A Mallard made a nest in a raised planter box in front of our house beside our front door. The eggs hatched and the ducklings jumped out at us from the planter box when we went into the house today after lunch. The planter box is about 3’ high and they can’t get back to the nest. It’s been about 30 minutes and mamma duck has yet to return. The ducklings are just hanging out by our front door cheeping and chirping.

What should we do, if anything?

Can the planter be put down on the ground or is it permanent?
Think they want to come in your house by the looks of that picture.. He mom and dad we're home Feed us!

It can’t be moved. I could put a board up as a ramp. My wife said she thinks they imprinted on my 11 yo son. I said have him go waddle around, see if they follow him, and get video. Obviously, we aren’t going to do that. I’m sure if we opened the door, then they would walk right in. That would also be when our Shepard/Retriever mix would go insane.

That’s how we found out about the nest in the first place. A few days ago, we let the dog out, she stuck her nose in the plants, the duck flew out, and our dog chased it four houses down. Mamma duck came back and we’ve been keeping the dog away from the nest.

Latest update: another one jumped out of the nest and my daughter believes there’s one more in the nest.

Leave them be and go out a side door if possible. It will take care of itself.

Kiddy pool!

Kiddie pool, thanks. My wife tells me I’m going to need to go buy duck feed, build some sort of broad box, and put water out for them. There’s one by itself now and the first five seem to have wandered off.

Maybe you can make a low box with towel or straw inside untill mama comes back. Move it away from your door. They are cute lil duckies. They should follow mama duck away. If not, then you must raise them.. . This means baby duckie food, baby duckie talk and soon, teaching them to swim.. . They will follow daddy trapper duck around in the pond.

You can water ‘em when they get older … just don’t plant them in the dirt!

Put a board as a ramp from the yard back into the nest.

Well, I checked the security cameras and four of the five waddled off around my house and I lost them in the backyard. The fifth one is in a box with food, water, and a towel. I'm getting ready to extract the sixth freshly hatch one from the planter box. Once that's done, I have to figure a way to keep them warm. All my trouble lights are LED now.

Mamma duck is gone. I've got two cameras covering the front. I watched both from 6:30am until the four wandered off and she's nowhere to be found.

If these two survive until tomorrow, we'll take them to a local wildlife rescue when they open.

Just be glad they aren't Canadian Geese!

Had 8 ducklings where I rented a few years back. When they would swim behind mother duck in a line, day by day the darn snapping turtles were picking them off. That sucked. Another batch, adults included got taken by fox right in town. I could watch the kits play from across the street as the den was at the back edge of a lawn, right at the woods edge. They went through several properties to get to the ducks. Later, one kit fox got run over in a turn lane of a 4 lane in town.

You could do a lot worse than ducks. Really, I envy you. If you have fairly small children what a wonderful learning opportunity this could be for them. Brother, you've got it going on... and I REALLY DO envy you........FredT

Do you have a pool in the backyard?

the ducks will be hiding in the bushes. Most birds leave the nest and spend some time on the ground before they can fly. Give it some time and see if mom returns. If she doesn't collect the ducklings and see if you can find an animal rescue.

My wife dropped off the two we had at the local wildlife rescue which may have been a mistake. They think the ducklings are hybrids of Mallard and Florida Mottled Ducks. The female we have pictures of is a Florida Mottled Duck. I didn’t know they existed and assumed it was a Mallard. I’ve never seen a male Mallard around here, but we’ve seen a pair of ducks that we assumed to be female Mallards under our backyard feeder. I wish we had pictures because I now believe they are a Florida Mottled Duck male/female pair. They are planning to euthanize the ducklings.

I hope mamma duck found the four that wandered off. According to the security cameras, she did not return to the nest last night.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
The two my wife dropped off at the local wildlife rescue which may have been a mistake. They think the ducklings are hybrids of Mallard and Florida Mottled Ducks. The female we have pictures of is a Florida Mottled Duck. I didn’t know they existed and assumed it was a Mallard. I’ve never seen a male Mallard around here, but we’ve seen a pair of ducks that we assumed to be female Mallards under our backyard feeder. I wish we had pictures because I now believe they are a Florida Mottled Duck male/female pair. They are planning to euthanize the ducklings.

I hope mamma duck found the four that wandered off. According to the security cameras, she did not return to the nest last night.

They will kill them because they are hybrids?

Avian flu? I have no idea.

Yes, the hybridization of the Florida Mottled Duck is the single largest threat it faces. They aren’t breeding with wild males, but rather domesticated males that people have released. The hybrid ducklings are fertile.

"The long-term well-being of Florida mottled ducks is threatened by crossbreeding with feral, domesticated mallards and the FWC is working hard to combat this problem.

Feral mallards are mating with mottled ducks, producing a hybrid offspring. State biologists are observing more mixed flocks and mixed pairs in the wild. These hybrid offspring are fertile, which further compounds the problem. Every mallard released in Florida can potentially contribute to the hybridization problem and the result is that fewer pure-bred Florida mottled ducks are left each year. The complete hybridization could result in the extinction of the Florida mottled duck, which is a defining member of the unique suite of species characteristic of south Florida’s prairie ecosystem.”

Florida FWC link

Of course I knew none of this before yesterday and today. This has been quite the learning experience. They are non-migratory as well, so are unique to Florida.