i found a baby duck alone in my back yard and i want to take care of it but what do i need to care for a duck!

Answer 1

A newly hatched duckling needs heat until the feathers come out. Start the temperature out at about 90 degrees and lower it each week. What I use is a horses trough or you could use a large plastic tote. It will be very messy with its food, so put a plastic lid under it's water container. I use the plastic waterer that I bought at Tractor Supply. It has a lid on the bottom of the jar, and you flip it over so the water fills the lid. I put a yard stick or a cane across the top of the container, and loosely put in one knot in the cord of a light that I hang on the stick. I use one of those lights that have a clamp on it, and a silver cone around the light. People use them a lot to fix their cars, and you can find them in hardware. I then cover half of the container with an old towel, to keep the heat in. I use any where from a 60 watt bulb up to a 100 watt bulb.

You can use a smaller dish from home for his food. He has to keep dry and sometimes I use wood shavings. For the first week of his life, I use newspapers with burlap on top of it for the floor. Newspapers are very slippery and his feet could go out on him. This rarely happens with ducklings, more often with pheasants. When they are very young, they might think that the shavings are food. After a week, and if it is warm outside, you could put him outside during the day. Get a small dog house, some stakes and some chicken wire for his fence. You could also make a small cage out of wood and chicken wire and put the opening in front of the dog house. You don't have to worry about him getting loose. You have to worry more about a dog or a cat killing him if they can get in.

When the feathers start coming in, so will the oil glands. He uses the oil to coat his feathers, to prevent him from getting water logged. Keep him out of the water until he gets to be about a month old or his feathers start coming in. The mother ducks will pass some of their oil off unto their offspring, so this is why newly hatch ducklings can swim with their moms.

For tonight, feed him dry cornmeal or dry plain oatmeal. Even little pieces of bread will help.Tomorrow, get to a store that sell NON-MEDICATED high protein bird food, such as for ducks or gamebirds. Crumbles are the best, because ground up food will get up into his nose.

Can you buy another duck to keep him company? Even a baby chick will do if you can't find a friend for him.

Talk to you duckling a lot, and let him go to sleep in you hand. He will think that you are his mom and will follow you around. This is called imprinting.

Sometimes people dump ducks and other animals off by another house, because the animals are more work then these people want to deal with. I glad that you took this baby bird in, because there are a lot of animals that would eat a small bird, and a rain storm or even the cooler night temperatures could kill him.

Make sure that you don't kiss your pet, and wash your hands after you handle him. I have never gotten sick from all of the birds that I have hatched out, but I wash my hands after turning the eggs in the incubator, and taking care of the baby chicks, gooslings, and duckling.

Good luck on raising him up. You are now a mom.

Answer 2

Found A Baby Duck

Answer 3

Hi! I raise several different breeds of ducks and the first thing you need to find out is what breed it is. Its also a good idea to find out if it is a male or a female so that you can personaize its food intake. To do this, contact a vet in your area. They can determine the breed, sex, and if its healthy. The next thing you need to do is have a place for him to sleep. I recomend a small doghouse or something in your yard. NEVER keep a duck in your home. For now, give the duck a small bowl of water to swim in and to drink. Do not feed him anything except mabye A FEW bread crumbs or perhaps a cob of uncooked corn to peck at. If the duck is very very small and its a bit chilly at night, set up a lamp or desk light in the dog house or whatever you may be using. This should get him through the night. Please try your best to not handle the duck at all. If he gets use to human contact, he can never be released to the wild and another wild duck may kill him. In the morning, release him to a local pond with other ducks around. I can guarantee you 100% that this duck will die without the proper food, care, health checks, vaccinations, etc if he is kept with you in captivity. Be sure to release him to the wild ASAP. Good luck,

Answer 4

On the farm, my Mother-in-Law would cook eggs and cook them until they are hard boiled. She would cool them, shell and mash the eggs with a fork. Then she would mix the hard boiled eggs with just a little , raw oatmeal. They Loved it. She raised many ducks, by placing duck eggs under a chicken hen. Then when they hatched , she would gather them up and place them in a small pen and feed them until they got bigger. But being this is a wild baby duck, you need to take this duck to the water way, that you live by. Look for a male and female duck that has youngsters and then set the baby free. It will run over to the male and female duck, very eager to join them. I have done this, so I know it will work. The baby wild duck , needs to be placed back where it belongs, as soon as possible.

Answer 5

If this is a wild duckling, you need to contact the wildlife rescuers in your area for the proper procedures. It is against the law for you to take in some wild animals and can it be very difficult to take care of the duckling properly. Also, what will happen to this duckling when it is an adult duck who can no longer survive without human care?

Answer 6

a small tub of watter that It could jump in, a pie tin for the food, a little cardboard box with a towel so it could keep warm. Also you want cracked corn for the food. Bread also will help the duck stay healthy! good luck!

Answer 7

buy him duck food and they also like vegetables and tortillas go to a pets mart

Answer 8

do not give bread go get laying mash from feed store that's is what i feed my ducks

Answer 9

go to the vet and find out if its healthy and wath you need to do in order to keep it!!!


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