Notes on Duck Care
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Copyright by Valerie Haecky. This document may be freely 
distributed for non-profit use, provided this notice is
included.

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If you find an insured wild duck, or an orphaned duckling,
the best thing to do is to call
your local Wildlife Rescue Center! They know what to do!
And they know how to rehab the animal so that it can be released
into the wild again.
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NO Releasing Captive Ducks into a Park or Anywhere Else
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Well, you can't just release him on a public lake for a number of reasons.

1. He is a Peking duck. If this is a lake with wild ducks, he would
   mix with them and breed with them, which creates undesirable hybrids.
2. The duck is imprinted on humans, in particular, you. He will eventually
   learn to associate with other ducks, but he will always love humans.
   If there is hunting in the area, he is a dead duck.
3. He is used to being fed. He doesn't know how or what to eat.
4. He is not shy of any animals or people.
5. It is probably illegal in your state to release pets into the wild.

Now, if this is your private lake, and you just want him to live
outside, and you will still feed him and care for him as an
outdoor pet, then this is a different story. Some of the
above issues still apply. He will get used to sleeping outside.
You may want to give him some shelter, especially if there are
racoon, coyotes, or other predators in the area.

Peking ducks usually get heavy and they aren't great fliers.
They were originally bred to be meat and egg ducks.
You will have to teach your duck to fly at least a little,
if you want him to live outdoors and be able to get away from predators.

You should wait with putting him outside until he has all his
adult feathers and is able to escape and fight back when attacked.
He's not ready for that yet. In the wild, ducks stay together as
families until fall migration, at least.

I know, this is probably not what you wanted to hear, but I
hope it helps anyway.



I hope this helps! And: GET THE BOOK!