Ducklings dead. what did i do wrong???

3ducklings

Hatching
Apr 4, 2017
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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
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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
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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!
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It was quite unfortunate.
Oh, I'll do that. Sorry for posting in the wrong place!

Technically you did not post in the wrong place and no need for apologies.

The New Member Introductions gives us the opportunity to welcome you and hopefully point you in the right direction if you do have any questions which is what happened so it worked well
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Probably a combination of things. Ducklings need water to swallow food. They will not be able to eat if they can't get a drink of water to swallow down the food. While ducklings don't need to be kept quite as warm as chicks, they still need constant access to a heat source so that they can warm up if needed.
 
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Poor babies may have been out in the cold, hungry and thirsty for too long. Were they wild type ducks? Maybe the mother was killed - so they were left alone.
 
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Sorry for the loss of the ducklings. It doesn't sound like they had the best start in life before you found them.

I hope this won't sour you on getting other ducks or poultry, when they have a good start, they'll do well.
 

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