➡I accidentally bought Balut eggs: 2 live ducks! Now a Chat Thread!

[CrazyCrttr75]

I have been fighting a migraine today so am feeling UGH but I went outside to clean the coops and collect what eggs have been laid. I got to the duck coop and brought my flashlight just in case Annabelle was off of the nest or if I decided to remove her so I could check the eggs since we are so close to time. I was squatted down, talking to her. I do a soft quack quack quack to her and tell her what a good momma she is. She hisses and me but sometimes does this high pitched peep peep peep (it's hard to explain) back to me. So I do a peep peep peep back to her. I hear a faint peep peep back. So soft that I thought I imagined it. I make the sound again. Nothing. I make the sound again. Wait! There it is again. Omgosh! I had to get a closer look.

We have babies happening!!! It was no small feat for me to check, mind you. Ooooh, she is protective. It is a good thing her bites don't hurt. At least they didn't. But I was determined anyway. I saw that 2 have hatched. 1 looks healthy. I saw it preening its feathers.

1 is deceased.

I saw 2 eggs that have external holes but aren't fully zipped yet but we are on our way!
I am just beside myself right now. I knew I was off about the 26th being hatch day. That's why I always said 26th'ISH. But I thought maybe a couple days after not before. Anyway. The phone app wasn't working for me so I ran in the house to let ya'll know. I am going to go clean up her area and make things a bit more comfortable. And sit and watch. Gosh I hope we are done with rain for today. We are so waterlogged that it's not even funny.

 

[Kiki]

I have been fighting a migraine today so am feeling UGH but I went outside to clean the coops and collect what eggs have been laid. I got to the duck coop and brought my flashlight just in case Annabelle was off of the nest or if I decided to remove her so I could check the eggs since we are so close to time. I was squatted down, talking to her. I do a soft quack quack quack to her and tell her what a good momma she is. She hisses and me but sometimes does this high pitched peep peep peep (it's hard to explain) back to me. So I do a peep peep peep back to her. I hear a faint peep peep back. So soft that I thought I imagined it. I make the sound again. Nothing. I make the sound again. Wait! There it is again. Omgosh! I had to get a closer look.
View attachment 1823629
We have babies happening!!! It was no small feat for me to check, mind you. Ooooh, she is protective. It is a good thing her bites don't hurt. At least they didn't. But I was determined anyway. I saw that 2 have hatched. 1 looks healthy. I saw it preening its feathers.
View attachment 1823630
1 is deceased.
View attachment 1823631
I saw 2 eggs that have external holes but aren't fully zipped yet but we are on our way!
I am just beside myself right now. I knew I was off about the 26th being hatch day. That's why I always said 26th'ISH. But I thought maybe a couple days after not before. Anyway. The phone app wasn't working for me so I ran in the house to let ya'll know. I am going to go clean up her area and make things a bit more comfortable. And sit and watch. Gosh I hope we are done with rain for today. We are so waterlogged that it's not even funny.

Congratulations! I want to bring this last pictured one inside for a few days, until it absorbs everything.

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

Congratulations! I want to bring this last pictured one inside for a few days, until it absorbs everything.

That last one is the one that didn’t make it. It wasn’t breathing. I tried to rub it but it was gone.

 

[Kiki]

That last one is the one that didn’t make it. It wasn’t breathing. I tried to rub it but it was gone.

Sry.

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

Sry.

That’s ok. Thank you!

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

I went from omgosh this is so exciting mode to omgosh I don't have any feed for the babies and don't have their area all set up yet mode. I just got back from the store. I picked up some actual "duck feed". It says that it is from hatch to the point of them laying. I am trying this in the hopes that we won't have the niacin issues like we did before. I have the pine shavings out there already waiting for me to clean out the old and put in new and fresh. I already have some water mixed with hydrohen stuff in it made up for them. Hubby is almost home so he can help. I really hope the others hatch ok. I'll let y'all know how it's going.

 

[Kiki]

I went from omgosh this is so exciting mode to omgosh I don't have any feed for the babies and don't have their area all set up yet mode. I just got back from the store. I picked up some actual "duck feed". It says that it is from hatch to the point of them laying. I am trying this in the hopes that we won't have the niacin issues like we did before. I have the pine shavings out there already waiting for me to clean out the old and put in new and fresh. I already have some water mixed with hydrohen stuff in it made up for them. Hubby is almost home so he can help. I really hope the others hatch ok. I'll let y'all know how it's going.

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

We officially have 2 healthy and active webbies so far.

 

[debid]

If you want cherries for birds, the robins clean out my Nanking cherries as soon as they start turning red. They are a small cherry with a pit that is almost as big as the whole cherry.

I love my Evans Bali cherries as they are a full size cherry and make very good cherry pies and wonderful cherry jam. Your zones in Tennessee should allow you to grow both sweet cherries and pie cherries. Montmorency is an excellent pie cherry. I grew up near a huge Queen Anne cherry tree that can't be beat for an eating cherry.

Heh, yeah, should be able to grow a lot of things in TN according to zone. But, the insane spring temperature swings get the bing cherry and the apricot to flower before the last freeze every year. Never a single fruit from either. Plums are a 50/50. Peaches will produce but between the insects and brown rot, good luck getting them to ripen without a whole lot of spraying.

You can grow crabapples here without much trouble. And berries of all sorts.

 

[CrazyCrttr75]

Noah is trying to get a better look at what is making the peep peep peeps. I love this pic!

We found a baby duckling buried in the shavings of the nest. The shell was still attached and it is still alive and moving. We gingerly placed the duckling back in the nest and we're going to let mom do her thing. Here's hoping that it is still alive in the morning. I hope that is the right thing to do. One egg has a nice hole in it and the duckling is going to town trying to break free out of it. The other 2 eggs I will check in the morning. We went ahead and locked Annabelle in the coop with her babies. I am hoping that she will relax a bit and bond with them. We were trying to figure out how we could keep the babies safely inside that front porch of the coop with mom. Then I said, do we still have a baby gate? Voila! We found it and it can fit across and will keep Xena and Noah out of the food on the porch. We have a dish of food for them outside and they have a couple of waterers to choose from, so they're good. Thankfully it's not supposed to rain for the next few days.