Reintroducing a duckling to mom *Pictures post 7*

[bt03]

Our first ducklings hatched today and we seem to have a mishap. One of the ducklings was out of the nest shivering with chunks of meat taken out of both sides of his head. He has what looks like only a mohawk of fuzz left with meat exposed on both sides, kind of close to his eyes. I applied an antibiotic because he was out in the dirty hay alone for who knows how long then put a bit of wonder dust but made sure that it didn't get into his eyes. He is now cozy in a tub in the house but with only a stuffed buddy not a live buddy. We tried putting 3 of the other ducklings in with him (only one at a time of course) but each one picked right at his head within 5 minutes and would not stop once they discovered the injury.

I had planned on putting him back out with the others and mom tonight but will that be possible? What if he has to stay in the house for a couple of days, will it still be safe to put him back in the nest? What is the time frame I need to be looking at as far as weather or not he is going to be able to be raised with the other ducklings? Will this type of injury be debilitating if I place him back in the nest?

 

[Amiga]

I'd keep him in for a while - apparently his injury is just inviting more abuse. Ducklings can be reintroduced, though it depends on the ducks. Sometimes it's easier than others.

Bless his little heart.

Sometimes duck folk have put a poultry fence divider in a brooder so that ducklings have company but cannot touch each other (for various reasons).

 

[jdywntr]

Until he is healed, he needs to be seperate. Until he is healed, the others may peck at him. After that, you can try putting him in with the others. You will need to decide if you want an indoor duck for a while, maybe longer.


I had a late hatch (4 days later) and at 2 days old when he was doing well, I took him outside. Mom was not thrilled that I was close to her babies and was not happy that I had one that was peeping but I put him down, he ran for the rest and all was well. I did stay to make sure nothing happened for a bit. He was a lot smaller for a while and would get run over sometimes but caught up just fine.

 

[bt03]

Thank you both for your replies. I have a house chicken that just couldn't make it back out with her hatch mates due to the week age difference and she was 1/2 bantam to boot, so I guess a duck tagging along to won't be to much harder. The divider sounds wonderful but with the cold front coming I know our duck coop wont be feasible to split and keep him warm enough for the next 3 days and nights.

I just had another thought. Imprinting? Goodness he won't imprint will he? If he has to be with us for two weeks and he just hatched a couple of hours before I brought him in will he think he is a people? I don't mind a super friendly duck really, I could even have a good reason to buy cute duck diapers!

Poor thing. I will try to get pictures of the yet un-named baby so y'all can tell me what you think about the injuries.

 

[FarmrGirl]

Quote:
I use Pick-no-more whenever there are injuries like that: http://www.roosterboosterproducts.com/product/50910 works great! I also hear that pine tar works well for cannibalism but haven't tried it.

 

[jdywntr]

Quote:
I had a 3 week old that I was thinking of keeping indoors. He had been raised indoors as an only duck but after a few days, I decided I did not have the time/patience for it. I was worried about putting him outside because he was about half the size of my muscovy but other than him picking on them a bit first, they were/are fine. So, you may be able to introduce your little guy at a later point. Everyone here was thinkng there may be issues because he may not have realized he was a duck. I took him out a few times to meet them before an overnight.

 

[bt03]

For some reason I just can't find his name

I'm not 100% that it's a boy but I just feel like it is but I just can't find his name. I have tried and tried but nothing feels right for him. But still here is "Ducky"

This is the damage that his dad did. My drake is now isolated and not happy about it, but until he can play nice he is going to have to get used to it.

His wound was cleaned yesterday and again today because of all the dirt we have had flying around. It should be pretty well off now as far as not having bacteria but I will be keeping an eye on him for at least a week before I let him go out, or does anyone even think it will take that long before he can go back? I was also wondering if when the skin grows back will he be able to grow feathers or will it just be bald patches of skin on each side of his head? Hey maybe we should name him Patches! lol...

 

[desertdarlene]

Awwww, poor baby! Bad daddy drake!

I like Ducky as a name. I might also call him Squeak or Peep if he's noisy. Generally, they do something to earn a name after a while.

 

[jdywntr]

Ouch!

When I was considering an indoor duck, I had the same problem with picking a name. I started with Peepers and ended up with Stinky. (Another reason I don't have an indoor duck, the name was very fitting)

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
Poor baby, thats what my duckling looked like but it was mama that did it. I have no idea why.

he healed fine and feathers grew over it. If you have dad separated you might try to put baby back as soon as it's scabbed over, or spray with bluekote [making sure not to get it in his eyes] and see if mama will accept it back, being there to interfer if need be. Drakes should not be around young ducklings till they are at least 6-8 weeks old. and then only if they can get away from him. It's a cutie!!