There are several issues that you must first address:

1. Are you absolutely sure that the surviving swan is a female? You will need to have her sexed to make sure. There are no guarantees that the swan will take on a new mate.

2. You will need to contact your local and state wildlife authorities to see if you can possess a swan. The laws have changed in many states and to maintain swans, especially Mute Swans may require a special permit or license. Most states are now culling the swans (meaning killing them with the goal of killing 130,000 in the next few years to bring back the Trumpeter Swan as a Trophy waterfowl for hunting).

3. If you get an opposite sexed swan, you may need a special breeder's permit. With this permit, you will be responsible for the pinioning (rendering the cygnets unable to fly at 1-3 weeks of age). This is an additional veterinary expense but will ensure that the swans do not start a feral population or fly-off only to be killed by a predator or state wildlife officials.

4. You will need to determine what you are going to do with the additional swans once the parents chase them from your pond for the next breeding season. Mute Swans produce 1-13 cygnets a year during their annual breeding season. The swans can live up to 30 years and this means that there are a lot of cygnets possibly hatched.

5. If you try to introduce a same-sexed swan, the birds may seriously injure or kill each other when fighting for their territory.

6. Prior to any introduction to the pond, you must erect a pen (1/2 in water 1/2 on land, fully enclosed top to bottom so no predators can dig under or climb into the pen). The pen must have a feeder so that the swan learns that you are the caretaker and how to get its food. The new swan will need to stay in the pen for approximately 2 weeks to understand that this is its new habitat and introduce itself to the surviving swan. At this time, any signs of aggression should be noted. If there are signs of aggression, then a new home for the swan must be found.

If all of the above issues can be addressed:, permitting, licensing, breeding, veterinary care, etc., and you still want to proceed, then we would suggest that you contact Bob Knox at Knox Swan and Dogs in Illinois.

Through our copious research, we have found that most surviving swans which have lost their mates do just fine on their own. Males will usually not re-pair and females may, but there are no guarantees. Again, most swans will do just fine on their own.

We hope that this information is of benefit to you. The Regal Swan