Do domesticated ducks often fly off to be with wild ducks?

Well, I would think that if their wings weren’t clipped they sure would.

Yes, they will. They will also return home every year so they can visit with the humans they love. Then they might leave again to roam free for a while

How do you know the white mallard is domesticated, BTW?

@Dutchess_III -Size and color.It is much larger.
In all my years of living in this area, which is a major flyway for waterfowl, I have never seen a white color phase on a wild mallard.
As I am typing this, I can see it swimming. This time, it is on it’s own.

Take a picture @lucillelucillelucille!!

Aren’t most domesticated ducks too heavy for efficient flight?

@stanleybmanly – I am not sure. There are ducks that are here all winter swimming in areas where there is no ice. I see this particular duck around the same spots so I don’t know that it has to travel very far.

This question is completely off the wall.

Have you seen the white duck fly?

@stanleybmanly -I’ve seen it fly the short distance from the water up to the seawall but nothing more than that so far.

@stanleybmanly -Here is a photo of that duck (with buddy)

Since the white guy hangs with the wild ducks on the water, yet doesn’t leave with them, my bet is that he can’t keep up. Distance or altitude have almost certainly been bred out of him in preference to meat on the table. Does it show any interest in pairing up with a specific wild duck. I can’t tell from the photo if Buddy is a male. Who feeds Whitey? Look for a band on its leg next time you see it out of the water.

@stanleybmanly -The other duck is a female.
I can’t tell if it pairs up with a mate or not but will look for a band the next time they’re on land.
I do see it by itself sometimes and when the water freezes it will have to find food somewhere.I am not sure if someone feeds it or not but wouldn’t be surprised.
I am unaware of it having any owner or being kept.

…how do you know it’s a mallard and not a Pekin?

@Dutchess_III -Pekin’s are mallard derivative, which means they are from mallards.
If it is a female and lays eggs, that might be another way to distinguish them.

Thank you.

I think the domesticated ducks are almost all derived from mallards. I gather from the conversation thus far that lucille lives in an area of pronounced seasons (the pond freezes). I know there are cases of some ducks that like many geese will actually adapt away from migrating if the eating is good. It’s easy to understand how this might come about—say a damaged wing on a mom with a healthy brood of ducks that come to adulthood. Mom can’t fly. And the instinct to stick with her outweighs the migratory pull. I think the key to unraveling the mystery of Whitey is to determine whether she flocks with the other ducks and if her pals migrate. I’m nosy about such things. My urge would be to determine where Whitey spends her nights. It’s damned near January and the pond isn’t frozen over? Is Whitey currently in the company of other ducks on the pond?

@stanleybmanly -It is often in the company of wild mallards but sometimes on its own which make me think it can’t do the distance flying that the others can.
At this time of year the water is usually frozen enough to snowmobile or skate on. We do not have snow at this time. (not usual)
I wish I knew where it goes at night.
Some ducks do migrate and my husband’s friend hunts them at certain times of the year.
In the dead of winter where there is open water, I will see a few different types of ducks, some dabblers, some divers. They are often in huge flotillas.
I don’t see the white one with those types.
Where they are at, I will usually see a bald eagle or two.

I do know that the Pekins are usually SO bulky in comparison to ducks on the wing that I would bet simple gliding is beyond them as a matter of basic aerodynamics.

@stanleybmanly -I wonder where it is getting it’s food when the water freezes as it would not be able to travel the distance that the wild ones do-unless it can fly and I haven’t seen it yet. Maybe someone is feeding it?

I might believe that it might survive on foraging in Winter with occasional handouts, but Lucile’is observation on a fat flightless duck avoiding predation for 7 years merits some investigation. My money says it is receiving room & board close by. It should be a simple matter of bundling up some late Winter afternoon to track Whitey. I also remember from my Boy Scout days that the best possible decoy for drawing in ducks is a domesticated duck or goose floating on the water.

@stanleybmanly – I saw it again yesterday with it’s buddies.It’s not always in front of my house. Sometimes I’ll see it a fair distance upstream.
I wouldn’t be surprised that it is being fed. Some people like to feed the swans until they meet one that’s an @sshole. lol