not certain how friendly they will be with each other in 3-4 weeks. We shall see...

Awwwww...I figured she would soon...