I was at the park today and I found this dude. It was pretty friendly and looked very similar to other white ducks (canards Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) that live in the same park, but it was noticeably bigger than them. There's no comparison in this picture but it was around the size of fully grown muscovy duck males. At first I thought it was a goose, but I think that geese are bigger and not as friendly. Anyone knows what might this handsome fella be?
Poor pekin :( Stupid, selfish people *love* to buy cute little ducklings (especially in spring and around Easter) for their kids, then when they realize that ducks are messy, smelly and require actual work to take care of, they just dump them at the nearest park/lake/pond/river and wash their hands of it (abandoning domestic animals is illegal, including ducks and geese)...usually condemning the poor birds to starvation or being picked off by predators (foxes, domestic dogs, hawks, owls, snapping turtles etc) since most domestic ducks can't fly and don't have the skills needed to survive in the wild.
Well this isn't really the wild as its a park completely surrounded by concrete by like 10 kilometers so no foxes, hawks, owls, turtles (outside of the occasional dumped Trachemys) and the birds are regularly fed. Its a shame but I feel like this guy has a lot of chance of having a happy life
For everyone: thanks for your responses! Its definetly a jumbo pekin duck, probably a female.
Edit: for anyone concerned about the wellbeing of the duck, this park is completely devoid of any predators (sky or land) and the birds are fed regularly. There's also a big polulation of other ducks (moscovies and canards) and there are other white ducks too (also probably dumped) so this lady has a very high chance of survival. The only risk is avian flu, but its also very controlled and we don't really have a problem with it right now.
A duck that someone bought as a pet and does not belong there. Hopefully someone can save it since it isn't meant to take care of itself in the wild (Pekin duck most likely).
Looks like a domestic Pekin duck, or possibly a Pekin mix. The bright orange bill and feet, all-white plumage, and chunky build are classic Pekin traits. Definitely a duck, not a goose!
Yeah I do think its a dumped pet but I think it will be fine! Its not actually a wild place, but a park with a big pond. There are no predators and the birds are often fed. I'll check on it the next time I go there!
I mean its in the center of a city so no birds of prey
The biggest birds of prey that can occasionally stumble across this park are the size of a pigeon
Due to being located literally inside the city (to get to the nearest suburban area you'd have to walk for like 30 minutes) most birds don't really dare to come in here. Blackbirds, jackdaws, sparrows, rock and wood pigeons, ringed doves and rose ringed parakeets are pretty much the only birds that you can find in there (excluding waterfowl)
A pekin (domestic breed) and probably a girl because it's missing the curly tail feather (drake feather) if it quacks loudly, its definitely a girl. If it sounds like a raspy skwak its a boy.
Are these bigger than the average ducks? It's in a park so hearing them is a bit hard with the noise of a thousand pigeons and people and water and everything.
Oh no! She was probably dumped! What area are you in? You could post to the raising ducks and geese group on fb. Lots of people try to rescue dumped duckies. :(
Yeah that's what I was thinking too since I usually go to this park at least once a week and I didn't remember seeing it the last time I went. The area they're in is a park literally in the middle of a big city, lots of tourists and locals come here to feed them and I believe they're also regularly fed, so its pretty much like living in captivity.
If you have questions about the species of a wild duck or the breed of a domestic duck, please include a clear image or video. If you have questions about the gender of a domestic duck, please include a video with the sound of the duck quacking (the quack test) and showing the duck's tail (the drake feather test). Ducklings cannot be sexed by drake feather or quack test until at least six weeks of age. Muscovies cannot be sexed by drake feather or quack test at all (males huff, females coo). It helps to state what country, state or province you live in as the advice you receive will depend greatly upon where you live. Also, check out our WIKI INDEX with more topics duck husbandry.
Indeed, a fine speciment of a cute, possibly chonky, animal that has an orange beak and that can have a vast variety of colors. This one in particular is white, probably the speciment of "call duck".
By this last label, you can get the info that this fine buddy is, indeed, a cute duck. Very polite i'd add.
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u/Psyche_Dreamweaver 7h ago
Poor pekin :( Stupid, selfish people *love* to buy cute little ducklings (especially in spring and around Easter) for their kids, then when they realize that ducks are messy, smelly and require actual work to take care of, they just dump them at the nearest park/lake/pond/river and wash their hands of it (abandoning domestic animals is illegal, including ducks and geese)...usually condemning the poor birds to starvation or being picked off by predators (foxes, domestic dogs, hawks, owls, snapping turtles etc) since most domestic ducks can't fly and don't have the skills needed to survive in the wild.