Advice for abandoned ducklings

[HeatherEB]

Hi everyone! A friend recommended I reach out here for tips. Yesterday, a dog that had slipped its leash savaged a wild Muscovy hen. She fled, maybe mortally wounded, and has not come back for her five ducklings. I’m not in a situation where I can keep them, and have reached out to a local duck sanctuary that I hope might take them in.

There are five ducklings, and they hatched about 10 days ago (the mother had brought them by before while she snacked on seed fallen from my bird feeders). While I wait to hear back from the sanctuary, I fed them mashed banana yesterday, kept them watered, and as soon as the local feed store opened this morning, acquired duckling feed and a waterer and chick feeder. They’re currently supplied with duckling feed mixed with water, atop which I put more mashed banana (to induce them to use the chick feeder). They’re outside in a bin in the shade (as in the picture), just in case their mother comes back.

Yesterday their stool was fairly compact, tubelike, and dark, but today it is the color of milk chocolate and blobby like diarrhea. I imagine this is partly fruit and partly fear, but:

What can I do to keep them healthy (in this temp situation)? I’m particularly concerned about the loose stool issue.

What kind of bedding is best? Right now they’re on paper towels, and they dirty them with great rapidity. Should I get pine shavings or something else for the bottom of the bin I have them in?

Their waterer has a low rim, and dispenses water from a mason jar in the center (it’s in the picture). They’ve definitely used it, but I also read somewhere (in a burst of emergency reading yesterday) that ducklings need to be able to dunk their heads to prevent “sticky eye” but not immerse their bodies (they’re not yet producing oil for their down/feathers). I think this feeder is too shallow for head dunking. Should I supply them with a different waterer?

Their underbellies are damp and maybe flecked with diarrhea. Should I try to wash them? Should I give them water enough to fit themselves in, even if they’re not producing oil? Should I oil up my hands with baby oil or something else and handle them gently, just to transfer over some oil? I terrify them, so I have mostly left them alone except when supplying them with food and water, and changing the paper towels.

Tips very much appreciated to help me deliver them on in as good shape as possible!

 

[aesch]

Straw would be better than pine shaving or paper towels as they are likely to eat the paper and pine can irritate their lungs. Poop situation is okay for right now but hold off on the fruit, a little goes a long way with babies. They do need to dunk their heads completely. You can put a shallow container about an inch or two deep out for them. They'll get in and out as they want. Nature built in a self preservation mode that tells them when enough is enough. I put my ducklings in a large pool lined with straw and a plastic Tupperware filled with water they could easily climb in and out of and they were happy as could be. Sounds like you're doing a wonderful job as a first time duck mom. Congratulations.

 

[CaliFarmsAR]

Oh poor baby's!!

 

[Duckworth]

Just keep an eye out if you put bathing water in with them. Ducklings can get waterlogged and cold and become exhausted and unable to get themselves out of the water. If this happens, you will need to get them dried off in a towel and someplace where they can get warmed back up. I used a watered like the one you have with my ducklings. They just need to be able to keep their nostrils clear by dunking to the ends of their bills. Some people put water in a plastic container with a lid and cut a hole in the lid big enough to let the ducklings dunk their heads, but not climb into. The banana probably contributed to the runny stools. I would stick with the feed for now. If they get poop stuck on their bottoms, you can wipe it off with a damp paper towel or warm washcloth. I used pine (not cedar) shavings when my ducklings were small, then switched to straw when they got bigger. Ducklings are messy. They need water to help them swallow their food and tend to drop lots of food in their water.

Wild ducklings get oil from their mother's preening them and get warmth from sleeping under or against her. Try to keep the ducklings in a place where they can stay warm, but not overheated, especially overnight.

I hope you are soon able to find a wildlife rehabber or other appropriate place for these ducklings.

 

[HeatherEB]

Thank you all for the tips and well-wishes! I think I’ve made the ducklings more comfortable based on your feedback—their body language is happier and they’re feeding and grooming. I’ve also located a sanctuary that should take them in, and I think the ducklings will be in good shape when I head there Wednesday. Attached is a pic of the new & improved set-up. View attachment 1876104

 

[thumper650]

Thanks for taking them in!

 

[ThreeOfSeven]

Mix the duck starter with water making a mash and feed them from a jar top, something like a peanut butter jar top. You can also have a low dish of water nearby, similar to the jar top. My orphaned babies always dipped in water as they were eating. You can also add super-mashed hard boiled egg to the mash, if you need to encourage eating. (I used a little food processor. Made it so much easier. My babies didn't eat from chick feeders or waterers.

*Got 10 day-old wood ducklings in late June. 5 survived, and this week they turn 8 weeks. Should be ready to release within next week or two, when they start flying.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You can make them a waterer similar this way they can’t climb inside.

. Awesome news about finding someone to take them in!!

 

[DuckyDonna]

and even cheaper than Miss Lydia's you could use a butter dish or cool whip container too. I used puppy pads in the swimming pool brooder and when they started to get big and wanted out I stood cardboard up all around the pool with something behind it to hold it up.

 

[Duckworth]

I'm so glad you were able to find a sanctuary for them. You almost certainly saved their lives. Ducklings are pretty defenseless on their own. Well done!