how to feed a baby duck
esterken
A day ago we found a very young duck (maybe 2 weeks) which had lost
it's parents. Now it walks with us wherever we go. Thinks it found its
parents again. We'd like to help the little thing. We live on a boat
so thats okay. But what to feed it? Only thing I now is that bread
isn't good for ducks. Can anybody give us some advise?
Egbert
Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Laurie
couldn't find any doing a web search.
Laurie
In article <ym01OT9Kk=ytrUi6SLU...@4ax.com>, esterken
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Toucanldy
>From: esterken egb...@mindless.nl
>ls
>A day ago we found a very young duck (maybe 2 weeks) which had lost
>it's parents. Now it walks with us wherever we go. Thinks it found its
>parents again. We'd like to help the little thing. We live on a boat
>so thats okay. But what to feed it? Only thing I now is that bread
>isn't good for ducks. Can anybody give us some advise?
>Egbert
>Amsterdam
>The Netherlands
The important thing is to determine what kind of duck it is.
Some ducks eat greens and grains, and small insects, etc. Other ducks are fish
eaters.
I don't know what kind of ducks you have in the Netherlands.
The common ducks in the USA, eat about the same things you would feed to baby
chicks. Baby chick mash can be purchased at a feed store. You can also feed
chopped romaine lettuce. You can soak some dry dog food until soft and feed.
You can give him some baby cereal. Always have a fesh bowl of water for the
baby. Change food and water often, as they make a huge mess.
Don't make the water too deep, unless the baby is water-proofed.If not
water-proofed, ducks can drown. Baby ducks get their water-proofing from
sitting under their mother. As they get older, their own oil gland becomes more
developed.
I hope this isn't too confusing.
Good luck.
Regards
d.krug
an antibiotic , my memory is failing me)in chick feed which is toxic to
ducklings. I have raised both, but it has been a number of years since I
have had ducklings. I don't know if they have feed or farm type stores in
the Netherlands, but they should be able to advise you on that subject.
Debbie, Dusty(CAG) and Casperella(U2)
terig
or game bird food. If you have a feed or farm supply store anywhere
around they should have this. Dark green leafy things (kale,
dandilion, etc.) chopped small can supplement this.
good luck
teri g
Joanne
>
> ls
> A day ago we found a very young duck (maybe 2 weeks) which had lost
> it's parents. Now it walks with us wherever we go. Thinks it found its
> parents again. We'd like to help the little thing. We live on a boat
> so thats okay. But what to feed it? Only thing I now is that bread
> isn't good for ducks. Can anybody give us some advise?
> Egbert
> Amsterdam
> The Netherlands
Earlier this spring, a friend brought me a baby duck found crossing a
busy street and clearly alone.
I put it in the playpen with the Silky chicks which were about its
size. It then dawned on me that this duck would be so much better off
being a duck than a chicken.
I started searching local ponds and found a family of Mallards. They
moved away from me but I dropped him in the water and he quickly became
their tenth duckling. He was about 2-3 days older than theirs, but that
seemed to me to be to his advantage.
I'm really glad that this early group was accessible. Now Daffy is on
the right road.
--
Sincerely,
Joanne
If it's right for you, then it's right, . . . . . for you!!!
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GCarr
esterken wrote in message ...
>ls
>A day ago we found a very young duck (maybe 2 weeks) which had lost
>it's parents. Now it walks with us wherever we go. Thinks it found its
>parents again. We'd like to help the little thing. We live on a boat
>so thats okay. But what to feed it? Only thing I now is that bread
>isn't good for ducks. Can anybody give us some advise?
>Egbert
>Amsterdam
>The Netherlands
Last summer the lady I worked for had the same problem. Four baby mallards
were orphaned when their mama was turned into road kill (note to any ducks
reading this, the median on a busy road is a really bad place to have your
babies). The babies were fed chicken feed as per Portland Audubon's
instructions. Two of the babies died, which we were told might happen (now
wondering if it was the feed as mentioned in another post? I don't know
what brand Meg used.) They also liked greens in their bathing pool. Baby
ducks aren't real waterproof without their mom so its swiming lessons should
take place in the bath tub untill it is producing its own oil.
Gloria
Pat Browning Miller
knowledge. Fortunately I took it to a great vet. I had been feeding it corn
flakes and Cheerios. She told me in the wild baby ducks eat a lot of protein
(tadpoles, insects, etc.) I switched to Layena (a poultry feed for baby
chicks) and Hoover sucked it right up (hence his name) Also she said to not
keep him in water all the time. I had nearly drowned him keeping him in a
full bathtub with just a small stepstool in the middle for his food dish.
The good news is he responded to the new diet and swimming program and
doubled his weight in a week. I kept him in a pen on my back porch and had a
wading pool for him to swim in when he got older. Unfortunately I waited too
long to clip his wings one time and he escaped while he was being babysat
while I was on vacation. I'm hoping he got seduced by a young lady duck.
Pat
GCarr <gc...@cybcon.com> wrote in message
news:sjgkig...@corp.supernews.com...
brit...@my-deja.com
touc...@aol.com (Toucanldy) wrote:
>
> >From: esterken egb...@mindless.nl
>
> >ls
> >A day ago we found a very young duck (maybe 2 weeks) which had lost
> >it's parents. Now it walks with us wherever we go. Thinks it found
its
> >parents again. We'd like to help the little thing. We live on a boat
> >so thats okay. But what to feed it? Only thing I now is that bread
> >isn't good for ducks. Can anybody give us some advise?
> >Egbert
> >Amsterdam
> >The Netherlands
>
> Some ducks eat greens and grains, and small insects, etc. Other ducks
are fish
> eaters.
> I don't know what kind of ducks you have in the Netherlands.
> The common ducks in the USA, eat about the same things you would feed
to baby
> chicks. Baby chick mash can be purchased at a feed store. You can
also feed
> chopped romaine lettuce. You can soak some dry dog food until soft
and feed.
> You can give him some baby cereal. Always have a fesh bowl of water
for the
> baby. Change food and water often, as they make a huge mess.
> Don't make the water too deep, unless the baby is water-proofed.If not
> water-proofed, ducks can drown. Baby ducks get their water-proofing
from
> sitting under their mother. As they get older, their own oil gland
becomes more
> developed.
> I hope this isn't too confusing.
> Good luck.
> Regards
>
In regards to feeding the baby ducks... baby cereal and water soaked
dog food are not a good idea. I raised 2 mallard ducklings who
inadvertantly got into some cat food. What happens is that it swells
(even after soaking) and gets lodged in their crop. This can suffocate
them. Fortunately it was not fatal to our 2. The best suggestion is
worms.... nightcrawlers were a favorite, chopped fresh spinach mixed
with chick feed or fine cracked corn. The chick feed is safe for the
ducks. Good luck! (Most of my information comes directly from a
neighbor who is involved with the wildlife society.)
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