What do I do about a little baby duckling that was in the process of being murdered by two adult duc

Im going to try to make this short. I saw three baby ducklings and a mama duck outside my house along the canal and they looked so adorable. About 15 minutes later i looked out and saw the mama and another adult duck jumping and trying to squash something in the water. I walked outside and it was one of the baby ducklings. I had to chase away the ducks becuase they kepts pecking it, and stomping on the poor thing. Needless to say, the duckling was in bad shape, it was cold, wet, couldnt stand, or walk and it couldnt even hold its neck up. I was so upset and couldnt understand why this happened. Any ways, i figured if it was going, i wanted it to go confortably so i took it into my house. I took a hair dryer and dried it off then held it for about 30 min. I thought the end, then all sudden it started chirping like a bird. I put it down and starting walking around, (crapped on my bed) and was as good as new. I was shocked, elated, happy, but now what do i do with the duckling?

What do I do about a little baby duckling that was in the process of being murdered by two adult ducks?

You are correct - if this is a wild duck, it is illegal for you to keep it. All native migratory species in the US are protected under federal law (Migratory Bird Treaty Act) and it is illegal to have in your possession any protected bird unless you have the required permits. The penalty for keeping a protected bird without a permit is a fine of up to $500, jail up to six months, or both. http://ipl.unm.edu/cwl/fedbook/mbta.html

Contact a licensed wildife rehabilitator. You can find one here: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact....

Licensed wildlife rehabilitators have the specialized training to care for sick, injured and orphaned wild animals, and they have the required state and federal licenses that allow them to keep the wild animals until they are healthy enough to be released.

Edit - yes, it is true that they can not release a non-native animal - in the US, it is illegal to release domestic animals into the wild, because they compete with native species for food and resources, they can interbreed with the native animals, hybridizing the native population, and they can introduce diseases into the native population; however, I do not know how they can say it is not a native bird without even seeing it. Unless you described the adults to them, and they knew from that?

What do I do about a little baby duckling that was in the process of being murdered by two adult ducks?

c'mon keep it until it is like old enough to fight off those other creatures and like once a day take him outside but watch him. keep him for like 6 month but take him out side so when you realease him he will know what to do.

What do I do about a little baby duckling that was in the process of being murdered by two adult ducks?

It is illegal to keep a wild animal. Leave it for the proffesionals. My wife is a vet who works with a animal rescue group that will pick up wild stray or injured wildlife. They are called wild life gardians but we are in Illinois. See if there is a group where you live or call an animal hospital for a reference to a rescue group. Good Luck!

We have raised 6 ducklings at one time here and it's not pretty. I call my wife the duck wisperer because as they got older they would come to her and she could actualy round them up. She had a cage lined with sod for them to be in and had to cover it with chicken wire so other wildlife would not get them. We learned this after a couple got attacked by an eagle or something and only found bones. Thats why I say leave it to the proffesionals. I'm sure some group out there will take it or ship it somewhere to raise it. keep trying!

What do I do about a little baby duckling that was in the process of being murdered by two adult ducks?

There is such a thing called survival of the fittest. You tried to save the duckling but in reality, you shouldn't have interfered with nature. The parents probably knew there was something wrong with it, and tried to kill it. Ducks are prey animals, as are most birds. Having a sick bird in the flock draws more attention from predators and increases the chances of the flock being attacked by a predator. You said yourself there are stray cats around. I know you thought you were doing the right thing, but now you have a new responsibility. You don't want to bring wild animals into your house if you have other birds- he could be carrying diseases that could spread to you or your pets. The whole idea is just a bad one. Next time, leave the wild birds alone.