[Sebi]

Hi. We are raising a mallard duckling. There was 4 abandoned ducklings and the other 3 got eaten by seagulls!!! He's doing really well and growing at a phenomenal rate and appears very happy and chirpy. he's an absolute sweetheart and we can watch him for hours.  The only problem is he goes mental when I put him in the bath and seems to hate it and is quite distressed when I take him out.  He's about 11 days old - is it too soon? We live on a boat so there's a lot of water around and if he's ever going to go back into the wild he needs to get over it!!!!! Any tips aboout this or raising a duckling would be much appreciated. Thanks. sebi

[Kate and her Ducks]

Hi and welcome to the forums.

It sometimes takes ducklings a little time to get used to new things but water is something that they usually take to pretty quickly! I suspect the problem is actually being isolated while in the water as mine certainly get a bit frantic if they are by themselves in the bath.

They really are flock animals and do not do well by themselves. Is there anyway you could get him some company, either in terms of you getting another duckling or rehoming him with someone with ducks?