HOME | DD
kiwipics β Mallard duckling 2
#daisies #duckling #naturephotography #photography #birdphotography #flowerphotography
Published: 2017-11-02 05:27:30 +0000 UTC; Views: 846; Favourites: 121; Downloads: 10
Redirect to original
Related content
Comments: 54
π: 0 β©: 1
They are not wild here, but yes people do keep them over here including my family.
π: 0 β©: 1
ahh...got ya...was wondering
π: 0 β©: 0
Such a precious little baby,what a delightful photo
π: 0 β©: 0
Thank you very muchΒ Β
π: 0 β©: 0
Such a beautiful photo, perfect setting aswell!
π: 0 β©: 1
No problem. How quickly do these little guys grow up in comparison to domesticated ducks?
π: 0 β©: 1
I am not too sure, they are about half the size as the domesticates but the ducklings are smaller as well. I would say it takes them a bit over a month not too much different from the others. But I will hopefully find out since I am trying to raise this one to adulthood. To be honest though this one could be a mallard instead no one is too sure.Β
π: 0 β©: 1
Alright, so you are unsure of the species here. Did you find this little one in the wild then? Best of luck with raising it, I hope it survives.
π: 0 β©: 1
We found him on our front lawn, the reason why I thought he could be a wood duck was because we just had a hatching of them and I got this one the same time one of those ducklings disappeared. He also looked like the one that was left with the wood duck mum, but she could have adopted mallards. Thanks, he is doing really well and I caught two other mallard ducklings so they are all keeping each other happy.Β
π: 0 β©: 1
Oh, seems lucky you managed to find him then, maybe you will never know for sure. But I think his species becomes apparent when he gets older.
Happy to hear that he got a couple of playmates now to keep him company. Best of luck to them all.
π: 0 β©: 1
I will know his breed when he gets his first feathers which should be in another week or so. Thanks, they are growing really fast and seem to be doing fine despite not having a mother. I think mallards are easier to raise than the other wild breeds that usually chose to die when taken away from their parents.Β
π: 0 β©: 1
Thatβs awesome, Iβm so curious to know what species he is aswell! But cool that they are doing well despite not having a mother, maybe because they have each other for company.
I didnβt know that mallards were more resiliant than other wild species of ducks when it comes to growing up without their mom, maybe thatβs why we domesticated them in the first place.
π: 0 β©: 1
Yea I'm pretty sure now that he is a mallard but we'll see soon. Having company does help, I can leave them in their cage in the day knowing that they won't be getting lonely. Well I know that grey teals and paradise ducks are hard to raise without their mother but I don't know about the other wild breeds. Are the mallards domesticated over there?Β
π: 0 β©: 1
Cool, well no matter what species he is he has a loving home and wonderful owner now. ^^
Indeed, having more than one animal of a social species always puts your mind at rest, because you know that they have each other for company while you are away.
Oh, I should have formulated my sentence better, haha. We don't have domestic mallards here in Sweden, but there are semi-tame ones hanging around parks and such. I was referring to when humans first domesticated ducks about 4,000 years ago in South-East Asia, since all domestic duck breeds except the muscovy duck are descended from mallards. Many duck breeds like the rouen still looks like them.
It must have been their adaptability and hardiness that made them adjust to captivity much easier than other wild ducks at the time.
π: 0 β©: 1
Well I saw his first wing feathers yesterday and he is indeed a mallard. The woodduck female might have adopted him since all her ducklings Β looked like mallards. Yea, when he and the others are young adults I'll release them in our gardens where they can be with the other wild ducks. They will probably the happiest that way. 
Oh I see, yes the mallards do seem to adjust to their surroundings a lot more easily than the other wild ducks. They are a bit like the house sparrows of the duck world. Although are you sure it is only the Muscovy ducks that don't have the mallard in them? What about the Indian runners for an example?Β
π: 0 β©: 1
Oh nice, so you have three young mallards then! Seems like the woodduck female doesn't care, maybe because they did look like her own ducklings. But will they get bigger than she is?
Aww, that's really nice of you! Then they can integrate with the wild ducks and just be happy.
Indeed, mallards are just as adaptable as house sparrows, as long as they have some kind of water source.
The indian runner is actually descended from the mallard aswell, only that the indian runner originated in the East Indies, the area where mallards were first domesticated. So people have had the longest time to breed these ducks and alter their appearence. It's for the same reason that many chicken breeds from South-East Asia are very unique, like the silkie, because that's the area where chickens have been domesticated for the longest.
