Dumped Waterfowl
An explanation on why domestic waterfowl should not be released into the wild.
Unfortunately domestic fowl are largely considered expendable and replaceable. Their needs as individuals are rarely considered by an inexperienced hobby farmer. The most common reason why a domestic bird ends up in the wild is because a human that had agreed to care for them, changed their mind, and intentionally put them there and left them.
What is a domestic bird?
A domestic bird has human-created attributes, just like a domestic dog or cat. These attributes are selected for over hundreds, if not thousands, of years of breeding in captivity, and alter the animal’s ability to survive in the wild. Just as you would not leave a dog in the woods and expect it to have the instincts of a wolf, a domestic bird lacks the instincts of its wild counterparts. Some major differences include:
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Are often lighter or flashy in color, and lack the camouflage of their wild counterparts.
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Almost always larger and heavier than their wild counterparts.
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Shorter wings in combination with heavier bodies mean most domestic waterfowl cannot fly, unless they are chronically underweight.
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Wild waterfowl are more lean in the breast, and have robust muscle in their wings to support flight. Domestics have a much higher percentage of body fat and need commercial diets to maintain proper body condition scores. This is called FCR, or Feed Conversion Ratio.
How do domestic birds end up in the wild?
Unfortunately domestic fowl are largely considered expendable and replaceable. Their needs as individuals are rarely considered by an inexperienced hobby farmer. The most common reason why a domestic bird ends up in the wild is because a human that had agreed to care for them, changed their mind, and intentionally put them there and left them.
Baby ducks and geese are purchased at a very low cost at feed stores such as Tractor Supply, Rural King, etc. in the springtime. The employees tasked with selling these live birds are usually teens, or adults with no animal experience whatsoever. Corporate policies do little to ensure that people purchasing these baby birds have any kind of long or even short term plan for their care. Ducks and geese grow freakishly fast and do not stay tiny and fluffy for much longer than two weeks. After that point, people realize they are in over their heads, and don’t know what to do with the birds they poorly planned for.
One of the most common “solutions” is taking the birds to a public park with a body of water and leaving them behind.
Some people have no idea that this is wrong and think they are “setting them free”. Others know the truth but treat the local park as their personal dump anyway, because they want to play with the babies for a short time before being done with them.
Even if people are prepared to care for ducks or geese in general, they may be unprepared for the male/female ratio they receive from the store. Stores will often claim to sort baby birds by gender, but their accuracy is relatively low. Hatcheries claim rates of 90% or above, but look on any rehoming website where birds are listed, and you’ll see the same story over and over again:
“These ducklings were supposed to be all female, but I ended up with too many males. They are FREE to a good home!”
Unfortunately, “good homes” for excess males are extremely few and far between. The vast majority of people willing to take extra males are doing so to get a free meal for themselves or other animals. Many owners are understandably uncomfortable with this, but don’t have any other viable options for homes. They decide that “alive is better than dead, even if it means living at a park”. What they may not know is that they’re signing their pets up for an inevitable slow or gruesome death sentence.
The other way domestic animals end up in the wild is simply escaping their homes. Some domestic waterfowl retain the ability to fly despite the selective breeding. Examples would be call ducks or muscovy ducks. If proper enclosures are not provided, these animals can fly away in a moment of fear or excitement, and do not have the instincts necessary to find their way home again. They will wander until they find a location like a park where they can depend on some supplemental food from visitors, and try to avoid starving to death.
Why does a domestic bird need help?
For the reasons outlined above, dumped domestic birds need your help! Without intervention, most domestic birds pass away within 6 months to a year after being abandoned.
They pass most frequently of predation by off-leash dogs (they can’t fly away while other birds can), coyotes, raccoons, foxes, and eagles. Some die of disease, such as bloodsucking mite infestation, avian flu, and infection from untreated injuries. Others simply pass of starvation, as grass alone is not enough to sustain these heavyweight breeds. Some will survive long enough to reproduce with other domestics, or even cross breed with area wildlife, creating hybrids that sometimes lack the survival skills of their wild parent, and get left behind. Most babies born this way will also not survive to adulthood, but those that do will perpetuate the cycle of suffering.
If you really need to see it to believe it, please see our dedicated Facebook album exhibiting injuries on domestic birds that we have received over the years at CWR. This album is not for the faint of heart, VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
What can you do?
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Choose to adopt! CWR always has chickens, ducks, and geese to choose from. If something doesn’t work out, they will always have a safe place to land back here with us.
If you are someone who is in the market for ducklings, goslings, or chicks, avoid shopping at commercial or online hatcheries. Buy from local breeders who can either guarantee sex by DNA test (more common with goslings), or who will agree to take back any that don’t meet your gender expectations.
Alternatively, you can choose to purchase slightly older birds. For chickens and ducks, sex attributes become identifiable between 1-2 months of age. Mistakes will be far less frequent when purchasing older juveniles.
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NEVER EVER abandon a domesticated animal, even if you think the area is “safe”. It isn’t. Predators are everywhere. Yes, even in the city.
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If you spot what you think may be an abandoned domestic bird, please text our hotline for confirmation at (704) 286-6330. If you are out of our local area, we will do our best to point you in the right direction to get help for the animal. Be warned that resources to help dumped birds are extremely limited everywhere around the country, and if you are not local to us, you alone may be the best hope for helping the bird in need.