Distressed mother duck

[Waddles8097]

Hello, I’ve had a situation today and separated my Peking ducklings from their mother. I believe something may have gone wrong during incubation or right after hatching and we lost 5 of the 8 ducklings. After that I believed their best chance of survival were to remove the ducklings that hatched successfully and the eggs that externally pipped so they could be monitored inside.Unfortunately this left the mother in great distress and has been looking for her babies since. Im no longer sure if this was the right decision after seeing how upset she got. Is there anything I could do to help calm her down?

 

[nuthatched]

Unless you're sure the mother inadvertently caused the deaths, I'd give her back her babes.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hello, I’ve had a situation today and separated my Peking ducklings from their mother. I believe something may have gone wrong during incubation or right after hatching and we lost 5 of the 8 ducklings. After that I believed their best chance of survival were to remove the ducklings that hatched successfully and the eggs that externally pipped so they could be monitored inside.Unfortunately this left the mother in great distress and has been looking for her babies since. Im no longer sure if this was the right decision after seeing how upset she got. Is there anything I could do to help calm her down?

I agree with @nuthatched she worked hard brooding and like said if she didn't cause the deaths she should have the privilege of raising them. Especially since it is rare a Pekin even goes broody and sticks the whole time to hatch. Just make sure to keep mama and ducklings in a safe environment so nothing can get to them.

There are times when it's necessary to take the ducklings so you have to make that decision if you did the right thing.