Duck hatch, Kahki Campbells, young hen

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Auntie @SilverBirds they got out of the shell all on their own (thank you lord! *Phew*!)

The 4 remaining eggs I will check on late tonight (when it is dark) so far the shells are unbroken, but the momma may be hearing them in the eggs because she is very protective of them.

 

[SilverBirds]

Auntie @SilverBirds they got out of the shell all on their own (thank you lord! *Phew*!)

The 4 remaining eggs I will check on late tonight (when it is dark) so far the shells are unbroken, but the momma may be hearing them in the eggs because she is very protective of them.

View attachment 3420696

Congrats to you and momma duck! They are precious.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Funny, I basically did nothing (duck-momma ran the show, all I did was bring her food & water), but somehow it feels like I was part of a winning team.

the whole time I (thought) I was being casual maybe even cold or kind of negative to the idea of new little lives to be responsible for, but as soon as I saw those little fluff balls I was as guidy as a 5 yr old.

How is it that they steal your heart so fast and so hard? (And we keep coming back for more!)

I checked the last 4 eggs and none of the shells have cracks, so I didn't candle them. I let her keep them as she loves them very much. But I don't think they will hatch. But 3 is fine, nice little flock. Five with the first two means if I can't rehome them I can handle this size flock here.

Not sure how to remove the remaining eggs if she keeps wanting to protect them. I guess she will lose interest...

 

[SilverBirds]

Often times I have one or two stragglers in a hatch. I'd say keep them for another day or two, candle, and if you don't see any pips, shadowing, or movement, toss them out.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

Funny, I basically did nothing (duck-momma ran the show, all I did was bring her food & water), but somehow it feels like I was part of a winning team.

the whole time I (thought) I was being casual maybe even cold or kind of negative to the idea of new little lives to be responsible for, but as soon as I saw those little fluff balls I was as guidy as a 5 yr old.

How is it that they steal your heart so fast and so hard? (And we keep coming back for more!)

I checked the last 4 eggs and none of the shells have cracks, so I didn't candle them. I let her keep them as she loves them very much. But I don't think they will hatch. But 3 is fine, nice little flock. Five with the first two means if I can't rehome them I can handle this size flock here.

Not sure how to remove the remaining eggs if she keeps wanting to protect them. I guess she will lose interest...

Mom will abandon the last eggs after about 48 hours and start taking the babies away from the nest
I would candle those eggs ti see if there is babies ready in there
If there is and you have a bator I would have it ready
She will even leave the nest when there are ones in the middle of hatching if the time frame is up

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

You were right, she gave up on them about 48hrs after initial pipping of the others. I don't have an incubator so it wasn't possible to take over for her.

I am sad, I promised myself I would not open the eggs, but I did, in case I could help. They had already passed. I don't know... if it might have acted differently ... If I had more experience... they might have lived.

We'll see if I am ever in this position again. For now there is nothing my tears or guilt can accomplish.

I am trying to tell myself that this is where natural selection happens, the strongest fastest babies survived to make more babies. But there is guilt when you see the tiny baby snug in his shell, waiting for life.

Now will come the next stage... Figuring out how many girls/ boys I have and finding homes for (any or all) of them, if I can. Otherwise building a new gender segregated duck coop.

So far her 3 are a lot of running around which is nice to see.

I'll call the only duck vet in my area to see about vaccination. I would like to wait as long as possible as the car ride will be long and stressful, I don't want to put them at risk of illness by taking them too young.

Thank you so much for your patience with me. Wish I could have found a way to take a picture while candling the eggs. I guess I need to find a good flashlight for next time this happens.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

You were right, she gave up on them about 48hrs after initial pipping of the others. I don't have an incubator so it wasn't possible to take over for her.

I am sad, I promised myself I would not open the eggs, but I did, in case I could help. They had already passed. I don't know... if it might have acted differently ... If I had more experience... they might have lived.

We'll see if I am ever in this position again. For now there is nothing my tears or guilt can accomplish.

I am trying to tell myself that this is where natural selection happens, the strongest fastest babies survived to make more babies. But there is guilt when you see the tiny baby snug in his shell, waiting for life.

Now will come the next stage... Figuring out how many girls/ boys I have and finding homes for (any or all) of them, if I can. Otherwise building a new gender segregated duck coop.

So far her 3 are a lot of running around which is nice to see.

I'll call the only duck vet in my area to see about vaccination. I would like to wait as long as possible as the car ride will be long and stressful, I don't want to put them at risk of illness by taking them too young.

Thank you so much for your patience with me. Wish I could have found a way to take a picture while candling the eggs. I guess I need to find a good flashlight for next time this happens.

Don’t feel guilt about the ones left behind
In future if you want to be able to jump in if needed grab a second hand bator in case
If not let nature go as it should
You have 3 little babies to love and enjoy
They aren’t like chickens they don’t need vaccines
I honestly don’t know Of anyone who has vaccinated the ducks

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Not the happiest picture post I have ever done... And gosh I didn't want to do it... But if the images help someone, someday, and reduce the suffering in the world... My sorrow (and guilt) are less important than sharing them... So many of the images that helped me came from someone who would have much preferred not not have them to post

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

Don’t feel guilt about the ones left behind

Thank you, I needed to hear that.