How do you care for a duck?

Question

So, we were at the park and we found a duck. Searching the internet and using dichotomous key, we believe that it is a Pelagic cormorant. I'm not sure if they're supposed to be used as pets. But anyway, it has a metal brace on the foot in case it gets lost. We called the 1-800 number on the brace, gave them the ID number, and the pet store gave us the phone number for the owner, who never answered the phone.

How do we care for this? We put it in the bath tub for some swimming, it swam for a while, drank water and wanted to get out. It is currently sleeping on my bathroom floor. We gave it some broccoli and a muffin to feed on until we get some more answers (I read online that ducks eat manly pasta and greens). Any body have any advice? I'm not sure what to do while we wait for the owner to answer the phone and come get the duck.

Answer 1

For it to be at the park, it probably means that the previous owner dropped it off there.  I see this situation quite often at the places I've worked.  :(

If it really is a cormorant, than it isn't a 'duck,'  though still waterfowl.  Cormorants pretty much live off of things like fish.  And they don't spend all their time in the water,  so if you're planning on keeping it you need to rig up something where it could have plenty of natural perching, such as tree branches or logs, and some sort of tub for it to swim in when it wants. (Especially since I doubt you want it living in your bathroom forever!) Perching like this is good for their feet.  Without proper perching, birds can develop problems with their feet.

...Depending on what state you live in, wild animals may be illegal to be kept as pets, though since you say it came from a pet store, that must not be one of them.  You may still need some sort of permit to keep it though...  Good luck with the owner!