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Wood duck, orCarolina duck(Aix sponsa)
Phylum —chordata
Class — aves
Order — anseriformes
Family — anatidae
Genus –aix
Appearance
The wood duck is a medium-sized duck. A typical adult is from 47 to 54 cm (19 to 21 in) in length with a wingspan of between 66 to 73 cm (26 to 29 in). The wood duck's weight ranges from 454-862 g (16.0-30.4 oz).
The adult male has distinctive multicolored iridescent plumage and red eyes,with a distinctive white flare down the neck. The female, less colorful, has a white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both adults have crested heads.
Habitat
Wood ducks have different ranges based upon the seasons and regions they live in. In the southern United States, from Texas east to the coast, the birds are year-round residents. The seasons are warm enough to sustain the birds without migrating.
In the northern United States, and parts of southern Canada, the birds breed in the summertime. These populations spend winter in Texas and the surrounding areas, as well as western Mexico. A year-round population also lives along the coast of the western United States.
Behavior
Carolina duckmoves around by walking, flying and swimming. Wood ducks are diurnal and with the exception of females with ducklings, they sleep on the water. They are social animals and often congregate in the evening and migrate in pairs or small flocks. Although they are not territorial, their defense mechanisms to protect mates include chasing, pecking and hitting. Battles are often short. To threaten another bird, they jerk and jab their beaks.
Diet
Wood ducks are omnivores. They feed on nuts, fruits, aquatic plants and seeds, aquatic insects and other invertebrates.
Reproduction
Wood ducks usually nest in cavities in trees close to water, although they will take advantage of nesting boxes in wetland locations. Females line their nests with feathers and other soft materials, and the elevation provides some protection from predators. Unlike most other ducks, the wood duck has sharp claws for perching in trees and can, in southern regions, produce two broods in a single season—the only North American duck that can do so.
Females typically lay between 7 and 15 white-tan eggs that incubate for an average of 30 days. However, if nesting boxes are placed too close together, females may lay eggs in the nests of their neighbors, which may lead to nests which may contain as many as 30 eggs and unsuccessful incubation, a behavior known as "nest dumping".
After hatching, the ducklings climb to the opening of the nest cavity, jump down from the nest tree and make their way to water. The mother calls them to her, but does not help them in any way. The day after they hatch, the young climb to the nest entrance and jump to the ground. The ducklings can swim and find their own food by this time.
In captivity
This duck has a fairly short life expectancy at 3 to 4 years.
It is not difficult to keep wood ducks. In summer, they are kept in outdoor enclosures. The minimum size of the enclosure is 3 square meters.
In winter, they should be transferred to an insulated enclosure with a temperature of at least +5 °C. However, wood ducks can easily live at cold temperatures (up to -7 °C), and in areas where winter temperatures do not fall below -8 °C, they can be kept outdoors all year round. The minimum size of a winter enclosure is 2 square meters. It is desirable to equip the enclosure with additives in the form of branches and perches. In the winter room, you must install a pool with running or frequently replaced water. In areas with mild winters, wood duckscan be kept in outdoor enclosures.
In this case, all winter it is necessary to maintain a sufficient mirror of the reservoir for birds, not covered with ice. This is achieved in various ways, one of which may be the use of an air compressor. Long hoses from the compressor that pumps air are lowered to the bottom of the reservoir, and air bubbles, rising up, carry warmer water. With constant mixing of warm water from the lower layers of the reservoir with colder water from the surface, the possibility of ice formation is eliminated even in the most severe frosts.
As a winter bedding for waterfowl, you can use soft hay, which is laid out in places where birds rest.
In April, wood ducks can be placed in an open aviary, where you need to install nesting houses. Their dimensions should not be less than 25x25 cm (bottom) and 50 cm high. The cover of the house must be removable. The tray is 12-13 cm in diameter. The houses are located at least 1.5 meters above the floor. It is optimal to arrange 3-4 nests at different heights and in different places,so that they can choose what they like.
Egg laying begins in the same way as in nature, in late March or early April, but may be later. But in any case, the nest should be hung up a little earlier, so that the wood ducks get used to it and choose it as a nesting place. This can take from two weeks to a whole month. When the eggs are laid and the duck begins to incubate, it is advisable to remove the male from the small enclosure. However, there are cases when the female refuses to incubate eggs. Here you can help out an incubator or a hen of another type of a bird (a chicken or a domestic duck). It is very difficult to leave wood ducks`ducklings on their own, as they are so timid that at the slightest rustle they rush in all directions. Be careful: ducklings can jump high and climb fabric or netting. Because of constant stress, they do not take food and die. Therefore, you need a mother hen or foster parents with their chickens.
Among female wood ducks from zoos and nurseries, it is difficult to find a good hen, because of the incubator method of reproduction. Grown in artificial conditions, even if there are foster parents of another species, wood ducks from generation to generation lose their natural qualities and become unsuitable for full reproduction. Therefore, it is necessary to try to encourage the female to incubate eggs or take an individual from nature.
The diet of the wood duckincludes grain feed-corn, wheat, barley, millet, oatmeal, wheat bran, grass, meat and fish meal, chalk, small shell, gammarus. In the warm season, it is good to give various greens - cut dandelion leaves, lettuce, plantain, duckweed. In autumn, the diet can include acorns, which are also natural food for ducks. Good food for ducks - wet mixture of grated carrots, bran, various cereals. During the reproductive period and during molting, they are mixed with wet food or given separately: fish and minced meat.During working out a diet it should be calculated that the amount of raw protein does not exceed 18-19%.
Wood ducks are friendly to other birds, so they can be kept in the same pond with other members of the Anatidae family.
