10 Baby Wood Ducks (1st thought they were Mallards)

[Miss Lydia]

Is that duck weed floating on top?

 

[The Phantom]

They will love that

 

[ThreeOfSeven]

Is that duck weed floating on top?

Yes, I believe it is. It's going to rain tomorrow, so I'll figure how to get it to them in the box.

 

[ThreeOfSeven]

Gave them some pond water with duck weed. They're loving it! <Sorry, no pics. Left cell phone in house.>

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

I have 1 baby Mallard. Sadly 9 of his/her siblings passed before I got them and 1 more passed after (another mother duck snapped its neck because their mom was really small and it was her first brood so she didn’t know how to care for them good). We gave him a slipper to snuggle in (worked better then stuffed animal because he could cuddle onto the inside, but with so many stuffed animals may work better) We are going to release him once he’s older (with another group of ducklings we are hoping will accept him)

 

[ThreeOfSeven]

I have 1 baby Mallard. Sadly 9 of his/her siblings passed before I got them and 1 more passed after (another mother duck snapped its neck because their mom was really small and it was her first brood so she didn’t know how to care for them good). We gave him a slipper to snuggle in (worked better then stuffed animal because he could cuddle onto the inside, but with so many stuffed animals may work better) We are going to release him once he’s older (with another group of ducklings we are hoping will accept him)

The slipper is such a cool idea! Keeping these guys alive is tough. I told my husband tonight that it was like a house of cards. One wrong move and the whole thing collapses. I was told a couple of times from experienced people that Wood Ducks are tough. <sigh> And then, someone who was trying to make me feel better after losing my last duckling told me that if every baby survived, we would have an overpopulation of wildlife. In other words, not all are meant to survive.

Doesn't matter. It breaks my heart to lose one.

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

The slipper is such a cool idea! Keeping these guys alive is tough. I told my husband tonight that it was like a house of cards. One wrong move and the whole thing collapses. I was told a couple of times from experienced people that Wood Ducks are tough. <sigh> And then, someone who was trying to make me feel better after losing my last duckling told me that if every baby survived, we would have an overpopulation of wildlife. In other words, not all are meant to survive.

Doesn't matter. It breaks my heart to lose one.

It always hurts to lose them. We lost over 25 this year (they had wild parents and it was out of our control) and only 7 survived out of the 4 broods. The worst part is this happens every year and those who do survive come back the next year and their own babies get stuck keep me updated on if they make it

 

[casportpony]

Video of the babies playing in their mud puddle. They swam in the *pond* too, but didn't get it on this video.

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

I'm sorry to hear that you lost some. Ducklings are so adorable, and yours are no exception. It seems like, regardless of what the adult looks like, babies are always cute.
I hope that the rest of your ducklings pull through. Good luck!

 

[ThreeOfSeven]

I'm sorry to hear that you lost some. Ducklings are so adorable, and yours are no exception. It seems like, regardless of what the adult looks like, babies are always cute.
I hope that the rest of your ducklings pull through. Good luck!

Thanks! Their lives are so fragile. They can be thriving, and in a couple of hours (or so it seems), things can go downhill without the possibility of a correction. I see the 5 I have now. All are vibrant, active, eating, etc. Tomorrow morning might be a different picture. Then I beat myself up -- what did I do wrong? <sigh>