[poultrygeist]

Morning all.
We have a pair of courting mallards in the garden and the graveyard next door.
Last year we had a pair visiting and later on got a mother with 5 ducklings visiting for feeding time. Sadly only 1 made it to maturity, but we got to share in their development.

Question is, can we, or should we, provide some shelter and start feeding them.
If yes, any special requirements for mallard housing ?
I thought maybe an old rabbit hutch off freecycle with a ramp.
Obviously it would have to take its chances with any foxes, etc.

Any advice appreciated.
Thanks you.  Rob

[naturesparadise]

i dont see a prob with giving the wild birds some sort of shelter we do it for other birds

only thing i would say is if you have your own birds there could be a risk

of diseases from the wild ducks

food wise i dont think there is any special food needed

[poultrygeist]

Cheers NP. My thoughts exactly. Good advice about disease. never thought of that.

Any ideas what a mallard looks for in a des res ?

ie. What colour curtains, how many bathrooms, etc ?

Last year I dug a little pond (more of a puddle). About 3 ft round and 8 inches deep, lined with builders polythene and topped with clear poly sheet but they're using it like it's one of the great lakes !

I can position the 'hut' under the hedgerow near the pond.


R

[naturesparadise]

well a duck house really is is just a box but TBO i  dont think a wild duck will use it

as its not sumit they would be used to but you could try it

[poultrygeist]

OK.
At the mo, there's 2 chancer males staking out the female while the 'chosen one' sits between them all. If they get within 3 feet he starts honking and tail biting.

Fascinating to watch. I dare say he'll go for a drink and one of the others will sneak in and beat him to it !

Bit like a Saturday night in the nightclub.

Rob

[mercury]

I'm a firm believer in leaving nature to its own devices, we may think we're helping, but there's a danger of them becoming dependent on us, and not learning to forage for their own food, there's also a danger in them becoming fairly tame, which isn't a good thing for obvious reasons, mother nature is far cleverer than us at looking after itself  
PS, sorry if I've burst any bubbles.

[poultrygeist]

I see your point about the food aspect. Should be enough for them to forage for.

But I think when they come into a man-made environment, and there aren't too many places that we haven't modified to suit our own ends, it doesn't hurt to give them a bit of man-made shelter which they can use or not, even adapt to their own requirements.

No worse than a hedgehog shelter or, as pointed out, a bird box.

Rob

[Vember]

In some repects I agree with Mercury, but on the other hand if your feeding your own birds and they come and join in you can't stop them Put some shelter up and see if they approve with the weather we've had recently they prob be well impressed.

We have a hedgehog just coming out of hibernation, he was only 300grams mid Nov and wouldn't have survived winter as need to be 600g to sleep then wake up. We fed him up, then at the end of Dec when he was 900grams we gradually made his home cooler so he'd have a bit of a rest.

 Sometimes nature needs a small helping hand

[poultrygeist]

That's pretty much what I'm thinking Vember.

I've done a bit of quick reading and apparently they nest on the ground but will nest up a tree if it's convenient. I don't want to impose a nestign site on her by making it too comfy to resist. I may not choose a suitabel site but if I knock up something with a floor, a back wall and a sloping roof. Something like an open sided nest box which can be placed under the hedge or a shrub near the 'pond' should give her some protection.

It can't be in our garden beacuse our dog and, possibly, the cat will not leave her in peace. But the land next door is perfect. Last year, mother and 5 ducklings used to waddle up the drive and start quacking outside the bedroom window til we threw out some seed.
They learn very quickly when it comes to a food source !  

Rob

[Vember]

Sounds perfect for them I would put the shelter as near the pond as possible I think from nest's i've seen in the wild they like quick access to water so if fox, dog etc... come they can get on the water pronto . Hope they settle and enjoy.

[Aunt Sally]

Lots of piccies hee:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=duck+house&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

They just look like a dog kennel to me  

[poultrygeist]

Unfortunately, I put the word pond in inverted commas because it's more of a large puddle.  :roll:

It wouldn't provide any protection at all but there is a very large lake behind the houses opposite. I think last year's brood came from over there.

It's a toss up between them taking their chances near the small puddle or trying to cross the road to get back here for food and shelter.

I suspect there are far more predators near the lake than we have in our little oasis. But I wouldn't try to influence their decision. Just hope they survive best they can and that we can enjoy their company if they choose to stay or visit.

Thanks for the advice.

Rob

[poultrygeist]

Lots of piccies hee:

http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=duck+house&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

They just look like a dog kennel to me  

Thanks Auntie.
I don't think I'll be building anything like that. The chooks would get far too jealous !

I thought maybe a solid floor and back with a sloping roof and a couple of supports at teh front. They can then see predators approach but have some protection from the elements.
I've got some pallets I can pull apart for timber so I'll see how ambitious I get ! Also, it needs to be unobtrusive in case the trustees for the graveyard visit and notice a large kennel like structure lurking int the bushes. They wonder if we're keeping a bear !

Rob