One of my Call ducklings hatched with an unfortunate defect. The knee joint of one leg seems to be fused in place. Unfortunately I don't have the heart to put the little guy down. He acts completely normal otherwise, but he does seem to have a problem with uprighting himself when he flips over. If I can make it past the back flip stage (he's 24 hours old), I'll think he'll be fine. But I've been running over there to upright him about once every two hours, when I hear the distress cheeps. Is there any way I can prevent him from doing this, or should I just keep my fingers crossed?
Thanks so much!
P.s. Is there a reason that the better "type" ducklings seem less hardy? The chunkier ones with shorter bills don't do as well... I had one hatch with a head that was enlarged, and fatty or full of fluid. He acted like a child with downs, and passed a few hours after hatching. I have another shorter billed duckling that isn't growing as quickly, and occasionally does this gasping for breath thing. My incubator variables were far from ideal with both hatches, but it seems to be the more "typey" ones that were affected. The parents are not related, and the hens have shorter bills than the drakes do.
Thanks so much!
P.s. Is there a reason that the better "type" ducklings seem less hardy? The chunkier ones with shorter bills don't do as well... I had one hatch with a head that was enlarged, and fatty or full of fluid. He acted like a child with downs, and passed a few hours after hatching. I have another shorter billed duckling that isn't growing as quickly, and occasionally does this gasping for breath thing. My incubator variables were far from ideal with both hatches, but it seems to be the more "typey" ones that were affected. The parents are not related, and the hens have shorter bills than the drakes do.