Back to Index

Ducks
In spring, many householders will be surprised to find a female duck with a flock of tiny chicks in their garden. The mother will
attempt to lead her chicks to water and if there is a suitable large pond or lake nearby, all that needs to be done is to walk along
ahead of her and stop the traffic if she needs to cross a road. This is easier with 2-3 people as someone can walk behind and
make sure the chicks stay together.

If this is not possible, gather up all the chicks into a roomy cardboard box or cat carrier. Ducklings can jump quite high, so put
some chicken wire or a piece of net curtain over the top. The mother will probably fly up out of reach but as long as she can hear
the ducklings she will follow you as you walk to the nearest safe pond. Once there, put the box down and wait for the female to
land and approach you. Then you can let the ducklings out to join her on the bank and she will lead them off to the water.

Ducklings on road, mother dead or injured
Many ducks and ducklings are killed when crossing busy roads. Collect all the ducklings and the mother if alive and take to the
nearest rescue centre. If you suspect some ducklings have vanished into shrubs, go back later and look for them, they will not
survive alone.

Duckling/s without a mother
If it is listless and limp, keep it warm and take it to the nearest rescue centre. If this will take some time, try and find some pond or rainwater and offer
it to the duckling in a shallow saucer. If the water is green, this is ideal as it will have algae and other nutrients. Dip just the tip of the
beak into the water and the duckling should be able to suck some up.

Emergency feed for ducklings (short term only)
Finely crumbled bread, shredded wheat or weetabix in pond/rain water in a small shallow dish.
Long term rearing - chick crumbs mixed to a sloppy gruel with pond water and renewed every 2 hours during daylight hours.