If you have had the cygnet for more than a few hours, the parents will not accept the young bird back into the habitat. In fact, they may try to kill it. Cygnets and other young waterfowl cannot be removed from the parents for any great length of time. Now, you must raise the young bird until approximately six months of age, which will be labor intensive, 24 hours 7 days a week. You will have to teach the young swan how to feed, how to bathe, preen and swim. Unfortunately, you will not be able to teach it how to protect itself from predators which will mean that the swan cannot be placed on a lake or pond without extensive observation.

Swans raised solely by people become imprinted, meaning that the birds do not know how to be a swan and think they are human. This means that the imprinted swans will walk up to anything or anyone, trusting each and every human or animal that they meet. The swans will not know fear.

The best outcome for the young bird would be to find it a wildlife/waterfowl rehabilitation center that can place it with other young swans so that it can assimilate with other birds and learn bird skills.

In the future, you may think about building a pen (1/2 on land and 1/2 on water, with a feeder inside, covered top and bottom with fencing that nothing can enter from the bottom or top and the young birds cannot get out). Let the birds nest in the pen, raise the cygnets for approximately 4-5 months and then release the entire family back onto the pond. This will help protect them from the predators and provide time for the parents to teach them how to become swans. It is important to know that once the young birds reach 8-10 months of age, the parents will chase them from the pond to start the breeding season once again. So, eventually, you will have to find the young birds a new home anyway.

If you are near Swan Neck, NC, there is a waterfowl center (Sylvan Heights) that may be able to take the young swan and provide a suitable home for it to grow. The Regal Swan