Newborn duckling with a limp.

Miss Lydia said:

I hope you find everything good when you get home @aychbe
.

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Everything was OK when I got home, or at least it seemed to be. The one thing that was odd was the 2 inside ducklings were standing outside with my drake and the other female. I didn't put too much thought into it... maybe they were having trouble getting up the ramp into their house so those 2 stood outside to keep them safe in the dark, knowing I would get them in as I do with the adults every night. So I herded them in, watched them for a little and called it a night.

This morning when I let them out, the 3 adults ran out first and the 4 ducklings followed. The only way I could tell which duckling was injured was by their sizes as both inside ducklings are much bigger. When the 4 ducklings went to jump in the pond, mom snagged up the largest, who was the uninjured partner I bought in, in a very aggressive nature. The little one just yelled and mom wasn't letting go. So I chased her off and grabbed that duckling. I noticed that in a few spots on its back, the down was missing. I brought them back in.

I watched them for around 2 hours yesterday and everything was fine. I wasn't directly in their line of sight the whole time. Most of it I watched through the window. Regardless, my neighbor said she saw my drake chasing the babies pretty hard yesterday so something must'be happened and they decided not to accept them back.

I felt terrible for the uninjured partner because it was so happy to be back with its mother so I figured that since they won't be accepted back, I'd start training them to come when called and eat from my hand using meal worms.

I'm supposed to have someone pick up a pair of ducklings this weekend and I rooting for them to choose the 2 that have been inside. I can say with certainty that the injured one is fully recovered and the pair are very sweet and, although skittish as the breeds dictate, will likely be more easily handled as adults because they're getting used to human contact.

aychbe said:

Everything was OK when I got home, or at least it seemed to be. The one thing that was odd was the 2 inside ducklings were standing outside with my drake and the other female. I didn't put too much thought into it... maybe they were having trouble getting up the ramp into their house so those 2 stood outside to keep them safe in the dark, knowing I would get them in as I do with the adults every night. So I herded them in, watched them for a little and called it a night.

This morning when I let them out, the 3 adults ran out first and the 4 ducklings followed. The only way I could tell which duckling was injured was by their sizes as both inside ducklings are much bigger. When the 4 ducklings went to jump in the pond, mom snagged up the largest, who was the uninjured partner I bought in, in a very aggressive nature. The little one just yelled and mom wasn't letting go. So I chased her off and grabbed that duckling. I noticed that in a few spots on its back, the down was missing. I brought them back in.

I watched them for around 2 hours yesterday and everything was fine. I wasn't directly in their line of sight the whole time. Most of it I watched through the window. Regardless, my neighbor said she saw my drake chasing the babies pretty hard yesterday so something must'be happened and they decided not to accept them back.

I felt terrible for the uninjured partner because it was so happy to be back with its mother so I figured that since they won't be accepted back, I'd start training them to come when called and eat from my hand using meal worms.

I'm supposed to have someone pick up a pair of ducklings this weekend and I rooting for them to choose the 2 that have been inside. I can say with certainty that the injured one is fully recovered and the pair are very sweet and, although skittish as the breeds dictate, will likely be more easily handled as adults because they're getting used to human contact.

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I'm sorry it didn't work out for them to go back with the flock, but it sure isn't un common. Hopefully with your handling them and training these 2 will be chosen to go to the new home. You've done a great job rehabbing.

Miss Lydia said:

I'm sorry it didn't work out for them to go back with the flock, but it sure isn't un common. Hopefully with your handling them and training these 2 will be chosen to go to the new home. You've done a great job rehabbing.

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Thank you for all of your help!

I spoke with a lady last week who was interested in the ducklings. I told her about the one's leg injury and she said she was looking for 2 ducks. When she got here, I showed her the 2 outside and then I let her hold the inside ones. We let them run around a little in my kitchen and I asked her if she could tell which one had been injured and she said "no". We fed them some meal worms by hand and I told her about the trick of training them to come when called and how to get them to eat out of your hands. She ended up taking all 4 of the ducklings!

I'm relieved to be back to caring for my adults. I learned a lot through the process of both a natural hatching and the leg mending process. I am very happy that the ducklings will have the opportunity to reach adulthood together as a flock.

aychbe said:

Thank you for all of your help!

I spoke with a lady last week who was interested in the ducklings. I told her about the one's leg injury and she said she was looking for 2 ducks. When she got here, I showed her the 2 outside and then I let her hold the inside ones. We let them run around a little in my kitchen and I asked her if she could tell which one had been injured and she said "no". We fed them some meal worms by hand and I told her about the trick of training them to come when called and how to get them to eat out of your hands. She ended up taking all 4 of the ducklings!

I'm relieved to be back to caring for my adults. I learned a lot through the process of both a natural hatching and the leg mending process. I am very happy that the ducklings will have the opportunity to reach adulthood together as a flock.

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That is awesome @aychbe Wondeful ending to their new beginning