dead ducklings! what did i do wrong???

[3ducklings]

Hi all! Maybe someone can give me an idea of what I have done wrong with 2 ducklings.
I found 3 ducklings in the middle of the road, trying to get away from passing by traffic. I stopped to get them. They were tinny little things scared to death. Mom was no where around. After a long waiting, trying to lure them, I got 2, the third run away never to be found.
So I got them home, planning to get them strong enough to survive a 2 hour drive to the bird shelter the following Monday.
I got them all sorts of foods I could get info on. Shopped vegetables, rice, different seeds, egg yolk, even bread. They barely ate or drink. Put them in a card box full of hay and turned a lamp on. The following morning one had passed away

The other one was really fragile. He didn't eat or drink. Out of despair I put it in a mild water in a box with food to swim and he started eating and drinking! He got worse again, very sleepy and seemed cold, so I just turn the eat on and held him close to my belly so he could get warm.He got better again, and we went hunting for live worms and bugs. He ate lots and drank and slept. When I got him again to his box, he just curled inside the blanket. When he didn't respond, I found him dead

I m sorry for the long post. But i really got attached to the little creatures and really want to know what I might have done that killed them. I started considering having ducks, but they seem so fragile!

 

[Messica]

It could have been stress, or they were ill/injured from the get go and that's why mom wasn't around (rejected or passed herself too).

I've done the same thing. It's crushing when you try so hard only lose them. Your heart was in the right place and you did the best you could. At least they passed with warmth and peace vs the alternative if you'd have left them out there.