Need a serious answer: Our neighbor's kids got a duck - a little fuzzy one, who

[old mark]

is no longer little and grownig feathers. he has been kept in a cage, lets people handle and pet him, etc, and the dad is saying they "need to get rid of him". (I agree, they never should have had him to begin with, but he is alreadh there.)

There is a large lake nearby with a great number of geese and ducks, many of whom winter over while others migrate.

If we just took him there and let him loose, would he at least have a chance to live awhile, and maybe learn to be a duck?

He will die if he stays where he is.
I am concerned about the duck, and want to let him at least have a shot at life.
Thanks for any help.

mark

[Catshrink]

1. For the love of animals, keep the duck away from Gray Warrior.

She has a think for duct tape and ducks.

[Haole Girl]

2. Call a wildlife rehab center

I don't think you can just set it free & expect it to survive. I might be wrong. I'm no duck expert.

[cwydro]

5. Ditto to this.

I would not set it loose; I think ducks can be quite vicious to each other.

[Kali]

3. is it a park where people go to feed the ducks?

I would think it would do OK in that kind of situation - especially if there are other ducks of the same breeds/species.

[old mark]

8. It is a park - with a very large artificial lake, with many breeds of ducks and geese,

many of which winter here and never migrate. I doube if people would feed him - much of this area has been taken over by the geese and ducks and is not very attractive to people anymore. I will contact our local animal rescue league and see what they have to say - that was my next step anyway - I was just hoping someone would tell me he would be fine there, but I guess I have to live in reality...
I know that ducks can be harsh on other ducks not their own - I have seel them ignore one of their own ducklings who was injured until he died.

Thanks everyone.
(Grey Warrior is NOT considered a duck expert for the purposes of this thread.)

mark

[supernova]

4. Is it a domestic breed or a wild one?

If it's a domestic breed, it might be better off at a local farm or petting zoo where humans can take care of it

If it's a wild breed, it would probably do fine with other wild ducks of it's same breed.

[S n o w b a l l]

6. No....this is what I found:

Looks like the only solution is a duck rescue group or animal shelter which will probably euthanize it. :(


http://www.duckrescuenetwork.org/

NEVER RAISE AND RELEASE DOMESTIC DUCKS
Many people do not understand the difference between wild ducks and domestic ducks. Ducks are ducks, right? Unfortunately not. Often around Easter time, domestic ducklings (pets) are purchased as gifts for children who can grow tired of them when they grow up to be a handful. So many of these ducks are then "released" at local parks, causing problems for the wild populations and suffering for the domestic pets.

Raised by humans, domestic ducks lack the instincts to forage on their own and feed themselves. A single duckling raised alone often doesn't even know it is a duck. Domestic ducks also lack the instinct to migrate and therefore face terrible suffering in cold winter climates. It is also illegal in most states to release (abandon/dump) domestic ducks in your local parks.

As if that weren't bad enough, domestic ducks can interbreed with wild ducks, causing half-wild/half-domestic hybrids that are often too fat to fly and too domestic to migrate with the rest of the flock. Released domestic ducks also compete for scarce food sources that natural, wild populations rely on. return to top

[Kali]

9. well there is another solution

- doubt if anybody wants to go there, but they are edible

[S n o w b a l l]

10. You SAVAGE you!

:P

[Sebastian Doyle]

7. I can claim a little experience in this area

When I was a kid, I found an orphaned (or abandoned) baby Canada goose. We raised chickens so we put him in with the latest batch of chicks and he seemed to blend in with the other birds.

When he got older, my mom decided it was time for him to figure out he was a goose and not a chicken, so she took our old wading pool and put it in the pen. The goose loved it and learned how to swim and float on top of the water quickly. Unfortunately, some of his adopted chicken siblings figured that if he could swim, so could they. Didn't work out that way and they drowned :( (Sad, but then chickens were never known for their intelligence)

The next step was for him to discover his wings. One day we found him up the street visiting the neighbors domestic white geese. So apparently he had discovered that there were creatures out there like him and wanted to visit. I guess it was what he needed to establish his own gooseonality because it wasn't long after that that he took flight again, this time permanently. Hopefully he found his real family. I'd like to think so, anyway.

[flvegan]

11. Gooseonality?

:rofl:

:thumbsup:

[old mark]

12. Got a reply from the Humane Society - the duck is going to a farm.

They have a "Foster Farm" for animals such as the little duck, and he will be going there this week.
Thanks for your help.

mark

[S n o w b a l l]

13. That's great news!

Good job.

:thumbsup: