Jerm the duck Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Hi all, I have a female, hand reared mallard, now 11 weeks old - which was aquired from a tragic mummy duck accident, when she was only 2days old. She desperately needs a (female) friend of similar or younger age, however i seem to be having problems in finding her one - a few questions; 1. What breeds of duck are sensible to pair with a mallard, given she is quite small? 2. Does any one know of any sellers of such breeds, within 50miles from nottingham? 3. Can anyone give any tips on introducing her new found freind to her, with minimum drama... should i expect violence? She seems to think she is human, and ignores any other wild life (including the occassional sleep-over mallards that pass by), opting to follow me around the garden, into the house, and snuggle by my feet. 4. Fourth and final question - is now ok to clip her wings? i'd give it 4 days, and she'll be over the fence and into the road? Thanks for any help, Bec. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Hi She should be off also she may be a he! They all look female and will be a while until you get some colour back again. The wild mallards I have are just starting to moult and before we know it..they end up looking the same(the males are a bit bigger) So it may be that you have a he/she(my back garden is covered in feathers ) Shame to keep it...perhaps a park pond etc with other ducks..& ideally an island in the middle Not sure where you live but if you want to release it I am in Herts more than welcome(with pond safe garden & I feed them all whilst they have their young)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerm the duck Posted June 25, 2009 Author Share Posted June 25, 2009 Thanks for the offer, though im affraid you're a little too far away..... she's fairly domesticated now though. She has an acre of land to graze and a large pond and duck house, so doesnt have a bad life...... i think releasing her to the wild may be more trouble than its worth as she's even daft enough to follow the cat around - and would probably just follow me as i walked away, which im not sure i could bare! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Oh great sounds like the ideal set up..let us know is she is a he Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokiechicken1969 Posted July 31, 2009 Share Posted July 31, 2009 ahh loved your post. i rescued a one or two day old mallard aswell. she is adorable and like yours follows me everywhere. i mentioned to my partner that we should get her a little friend he came home from work with a cardboard box and when i opened it there was the sweetest little yellow fluffy duckling ive ever seen. i gently picked it up from the box and thought blimey even though its a baby it looks quite big? well there was a reason for that as three weeks later i realised it was an aylesbury!!! when i said a friend i meant a little call duck or similar. omg haha. but i have to say we introduced them and they totally adore each other. the mallard is the boss and the aylesbury waddles along behind her. the mallard will fly across the garden and the fatty aylesbury runs behind flapping her wings. so heart warming to see them playing in the water together. i hope you find a suitable friend for your little duck. mine look so odd together but its definately best friends. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokiechicken1969 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 how are you getting on with your ducks? did you add a friend? my two girls have turned out to be two boys! so far they're still best friends and hope stays that way they both insist on getting on my lap if im in the garden like they did when they were babies but now they weigh a ton!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
