A (Rescued) Duck Tale

Meet Doctor Mallard, AKA Ducky

Around this time every spring, the phone rings at MOSI Outside, and the news is pretty much always the same. Someone at the museum has found some baby ducks - could we please come rescue them? For the last few years, the duck rescue has been the simple relocation of a mother duck and ducklings that are nesting in a very inconvenient place (i.e. a loading dock). This generally involves popping the ducklings into a box and then carrying them, with the mother following behind, to the lake down the road, where we release them to their fate in the wild.

This year is destined to be a little different, though. A museum guest found a very tiny duckling on the sidewalk outside the main MOSI entrance, and despite a great deal of searching all over the site, we could not find a mother to return it to. And so, somewhat reluctantly, MOSI Outside Coordinator Kristen decided to adopt him - at least temporarily. After a little debate, the right name seemed obvious to our NCIS-watching staff: Doctor Mallard, affectionately called Ducky. It's too early to determine the sex without sticking our fingers into places that would be uncomfortable for everyone involved, so for the sake of simplicity, we've just been saying "he" for now.

Raising a duckling is no easy feat. Ducky was only a couple of days old at most when he was found, and will be unable to regulate his own body temperature for at least three weeks. This means keeping him under a heat lamp or tucking a heating pad under his enclosure. He's unable to swim, because his downy little body doesn't produce its own oils for waterproofing yet. In the wild, Ducky's mother would preen him using oils from her own body, and he would be able to swim right away. In captivity, we'll have to wait until his body starts producing oil and then slowly introduce him to water.

Even the drinking water in his cage can be a problem. Ducks have nostrils on the tops of their bills; if the water in the dish is too deep, Ducky can actually drown himself trying to get a drink. So he gets a very shallow dish of water, changed and refilled often. He's eating chicken feed (non-medicated) and a few mealworms for now. When he gets a little bigger, he can be turned loose to forage for bugs, grains, and other food sources in the grass, and eventually in the water as well.

Because ducklings in Florida are likely to be non-native Muscovy or mallards, rehab facilities won't take them in. Deciding to raise a duckling isn't something that should be taken lightly. If you come across one in the wild, it's best to make every attempt to return it to its mother. These are wild animals, no matter how adorable, and raising one successfully takes a real commitment. Additionally, because Muscovy ducks are considered an invasive nuisance species, it is illegal to relocate them to public lands. When Ducky reaches full size, we can't release him into the wild just anywhere. Instead, we'll need to find him a home on a farm or petting zoo.

Ducky is flat-out adorable, but he's a big responsibility. MOSI Outside definitely does NOT encourage you to rescue (or buy) ducklings to raise on your own unless you have the time, space, and knowledge necessary to do so successfully. If you need more information, click here for a detailed article.

Look for more Ducky updates in the weeks ahead...