Duckling Colour

[Nighthawk78]

UPDATE: At one week, the four ducklings are doing great, they are growing rapidly and are getting quite boisterous, although they are not fond of swimming.
Flint, unfortunately, died because her mother didn't realize that her baby couldn't get back to the nest the same way she could, so her baby burned to death in the heat.
We had another little baby hatch (my friend insisted I call her Stormy because it suits her, but I feel weird about naming it that because of the other one, I don't know). She's kind of a weird story.
I found her egg, half open last night when I locked the others up for the night. She was covered in ants and flies. I brought her inside, washed the ants off her, picked the fly larvae out of the shell (there was heaps in there, it was gross) and she managed to squirm out of the egg overnight. This morning she was limp (still alive), but couldn't even hold her head up, not for lack of trying.
This afternoon she is doing better, she can hold her head up fairly well and she stumbles around the brooder, but she trips (a LOT), ends up on her back (a LOT), and seems to walk in circles and crash into walls. I'm not sure if she's still weak and just hasn't gotten her strength back from hatching or if she has some sort of brain damage. She responds to my voice and will peep a little occasionally, she is defecating fine, and has a bit of water from a syringe that I offered her, and is currently snuggled up asleep with her older siblings who are preening her (so adorable <3)
I'll see how she goes tomorrow but I'm wondering if she might be blind (I've never had a blind duck so I don't know how to tell). She's sticking with the other ducklings which I think is good, so she can stay warmer. They sort of run over her a little sometimes when they get too excited, but other than that, they are pretty good, they just sit around her, let her lean against them, and help preen her.

I tried to get a video of her, but I'm not sure how to attack it 'cuz it only seems to accept photos...?

Other than that she seems to be doing okay, moving around okay (aside from ending up on her back like a beetle), I think she tried to preen before, and she was checking out the water bowl with her sister. Hopefully she makes it through, 'cuz I have the worst history in anything surviving -.-

Stormy and her big brother Cloudy. He almost seems to be protective of her or something. They're snoozing together again right now and he's preening her. It's so cute.
And, of course, my parrot is very excited to have another baby to force feed...

 

[Miss Lydia]

I’d get some poultry nutri drench and offer her tiny amounts it wonderful for giving littles a good start. Can be given straight which is a good thing too. Just tiny drop right into the bill or dribbled along side. Sure hope she makes it they are adorable.

 

[Nighthawk78]

UPDATE 2.0: So this morning, another duckling out in the nest started to hatch under Grover. I decided to leave it and see how she goes, since she hasn't had a turn with any ducklings yet. This evening, while locking them away for the night, I find it on the floor, with ants. The skin on its hip is torn (you can actually see the muscles as they move) and it had an ant with its stinger still stuck in its foot. The poor thing was obviously in pain. In the past, I have been finding dead ducklings, half hatched, on the floor and I put it down to rats or mice or something. I think what's actually happened is they started to hatch, Grover freaked out and threw them out of the nest.
The little duckling has gone into the incubator, along with five other eggs that are still alive (I candled them).

HOWEVER

Given the fact that this duckling is already injured, I'm worried that if it tries to break out of the egg, it might hurt itself further, perhaps worsening its already existing injury to its leg. Should I try and free it a little bit more myself so it doesn't have to strain its leg so hard or just see how it goes? I have no idea what to do, I've only ever raised ducklings after they were already fully hatched, so I've never had to deal with the hatching part before, this is all new territory to me and I'm kinda nervous about it.
(I think Grover doesn't know what to do with them because she herself wasn't raised by her mother, I hand-raised her and her siblings after their other two siblings died by their foster mum, so she is either scared of them or she thinks they're impostors and tried to get rid of them, I don't really know.)

(S)he was not still bleeding when I found him, actually he didn't really look that bloody, maybe a bit around the wound but there wasn't much. He was peeping a lot when I was cleaning him up a bit (removing some of the shell that was around the wound and using a damp cotton tip to clean the wound itself and any dirt off the duckling). Like I said earlier, I don't actually know what I'm doing. I have a little bit of experience in what to do with animal first aid (our animals have a habit of being trouble magnets), but I've never really dealt with an injured animal this young... except that time some ducklings almost drowned and we kind of had to rescue them, but we use homeopathic remedies and I can't really give them to a duckling that's still in the shell... I think... Gonna have to go consult Mumma Homeopathic Master for that. Any ideas, suggestions or tips are greatly appreciated!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

One of your adults may have done the injury. I had a broody Muscovy attack her duckling when he was hatching I had to take him away I believe she would have killed him. Do you have any Vetercyn for wounds and infections. You could spray some on the wound and maybe you can post a pic of this one before you help it. How far along in hatching is it?

 

[chickens really]

Well many times young Hens will set eggs but get stressed once they hatch so kill them. If the other adult ducks have access to the Ducklings then I'm seriously thinking it's them who are killing the Ducklings. They don't have the hormones that drive them to protect the new hatching Ducklings.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Always best idea to keep any broody separated from the rest of the flock. That protects mama and ducklings from attacks and gives the ducklings time to bond and get strength before put out with everyone. I usually keep mine separated but where everyone can see each other for about 3 weeks.

 

[happy duck]

 

[Miss Lydia]

How’s the hatch going? @Nighthawk78

 

[Nighthawk78]

Not very well. The wound has widened with its struggling and there was a bit of pus earlier (what I think was pus anyway). Now it has dried over and it's kind of black (I'll try and attack a photo to it.) The duckling's breathing is slowing down, it takes a quick breath every few seconds then is deathly still. It's pulled its foot back inside the shell. I managed to see the yolk sac earlier, it hasn't been absorbed. It looks like it may have been popped and then dried to the shell, it looked quite dry. We have pretty much nothing for treating injuries, we've never dealt with this before and we have very little budget to spend on ducklings. As much as I'd like it to pull through, I'm afraid that even if it did, it would never be able to function like a normal duck. It's foot is kind of stiff (possibly from the ant stings/bites), and the wound is really not looking good at all. I'm not holding out much hope for it but as long as I can do something, I'll try my best.

Image may be graphic







On the bright side, little Stormy is doing better. She's perked up a bit since yesterday and is moving around the brooder with her siblings, especially Cloudy who seems to be her favourite. She's drinking and she had a bit of a splash in their water bowl earlier, so I managed to wash off any last fly eggs that may have remained from her hatch (I didn't want to do it while she was still weak). She's holding her head up fine. Not sure if she's eating or not but for now she seems to be progressing nicely. It took Cloudy several days before he was running around like the others, and now he's as active as the rest of them.

The other eggs in the brooder seem to be doing okay, I can seem two of them especially rocking back and forth occasionally.

In future, when our ducks go broody, I'm going to set them up in a separate enclosure so they can hatch and raise the ducklings in peace.


EDIT: In the time it took me to write this post, little Marshmallow has sadly passed away. As I suspected, the yolk sac had burst, and I believe her injuries were worse than I originally believed

 

[Miss Lydia]

So sorry about little Marshmallow but after all you said it was for the best. That is great Stormy is active now!! Make sure to check her vent area for the maggots too. Good luck with the rest of your hatch. Keep us updated.