A lot of people believe that a duckling found alone in a body of water will be fine if it’s left there. Mama might come back and get it. It’s a duck, and ducks are supposed to be in the water, right? Well, not really. If a duckling is found alone on the edge of a pond, it’s okay to keep a watchful eye on it and see if its mother comes back within the hour. If it’s out in the water, though, or can’t get onto land, it should be rescued immediately. Here’s why.
If you watch a mother duck with her babies, you will see that she takes them into the water only for short periods of time. They may spend a lot of time playing on the edge of the bank, but they’re not fully in the water swimming a lot. There are two reasons why they don’t spend hours at a time swimming.
Ducklings can’t regulate their body temperature; so unless water is very warm, it quickly leeches the heat from their bodies. When ducklings get cold, they huddle under their mother to keep warm. If they have no mother, they get hypothermia and die.
Ducklings can also drown without a mother. Mama spreads oil on their feathers which helps keep them from quickly getting waterlogged while they swim. They expend their energy quickly, so without Mama to direct them to get out, they will quickly wear out and drown.
If you ever find a duckling in water and can’t decide what to do, call us, and we’ll be happy to help.