I just got myself two wild ducks I guess.
I thought I was getting the white ducks.
So here I sit in a hot house living room with two wild ducks and 5 bantums under heat pads and flood lights .Can't use air or they will freeze. Ever have a hot flash in a sauna?
Anyonbe Have Mallards, I NEED HELP
Nope, but sometimes it feels like it....LOL
GG
LOL,From one granny to another .
Do you know anything about mallards ?
I have been on search engines looking for 'domesticated mallards' and no help yet from the articles I've found.
This is been a heck of a week. I'm typing while my dog on one side has her leg in hot salt water from an abcessed tick bite trying to draw infection out, that will probably end up costing us dearly .Surrounded by hubbys bright ideas of buying poultry.
The funny is wearing off .
Are they Rouens or mallards? They look very similar. Wild mallards are usually smaller and can fly when adults. Rouens cant. You treat them just like any other duck, with quality UNMEDICATED food and water to splash around in. I do rehab and if I get in Mallard ducklings, I raise them right with my domestics and then encourage them to leave in the fall or at least before breeding season. Last spring one I had raised came back and bred with my aconna and we had some pretty good ducks by fall. My pekin drake was a bit embarrased that the mallard beat him to her though.
You may want to check your temps, it may be warmer than you need. I usually make sure that the babies can get away from the heat source if they need to, so I use a heating pad or a lamp. Open a window if you want to, just make sure they don't get a draft. I've been using portable playpens that I get at yard sales for brooders. I hang a lamp in one end and fill the bottom with shavings. If I need it warmer in there I can always throw a light blanket over the whole thing. It has worked wonderful and the nylon ones can be hosed out and disinfected and put away for the next year.
have you considered they may be muscovies?
I don't have much history on them, because the ladys daughter is the one who speaks english and shes not there yet,but the lady tried to tell me what she could .We only saw white ducks so we thought thats what we got, but today when I called she said the parents of these were sold before we got here, and white ducks are not parents, she said,one parent black and white and other had some green is all she knows.
Feed store recommended this person .All her brds looked ok and place was clean .
They are inside in a empty fish pond '8x6'. I keep them clean and dry and keep large water bowl for them to rinse their mouth and heads in. Put in flood light and covered the whole thing except one small corner with clothe canvas.
They both look alike and are brown with white coming in under their necks, and one striped line begins and ends at corner of their eyes.
Maybe they are mixed ? We paid $4 each for them.
You should look at some of these pages http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/poultry/ducks/index.htm
http://www.elizaduck.com/ducks.htm
I still don't think you have a wild Mallard on your hands at all. Below is a picture of a baby wild Mallard. Do yours look like this?
MollyD
I wish I could post picture . Molly thank you so much for the pictures ,but none of them look like these , some are close .
The wild duck you showed is a lot lighter color than these, and mine have only one stripe that looks like it would go through it's eye from corner to corner.
Also they are very dark in color so much so that I thought they were black until I put them under flood lamp and noticed they are dark brown, but breast are getting solid white in small area.
Their legs are dark brown and stocky.
Then yours isn't a wild Mallard. They're something else. We'll keep looking till we find them :-)
So we're looking for dark brown babies with lighter chest areas. Did you say claws too? Only one that I've found with claws so far were the Muscovy ducks. They use their claws to climb trees since they aren't flyers.
MollyD
okay this is a Black Swedish
MollyD
The Blue Swedish have a single line through the eyes
MollyD
Molly you are something else .But I still don't see any resemblance to these much .
They are suppose to be only little over month old now, but stand higher and larger than bantams when grown.About a foot tall when they stand. Still no feathers ,except maybe on breast where it it white patch. One has more white patch than other.They have little 1x6 to 1x4in. claws that are very sharp and somewhat cuved.
This message was edited May 19, 2008 12:53 PM
Sound like Muscovy--what colors do they come in?
Heads are mostly real dark brown on top with side of face lighter grey mixed with some dark brown.Tops of heads are real dark,'I thought they were black they are so dark'.Some small areas of grey on body and sides.
The lady told me one of the parents were black and white if I understood her right. She also said they won't fly off if I keep food and water for them .Don't know if she meant won't leave or actualy fly off. They don't have feathers yet, except under neck on breast .
Any chance you could go back and speak with her daughter? Maybe she doesn't have a clue about the ducks at all!
MollyD
Daughter is a teen ager, and never there when I call, and she lives about 30 miles away.She doesn't know about the animals, she just translates. Lady said she would look for the magazine she found a picture of them in , but no call back yet.
They have long necks like the peking from what I can tell.Of course they aren't pekings.
Molly, Bluemavens Puddles looks more like them than any other pictures here so far, Indian Runner is what she called it. If it is mostly dark with speckled kind of chest with white patch, that is the closest one .
I wonder if Indian Runners have claws?
MollyD
I don't think so--but Muscovies are suppose to be really good at flying pest control.
I just checked here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscovy_Duck and it sayd they've got talons. Makes sense since they can't fly that they would need to climb trees to be safe.
MollyD
No telling what they are, I just noticed tonight one of thems wings are turning matalic green.
They both have black legs and feet and dark brown beaks.
At least all the new arrivals are ok so far ,chics and ducks.
well we should know once they're feathered out!
MollyD
Yea the mystery is getting old,huh ,lol?
Hope the bantams don't turn into 15 lb. someting else. maybe when I said bantams, she thought I said bambibnos or something,haha.Anyway they are cute and flying all around in the pond, ducks are now in thepen . Coop will be ready tonight I hope.Dh said he could build it in a couple hours, so I knew it would be several days. He sometimes can't walk when his pain is bad, so he takes lots of breaks.He is disabled .I help when he ask, we don't work together too good,lol.
I heard from my Ideal rep a short while ago. She said she had searched their books and could not find a chick like Hercule! She asked what he looked like now so I sent her a picture from two days ago. I mentioned that Delaware had been suggested for his breed and pointed out that if he's a Delaware what are the other 4 sent with him as Delawares?
MollyD
LOL well she's gotta be confused now! ask them to reship your order. then you will have more chicks!
TF I just got another message from her saying that she thought he might be a Delaware. She was going to ask around again LOL. I said to her well if he's a Delaware who are those other 4 chicks that came with him and don't look anything like him?
MollyD
there ya go! this is why you coudlnt' reach Cackle. no point in paying for another order, when Ideal is going to have to re-ship part of your order, and obviously you will have to add to it just a little to reach the minimum!
Except that Ideal doesn't have Welsummers or Buttercups! I may end up with far more chicks than I intended. Oh well I already warned Paul we need a new freezer LOL That is going to be very hard to fill since the chicks are now sucking up to me big time. This morning they were taking turns climbing up my legs (I was sitting in there with them for a while).
MollyD
Are you sure, I got my welsummer from them.
I thought they had them marked sold out until July ?
MollyD
Nevermind. I purchased my welsummer earlier, sorry I'm a dork.
Welcome to our dorks group Patch ^_^ I'm the head dork LOL
MollyD
OMG, LMAO!!!!! : ) WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
LOL ^_^
dorks, aside, how are the dukcs feathering out, whatsupdoc?