π: 0 β©: 1
Yea she might have had ducklings of her own and him and his siblings joined in without her noticing or caring. It has happened before, we have a domesticated duck who is a really bad mother and she lose most of her ducklings. Later that day I saw a mother mallard with some yellow and black ducklings along with her own. Mallards get twice as big as the Carolina wood ducks.Β
I see, that does make sense, I guess dogs are the same as well, we have so many different varieties because of the constant breeding of them. So are the majority of chickens domesticated from one certain breed like ducks?Β
π: 0 β©: 1
Haha, that's so funny! I guess the maternal instinct is so strong that the mother is willing to accept any kind of duckling into her family, that's really sweet! Did the domestic ducklings survive with their new mallard mother? In our local park we actually had a chicken that had adopted a whole family of ducklings.
Yeah, the longer an animal have been domesticated, the more breeds there are. Indeed, most of the domestic chickens are descendant from the red junglefowl, with some breeds also having some grey junglefowl in them. The junglefowl lives in tropical forests, and looks quite like a common chicken. Many people that travel there say it's a strange feeling to be in the middle of an ancient rainforest and then hearing roosters crowing. XD
π: 0 β©: 1
Yea it is nice when you see lost ducklings adopted into a happy family like that, although sometimes the duck will act on the instinct of killing offspring not her own, which is why I am always very careful when giving ducklings to a mother duck. Sadly the ducklings didnβt survive, the eels got them all. 
Oh yes, I have heard of the junglefowl before, that would be very strange indeed being in a remote rainforest and then hearing roosters crowing, itβs definitely not something you would expect in that type of environment.Β
π: 0 β©: 1
Yeah, I know many animals try to attack young that don't belong to them, so you need to be careful, and introduce them at the right time. I saw a video of a cat that adopted some ducklings on a farm, simply because she came across them shortly after giving birth to her own kittens, and her mothering instinct was so strong that she took them in.
Sorry to hear that none of the ducklings made it though, nature can be harsh at times.
Haha, it was a really funny sight, lots of people tried to take photographs of them. I remember seeing the hen dustbathing, and clucking to encourage her ducklings to do the same, but ducks don't dustbathe so the hen got very frustrasted, lol.Β XD
Sadly the ducklings disappeared, I don't know if predators got to them or if the hen was just unable to raise them properly since they were different species, or maybe they returned to their "real" mom in the end. But it was fun to see while it lasted.
Indeed! It must be a very strange to hear that, haha. But cool at the same time, if you know what I mean. ^^
π: 0 β©: 1
Yea, animals are most likely to adopt young not their own when they recently had their own babies. Most have been an unusual sight though, a cat raising ducklings.Β Β
Haha, that must have been really entertaining to watch. I can imagine the hen getting quite annoyed that the ducklings didn't follow her lead. Did the ducklings ever go for a swim because she wouldn't exactly been able to follow them in the water.Β
Aww I'm sorry to hear that they disappeared, hopefully they found their real mother in the end.
π: 0 β©: 1
Yeah, I think they are overflowing with hormones and want to nurture every small, cute thing they see, haha. Our papillon used to get pseudopregnant sometimes, and then she would carry around her toys and treat them like her puppies, and tucking them into her bed before she went to sleep. XD
Haha, it was a sight to behold! She did that particular clucking when a hen wants her babies to come to her and see what she's doing, but the ducklings didn't understand.
Well, the chickens never went close to any large water sources, and the ducklings stayed with their adoptive mom, so I never saw if they did.
π: 0 β©: 1
Aww that is so cute haha, did she ever have her own puppies?
I guess that makes sense, the ducklings probably didn't wander away from the hen as they thought she was their mother. Did you take any photos yourself of them?
π: 0 β©: 1
No, she didn't sadly. We didn't have the money or the time to raise puppies, and she also had some problems with her patellas, or kneecaps, and therefore wouldn't have been allowed to breed regardless.
Yeah, the instinct to stay with their mother is very strong! I have one or two photos of them on my old phone I think, I'll see if I can find it and share it with you!
π: 0 β©: 1
I see, having puppies can be quite expensive and time consuming, Iβm sure she was still very happy even though she couldnβt have any puppies
Yea definitely, although you get the occasional ducklings where the mother has to follow them instead and has no control over them haha. Cool, if you do have a photo I would be interested in seeing it.
π: 0 β©: 1
She was very happy anyways, I'm sure of it. ^^
Haha, that's so funny! XD
Alright, I'll see if I can find my old phone and charge it up.
π: 0 β©: 0
| Next =>