Babies born!! see the cuteness! 8 babies but one is blind

[kylee2katie]

A month or so ago, I lost all but 2 of my ducks. I was blessed during this nighmare that the two that remained were a pair of mallards - Nana and Boom-Boom - she started a nest, and I decided to let her have a go at it....Friday night we had our first baby and the other 7 were hatched off and on all day Saturday. She had 12 eggs, 3 duds, 1 that tried to hatch but didn't make it out....and 8 of the cutest fluffs!! Here are a few of the hundreds of pics me and my girls have taken this weekend.

On a sad note, it appears that one of these is completely blind. Does anyone have experience with a blind duckling? What can I do for it? Also, some of them have orange legs and feet, some more of a darker brown/black - does this have anything to do with the sex?

 

[AustinM741]

I'd see how the blind one does with the mom and other babies..if it seems to be getting weaker or getting lost, I'd get a friend to go take it from her. I wouldn't suggest you do it, she'd lose all trust in you if you take her baby. You would have to raise it in this case.

Oh yeah, CONGRATULATIONS on the babies..they're adorable.

 

[desertdarlene]

Awww, they're adorable! There are several people here on BYC who have raised blind or nearly blind ducks who might be able to help you. It's possible that it may be able to follow his/her mother's and siblings' vocalizations to find food and water.

I don't know why some might have orange feet at a young age other than that there might be some other breed in the ancestry leaking through. But, it's not an indicator of gender.

 

[kylee2katie]

Quote:
Thank you! You can see in the picture with mom & dad with the babies, it is the one closest to mom....it eats and drinks and follows them all but gets lost easily. Dad actually did a great job last night of herding that one to the nest - the others were already in but this one was just wandering around - I actually made the mistake of thinking I could pick it up and put it in the nest with mom earlier in the day - wrong....I have a blood blister on my wrist to prove it!!
I work outside the home and live 30 miles from the house....I can't have a house duck.....I really hope this one is able to survive without its eyesight....

 

[AustinM741]

I hope it makes it.

Keep us posted as they get bigger.

 

[kylee2katie]

I looked through my pictures and found two pictures of the baby in question. The first is easy to see the milky white eyes. In the second picture, it is the one on the top left. I am assuming by its actions and the solid white eyes, that it is blind....

 

[desertdarlene]

I wonder if it's third eyelid is stuck? I've heard of that happening. Perhaps someone else can help you with that. I think they can see a little bit through the third eyelid, but I'm not sure..

 

[kylee2katie]

Quote:
I have never heard of that - I will look into it - thanks for a ray of hope!!

 

[DuckLover9138]

Hi. I was wondering how many month old was your hen before she hatched her eggs?

 

[dianaross77]

They sure are cute little buggers.