Our Ducklings just hatched, how long before I have to put food and water in there for them? When can I move them from the incubator to the brooder....first time hatching eggs, can't believe how exctiting it is!!!
They SHOULD be okay for 12-24 hours, receiving nutrients from their yolk sac. However, once they're dry and fluffy, I'd move them to an already-warm brooder with food and water at the ready. (A trick I use on quail and chickens is to add boiled egg yolk crumbled on their food. The theory is that they like to peck at the color. If that doesn't work, you could always add a little bit of tender green grass.) Also, you may want to touch their beaks into their waterer--just for a second or two--watch to see that they swallow when you lift them back up. Don't do what *I* did...my kids and I couldn't wait and put them in the bathtub when they were about one week old for too long, and they became drunk! (Literally rolling around on their backs, unable to hold heads up normally.) The only way we saved them was to dry them off immediately--we thought they were "sick"--they just had too much water. Have fun! Chanda
