I haven't had a chance to check the ducks I often tend to here in Houston, TX. They're a variety of dumped Pekins, khaki campbell types, bunch of dumped and "wild" Muscovy ducks, some Chinese geese. I usually just give them a little cracked corn and make sure no one is injured or caught in fishing line.

It's been awhile and I wanted to go see them, but then I was concerned about picking up avian flu on my shoes. I'd chance it and just be careful not to hand feed and then leave my shoes outside, but we get fined by our condos HOA if we leave shoes beside our front or back door.

Idk I know some people think its not that major, but a migrating snow goose in my county tested positive and this park is a very waterfowl friendly spot :/

I don't think I'll be going for some time until I get some shoe covers maybe, but wondered what y'all thought

Hello. My Peking duck hurt his left leg about a month ago. We have been treating this, but today I was giving him a bath, because he now has wet feather as well, and found these abrasions on each of his feet. Photos one and two are of his working right leg, three and four are of his injured left leg. Is this Bumblefoot? Only one has a darker black area. I was looking around to see if I could pull anything out, but I didn’t wanna hurt him. Any advice is very welcome and appreciated.

Ducks first snow.

ChatGPT is certain this is a laysan duck. But it says they’re endangered and only in Hawaii so I’m doubtful (taken in Illinois). Can anyone help me identify?

A couple of weeks ago a duck came over to my house and I was just curious what kind she is

Daisy is starting to be less broody and more active as each day passes.

Met these two at the lake yesterday. They were so friendly.

So for a long time now my drake comes up to me and like bites but it’s not hard (unless it’s on skin then it is a little) but also acts like he is trying to sniff me like a dog is this mating or and I’ve raised him since a hatchling and he try’s to like bite me through the fence and will follow me and try to get to me tho if I pick him up and put him in the pool he stops (For some reason I can’t post vids here this is my 4th attempt at trying to post this question first time without a vid)

Hi everyone. I hope it is OK to post this here. I read the rules as well as the guide to feeding ducks! Long story short, it seems like someone abandoned a muscovy duck in my neighborhood. I'm in the Carolinas in the US. My neighborhood is essentially a micro forest. We all have natural yards, mature trees, a semi-private park including a natural stream/creek. We have a ton of wildlife. A few weeks ago, a handsome and friendly muscovy duck appeared. We have wild ducks that pass through via the creek, so at first, we all thought we might just have an interesting visitor passing through. Well, weeks later and he is still here. He waddles and explores around the neighborhood, is very friendly/calm. seems used to being around people and animals. So it's seeming more and more like someone abandoned him. In doing my own research, I confirmed that he will be ok in terms of local climate, but that previously domesticated ducks are not equipped to thrive on their own without human assistance. Our area rescues are over-crowded and mostly focused on wildlife rehab vs abandoned domesticated friends. My home backs up to the park area and creek, so I see him pretty regularly.

I don't want to be the idiot that feeds him and ruins everything... I also cannot bring a duck inside my home... but! if it is true that he will need help to survive, no one will take him and so long as he has food and is looked after, is compatible with my neighborhood's climate and resources, I want to help him, even if it's just providing food and keeping an eye on him.

While my neighborhood is like a small forest, it is surrounded by other neighborhoods and near local businesses, so while we get a lot of deer etc. we don't see or seem to have any predators aside from a small neighborhood cat.

TLDR: muscovy duck was abandoned in my neighborhood. No one is claiming him (we did post to local sites). Rescue not an option. How can I help him ? He is generally seeming happy to waddle around and forage and we have tons of space and natural areas for that, including the creek.

Pic attached - he is normally in the natural areas but sometimes ventures out to the neighborhood/homes

Thank you!

https://preview.redd.it/30f1f3vlofbe1.png?width=1641&format=png&auto=webp&s=b992f0a6e47d8d7d2dab929b0a01d969721b5973

I’m having the hardest time finding anyone

Hi all - looking for ideas or answers about my mom’s khaki campbell. We rescued her about a year and a half ago from someone who kept her in a tiny Walmart chicken coop with another duck (who we rescued with her) and 6 chickens. Her feathers were a complete wreck and even with higher end duck foods (Country Feeds, Kalmbach) they never really looked great. But she was perky and happy and wiggly so we assumed she would look better eventually. On Friday, my mom sent me pictures of her with her one leg tucked into her body and her head close to her body so I thought she may have been cold - we are in PA so getting some really windy chilly days lately.

My mom brought the ducks inside to hang out away from the chill, and the khaki seemed more comfortable but still not super excited for food like normal. I checked on her yesterday and nothing was super alarming, she was drinking and went on a walk around the yard but just not ravenously hungry.

Last night seems to be when she took a turn and she wasn’t able to walk, and was kind of throwing herself around with her wings so I had my mom set her up in a dog pen with lots of straw and bowls of food, water, mealworms and poultrycell (we started feeding her separately Friday with “special soup” of soaked mealworms in poultrycell water). And then this morning she was found dead.

She never looked classically sick with any flu or botulism or niacin deficiency, but she had some symptoms of niacin deficiency. My current thought is she was so malnourished at her previous home that it was just a ticking time bomb and she wasn’t able to absorb nutrients effectively. Is this something that seems plausible or does it sound like something else? The other ducks are fine and acting totally normal and laying eggs - in fact, the khaki had laid an egg on Thursday the day before everything started. Just looking for answers if we did anything wrong or could have done something else. I know sometimes birds just suddenly die but my mom is completely heartbroken.

Our ladies ran into a mated pair of wild mallards and have refused to come back in, even staying out through the snowstorm.

https://reddit.com/link/1hv2ubj/video/4qiec2z6gebe1/player

Hi all,

My 9-weeks old indian runner (girl) started limping this afternoon. In the morning, when I let the posse out of their shed, she was walking fine. Now she limps and tries to help herself with wings (visible in the video). The gang is enclosed in the garden, no predators in the vicinity and no debris lying around. Granted, it is quite windy today (winters in NL are fun!).

I wonder if anyone has a hunch of what might have happened. Thanks in advance!

https://reddit.com/link/1hv0vo5/video/zlth1ku71ebe1/player

6 months ago, Crystal was attacked in the middle of the night by something unknown. In the process 5 chickens were also killed. (Pic 1)

After a few days of uncertainty and a plan to put her down, she started eating again. I had to remove 20 maggots from her head. Any liquid I used to flush out the wound, would come out a new hole next to her bill. Crystal lived in our bathroom for a couple of weeks, and an occasional buddy was brought in so she wouldn't get lonely.

Here she is today. Running around like nothing ever happened. (Pic 2)

I also posted my progress in r/violin. I was gifted a rotten old violin my neighbors found under their house, and having repaired violins for a few years I decided to get it back into working order. The neck was really twisted so I decided to carve a new one with a duck's head instead of a scroll. I've never done a realistic carving before, but I'm giving it my best. Hope you like it.

https://preview.redd.it/1dhj9pvtrbbe1.jpg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=73496d2da703de086a262d950d46b56969d4ca13

https://preview.redd.it/5p1eupvtrbbe1.jpg?width=2448&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f91251e61b36122f20cd5194c7113dc89a23e0f7

I’ve noticed the park ducks with bird flu (H5N1) stop eating early on and those who rest far from the shoreline stop drinking. If we can tube-feed them nutrients and electrolytes, as well as protect them from predators, is it possible for some to eventually recover? Has anyone seen domestic or wild waterfowl eventually recover?