I started this post in an established thread under another topic, but thought I would re-post it here for help and input.
Late yesterday, baby mallards were trapped in a storm drain. 4-5 people got together to rescue them. Mama mallard was around for a time, but then left. (I live in a semi-residential/rural area.) Since it was late, the babies would not be safe from predators if they left them on site. Only a little distance away, a friend lost her whole flock of hens to a predator (except the lone survivor, who now lives with my hens -- we call her Lucky).
One of the rescuers is our town's wildlife/animal person (not sure of exact title). She also works full-time at a shelter and part-time at a turtle rescue. Another one of my friends was there. I know they would have left the babies on-site if they thought they would be safe and successfully reunited with the mother. They checked this morning to see if the mother was around, and she wasn't.
About 6:30-7:00 pm, I got a call, and I rushed together some accommodations for these little ones. I am less than a week away from getting more chicks for my tiny flock (I have 3 hens), so I had a lot of the resources on hand. Suffice to say, the 10 ducklings slept well in a large plastic container with a mama cave, water, and crumbles (albeit, chick crumbles).
This morning, I made them some mash with lettuce, corn, carrots, and mealy worms. Just a few minutes ago, I made up a finely mashed mix of hard boiled egg and mealy worms. My husband also brought home duckling crumbles (22% protein). Also this morning, I added a scant of water to my work sink, temperature was tepid, and let the ducklings splash about a bit.
They're starting to settle in, although I still have jumpers trying to work their way out of the box.
Any help or advice is appreciated!
Now, for the pictures!
Late yesterday, baby mallards were trapped in a storm drain. 4-5 people got together to rescue them. Mama mallard was around for a time, but then left. (I live in a semi-residential/rural area.) Since it was late, the babies would not be safe from predators if they left them on site. Only a little distance away, a friend lost her whole flock of hens to a predator (except the lone survivor, who now lives with my hens -- we call her Lucky).
One of the rescuers is our town's wildlife/animal person (not sure of exact title). She also works full-time at a shelter and part-time at a turtle rescue. Another one of my friends was there. I know they would have left the babies on-site if they thought they would be safe and successfully reunited with the mother. They checked this morning to see if the mother was around, and she wasn't.
About 6:30-7:00 pm, I got a call, and I rushed together some accommodations for these little ones. I am less than a week away from getting more chicks for my tiny flock (I have 3 hens), so I had a lot of the resources on hand. Suffice to say, the 10 ducklings slept well in a large plastic container with a mama cave, water, and crumbles (albeit, chick crumbles).
This morning, I made them some mash with lettuce, corn, carrots, and mealy worms. Just a few minutes ago, I made up a finely mashed mix of hard boiled egg and mealy worms. My husband also brought home duckling crumbles (22% protein). Also this morning, I added a scant of water to my work sink, temperature was tepid, and let the ducklings splash about a bit.
They're starting to settle in, although I still have jumpers trying to work their way out of the box.
Any help or advice is appreciated!
Now, for the pictures!
