Am I supposed to let the duckling run around?

Cest La Vie

Songster
5 Years
Oct 11, 2015
38
39
109
Hello everyone!

I randomly tried to incubate a balut duck egg from my local market and to my surprise, it actually hatched yesterday regardless of being stored at strange temperatures, having a detached air cell, etc. I had to assist as it pipped in only one spot for 48 hours and the shell did not even break. After countless hours of questioning myself and watching videos, I gently chipped away at the shell and it just popped right out! All blood vessels were empty and the yolk was fully absorbed.

It was actually my first time hatching anything and this is my first time having a duck/duckling.

The problem right now is that I can't seem to find any other ducklings for it. I tried 4 different feed stores and have searched all over my local listings.
I put a fluffy little teddy bear in its pen and it snuggles up to it. I've been spending a lot of time with it by holding it, etc.

My question is since it's all alone, whenever I put it back in its pen, all it does is snuggle up to the teddy bear and sleep. Is that normal? Should I be making it run around in the backyard by following me, the way mama ducks do? Or do ducklings usually just sleep under their Mom the first few days?

I taught it how to eat and drink. It actually seems really healthy as it's able to run fast, is really active, chirps a bunch, and eats! If I just let it sleep in the pen, will it not grow up to be a healthy duck? Thankfully, it seems like I found someone that has an egg that will hatch either tonight or tomorrow so it will have a buddy in there soon.

(Blood is from it's umbilical cord?)
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What a cutie. 🥰

At this age they do sleep a lot so I wouldn't worry too much at this stage. They get more active once they are about a week old or so.

I hope the future friend hatches successfully.
 
Cute duckling! Definitely no need to make it run around, all little ducklings will sleep a lot for the first week or so. Also, they get cold and tired very easily, so it’s best to just leave it in the brooder, where it will be warm. Hope you find him a friend, and good luck!

Even if he cries, it's okay to just leave him in there? the cries break my heart!
 
What a cutie. 🥰

At this age they do sleep a lot so I wouldn't worry too much at this stage. They get more active once they are about a week old or so.

I hope the future friend hatches successfully.
Perfect! Thank you so much!
 
Even if he cries, it's okay to just leave him in there? the cries break my heart!
He will cry because a duckling isn't supposed to be alone, so he's just looking for company. It's very difficult to have a lone duckling, chick etc and they do become attached to the person caring for them, so even when he does have a friend he may still cry for you, but with a bit of tough love he should soon settle down and find comfort in his friend.
 
He will cry because a duckling isn't supposed to be alone, so he's just looking for company. It's very difficult to have a lone duckling, chick etc and they do become attached to the person caring for them, so even when he does have a friend he may still cry for you, but with a bit of tough love he should soon settle down and find comfort in his friend.
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