Ducklings hatching

[ducknoob]

So my pekin has been sitting on a nest for a while now. She started with 10 eggs and they have slowly dissapeared. tonight one of the eggs was hatched and a duckling was laying in the nest. There are still 3 eggs left. Is there anything I need to do for the new duckling or just let the mom do her job?

 

[GitaBooks]

Sounds exciting!

Are the eggs being eaten or are they just infertile?

As for the duckling, mother hens almost always know just what to do. If the chick is being kept warm and isn't giving out frightened cheeps than it should be happy. They have a yolk that they absorbed before hatching and can live off of for the first couple days. Some ducklings are weaker than others, so much sure it has a surface it can easily grip when it learns to stand and feed, so it doesn't hurt its legs.
If the other eggs take too long hatching, the mother may leave with her one duckling, so keep an eye on the other eggs.


Best of luck to you!

 

[ducknoob]

Well I started with 10 eggs and have seen 3 laying in around the nest cracked open but not eaten. The eggs aren't empty so I don't think they are being eaten. As for the other 2 eggs that dissapeared I don't know where they went.

 

[GitaBooks]

I'm not quite sure what to think. Pekins are a large breed, so maybe she is accidentally breaking them when she gets up to feed. Perhaps another hen is breaking them.

 

[ducknoob]

i feed my ducks all flock pellets. It's for ducks over 8 weeks old. They are free range so they also eat whatever they find. Do I need to provide duckling food for the duckling or will the mother take care of that?

 

[GitaBooks]

I would suggest getting them duckling food unless there is plenty of food for them to forage for, as giving them adult food could poison them with too many minerals or stunt their growth without enough protein. You could feed starter for just the first week or so, and then let the ducklings out of the pen to forage.
It really depends on how much food is available and what nutrient content it has.

Hope this helps.