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We have rescued a duck that was facing certain death from a swan when it was only approx a day old.

The duck is now 10 weeks old - I believe to be male and is quite a character!

It now flies!!! which is great in some respects as obviously it is a bird and this is what they do however it has created a big moral dilemma for me.

I dont know if I agree with wing clipping as birds should be able to fly - I dont agree with keeping birds in cages, in effect if I had my ducks wings clipped it would be the same thing.

On a regular basis our duck is flying into other peoples gardens so far we are lucky in as much that (a) people havent minded the duck being in their garden and (b) that he did go into a garden rather than open land. (would be impossible to catch otherwise!)

I feel I have two choices with this duck - as it was originally a wild duck we could release it back to our local pond or we keep the duck but have the wings clipped.

I want to keep the duck ideally but I do feel wing clipping is unfair!

Help -Im in turmoil over my little duck - its only a duck I know but I am rather attached to him and want to do what is BEST for the DUCK not necessarily what is best for me!

Could you offer your opinions on wing clipping

Does any one have any experience of having a wild duck they have set free again?

Also my duck is lame at the moment so I WONT be releasing him whilst he is lame as that puts him at a disadvantage straight away. So for the time being he is in his pen with a cover over the top to stop him from flying in effort to help him with his bad leg.

what hasnt helped me is my partner doesnt really want me to keep the duck so he is pushing for me to release it, so if Im keeping it I need concrete advice on why I shouldnt be releasing it. I had intended to get another duck to keep my little one happy but partner is concerned about the amount of poo!

Thanks
Heidi

G'Day Heidi,

We clip the chooks wings regularly with no pain on either side. But I have no experience with ducks, except for Donna, but she was hardly wild!

Nev

Hi Heidi,
My parents have 6 ducks on their lake and clipped their wings for a long time, its painless and they didnt seem to mind. Now its not necessary, either they dont wanna go elsewhere or theyve forgotten they can fly - not sure which! Mum had a dilema with 2 of the bigger ducks being bullies and contemplated letting them go to a river somewhere but on reading up on the internet and asking other duck owners the questions, it seemed that they domesticated ducks and wouldnt cope on their own now.
In my opinion, I would say that the duck is no longer wild if u had it from a day old and to let it go might not be the best thing to do, therefore u should clip its wings for its safety.

Thanks - keep your opinions coming.

Is it possible for me to clip the ducks wings?

I was considering getting the vet to do it the first time, then I would do it after that?

(Im on the understanding this is something that needs to be done regularly??? - approx how often does it need doing?)

Heidi

I'd leave it unclipped, then if it wants to leg it for it's own kind, leave it to do so! 8)
-wild ducks are just that - wild! - I've always been "anti" wing-clipping, it stuffs them from escaping foxes!
I'd go to my local vet, and ask him to put you in touch with a wildlife rescue charity, who'll help with the leg, and eventually release the bird into the wild!

Well, if i was in your situation and decided i wanted to keep it, i would clip it's wings, it's painless, and it's the only way to stop it running away and geting itself into trouble. Solution to foxes is to shoot them :D. Just dont clip it's wings, and then release it :P.

We have had loads of duck and always clipped their wings. you are only doing the longer flight feather tips and so it doesn;t hurt. the vet did ours first and just hacked across so I spent an afternoon lovingly shaping them!!! They can still get off the gound but not actually fly away! Our chooks have just started experimenting with flying so we'll have to do them soon. We always put them away fairly early and have the dog running loose around the pen when they are in bed and so far that has kept mr fox away.

I would suggest that if a bird has an injured leg/s it would be a good idea to clip wings to limit flight and minimise any further damage. Ducks legs are easily damaged through handling when young and any potentially poor 'landings' should be avoided, I think.

The bird should also be confined temporarily to a small cage after clipping as it will attempt to fly and doing so could cause further leg damage. Allow it room to spread its wings and become accustomed to the trim. Simulating a breeze (with an electric fan) will encourage wing use inside the cage, if its a male.

It would be sufficient to just trim flight feathers on one side I would think. Ask your mate to hold the bird firmly on the ground. Extend the wing and trim back to the line formed by the second row of feathers (seen from under the wing).

It is unlikely that you will need to trim a second time, unless you have a real small yard, maybe?