Please help! Is this normal for a new hatched duck?

[Jrzebra]

We have our very first hatched baby duck. He needed help getting out of the shell, it was getting dry and very hard & he couldn't get out. He had zipped almost all the way around, and was making a lot of noise for awhile, so we helped him get the shell open. He seems strong and has been peeping a lot. He's been out since about midnight last night, but he's still not on his feet. It looks like he was very ready, hed absorbed all the yolk, umbilicus is clean & no blood or blood vessels. It's 5 pm the next day and he still isn't walking or trying to eat or drink. He can sit up on with his legs and feet under him, but then he just flops and rolls around the incubator. Will he start to walk normally soon? Is this typical, or is he in trouble? He is resting and sleeping a lot now, in between the peeping and rolling around spastically. What can we do? We don't want to lose him!

 

[SniperGoose]

It's unusual (in my experience) for a duckling to not be on their feet so long after being hatched. I've had maybe one or two ducklings in the past (similar to what you're describing) that my ducks have hatched out. The mothers abandoned them, and so I took them in and tried to raise them. Sadly, they passed away within a few days. I never did figure out what the problem was.

Ducklings should be able to walk, and should eat and drink within 24 hours of being hatched out. Sometimes ducklings are wobbly and will fall over, but the fact that it's not eating or drinking is worrying. I would focus on trying to get him to eat and drink right now. As for the walking, maybe this thread will help you out more!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/urgent-duckling-cant-walk.497994/

Good luck with the little baby!

 

[Jrzebra]

Thanks so much for answering. Per your advice, I put the duckling in the brooder with food and water & encouraged it to drink by dipping it's bill. It did start drinking, and continued to stay near the water and drink for a couple of hours, so it must've been dehydrated. It got stronger and did start moving around a bit, a few steps at a time, without falling over. I was happy to see it recognized the water & even when I put it farther away it would run in a little spurt to get back to it. It got stronger thru the day and seemed to get bigger. However, it has now been sleeping a lot. It still isn't eating, tho we got it to nibble a bit by putting food in the water.
The poor thing was very dry in it's shell when we helped it out. The inside of the egg had coated it's feathers & hardened like a hard candy shell. It was so bad, the webs of its feet were stuck together & it couldn't move it's toes apart. I tried a moistened Q-TIP & also some Neosporin, but I couldnt soften the stuff, so I decided to bathe it in warm water. I was able to get most of the hardened stuff off its body & I gently blowdried it so it wouldn't chill. This helped & I finally got it's feathers to fluff up. I didn't want to hurt it's head or eyes, so I didn't wet the head much. It still has a hard candy helmet, but it's eyes seem ok, so I left that alone for now.
Its now 24 hrs old. I know it's not out of the woods yet, but I'd like to be sure we do everything we can for it. If anyone has any other ideas, please let me know, thanks!

 

[chickens really]

Hello..Some are just slower to find their legs.
I wet feed to a soupy mix for Ducklings. It hydrates them plus gives them nourishment...

 

[Jrzebra]

Thanks, everyone for all the good advice. The soupy food & water mix worked well & she's a good eater now. I can't believe this baby made it, with the very tough start she had. "Piper" is now a very healthy, happy duckling. Here's a pic of her when she was born, & then after a bath & blow-dry: (With her mirror & sock-teddy):
Taking a nap on my neck: She was the only one & she was craving contact, so we took turns cuddling her & making sure she didn't get lonely. She has us trained now & talks constantly & cries when she wants attention. Following some other advice here, on "only ducklings", we gave her a small mirror for company, which she loves & chats happily with her reflection for hours. We'd also read to give her a teddy, but we thought that was kinda silly- until she wouldn't calm down at night & constantly screamed unless we let her cuddle with us. Since she was bonded to me, I thought something with my scent on it might give her comfort, so I balled up the pair of socks I'd been wearing, (into the shape/size of a small duck) & put it next to her mirror. She immediately cuddled up with her sock-teddy & fell asleep talking to her reflection! She spent the next couple of days with her mirror & teddy for company, until we found her another lonely baby. Her new roommate is 3x her size, so we were a bit worried the new duck might bully the smaller one, but she's turned out to be a very good influence on Piper, and has been teaching her how to do all sorts of duck-stuff. Piper absolutely loves her new big sister. I was able to remove her sock today, & then the mirror later on in the night, once the two sacked-out together. We named the new duckling "Teddy".

 

[CayugaJana]

I’m so happy for you guys!! What a fighter. I always put wet feed out for my ducklings after chickens really suggested it. I think they do so much better with it.

 

[chickens really]

Congrats...Adorable Little Puppies...

 

[Miss Lydia]

What a precious story and such a happy ending love the names too.

 

[SniperGoose]

Aww I'm glad the little baby pulled through!

 

[AnimalLover4701]

We have our very first hatched baby duck. He needed help getting out of the shell, it was getting dry and very hard & he couldn't get out. He had zipped almost all the way around, and was making a lot of noise for awhile, so we helped him get the shell open. He seems strong and has been peeping a lot. He's been out since about midnight last night, but he's still not on his feet. It looks like he was very ready, hed absorbed all the yolk, umbilicus is clean & no blood or blood vessels. It's 5 pm the next day and he still isn't walking or trying to eat or drink. He can sit up on with his legs and feet under him, but then he just flops and rolls around the incubator. Will he start to walk normally soon? Is this typical, or is he in trouble? He is resting and sleeping a lot now, in between the peeping and rolling around spastically. What can we do? We don't want to lose him!

I am new to hatching ducks but I recently had my first buckling hatch it had hatch three days early it hadn’t completely Zoerb the egg yolk so I wrapped it in a rag put it in a box and put a heat lamp over it all I did was kind of cover it with the rag with the its but still in the egg I waited a day and tried to give her some water with a syringe she was very bad at it at first but then realized what it was I had to put it on her beak to make her realize it anyways I have been giving her watered down chick starter and I gave it to her in a bowl today and she ate it she just started that today she was drinking and eating on her own also she couldn’t walk until yesterday she hatched on the 18th and slowly she started standing and wading around now she is jumping and be loud and being obnoxious I didn’t think she would live but she’s doing great