Help! Duckling hatching gone wrong!

[PenguPen]

Ok quick background... my friend called me as she knows I’ve gotten very into hatching chickens lately and told me.. “I just put some eggs in the incubator that I borrowed from my son, my husband didn’t collect them because they were on the ground, but said they were warm.” she picked up about 17 eggs, and put them in the incubator thinking they were chicken eggs, not knowing the duck had gotten into that coop. I came over and candled them at about 12-14 days since they were put in the incubator, could already see beaks poking into air cells. I knew then that the mother had been sitting on them for a bit, even if they were chickens. Only one of the 17 was an early death.
Didn’t think anything of it. I just took them off the rotation tray, and made sure to put more water in, brought it up to about 70% as that’s where I hatch my chicks. Told her to watch them that they should hatch in a day or two,and I would call her and check up or she could call me if she had any worries.
I called today only 4 days later and she said 2have broken the shell most of the way around, yesterday but stopped.
I rushed over afraid of what I was gonna find. When I got there I saw brown membraneson the 2 that were trying to zip. And NO water in the incubator! Humidity had dropped to like 38% I quickly put more water in, and set to work. Still thinking chicken... started cracking the two that had brown membranes hoping for the best. Didn’t dawn on me duck on either yet when I realized they weren't alive. Just moved on to one I saw that was just barely pipped. Candled it again, LIFE! Broke into the air cell a bit and got greeted by a cute little rounded beak. Then it hit me DUCK!!!
so I know nothing about duck hatching, but candled the rest, all we’re dead besides this one. No signs of life and very very fluid movements in the others or a very clearish spots that weren’t there before.

Now here is my issue and where I need help. This friend is going out of town in the morning For the whole weekend. I know her husband won’t do anything for the duckling, and even told me if it survives I can have it. But I know nothing about duck. What do I feed it? How do I care for it? I have no clue what breed. Can a duckling be on its own? I could put it with my chick, they are about 2 weeks old right now, and I have more due to hatch in about a week. I have a creek that runs behind my house For it to play in.
Help me outgive me a crash course in ducklings. Please help me save this baby!

 

[The Backyard Bantams]

Wish I could help, but I don’t know much about ducks. Do you have any chick starter? I think that would do it temporarily. Worst case you can try and give it some rice or wet bread? Good luck. I hope it survives! Try and find a duck expert on here. I’m new and I don’t know any.

 

[PenguPen]

Wish I could help, but I don’t know much about ducks. Do you have any chick starter? I think that would do it temporarily. Worst case you can try and give it some rice or wet bread? Good luck. I hope it survives! Try and find a duck expert on here. I’m new and I don’t know any.

that’s what I’m gonna do (Try chick starter). I don’t know the duck people either. I’m still new too. Welcome to BYC btw.

 

[15WildTurkey]

Unmedicated Chick starter with brewers yeast or even nutritional yeast. Niacin is super duper crucial for ducks. They grow ridiculously fast and are very heavy so their bone development is everything. Niacin and calcium helps with that. I dare say I would put it with the chicks in the absence of other duckies. It’ll need a water source it can dip it’s whole bill in. Needs to wash out its nose holes. The very best of luck.

 

[RainbowHen]

I used a spray bottle when incubating duck eggs and the humidity got low. Ducklings you can raise almost exactly like baby chickens. I never saw much difference. They're messier. Harder to keep dry. I used unmedicated chick feed for them. Then onto an All-Flock ration.

 

[CaliFarmsAR]

Ok quick background... my friend called me as she knows I’ve gotten very into hatching chickens lately and told me.. “I just put some eggs in the incubator that I borrowed from my son, my husband didn’t collect them because they were on the ground, but said they were warm.” she picked up about 17 eggs, and put them in the incubator thinking they were chicken eggs, not knowing the duck had gotten into that coop. I came over and candled them at about 12-14 days since they were put in the incubator, could already see beaks poking into air cells. I knew then that the mother had been sitting on them for a bit, even if they were chickens. Only one of the 17 was an early death.
Didn’t think anything of it. I just took them off the rotation tray, and made sure to put more water in, brought it up to about 70% as that’s where I hatch my chicks. Told her to watch them that they should hatch in a day or two,and I would call her and check up or she could call me if she had any worries.
I called today only 4 days later and she said 2have broken the shell most of the way around, yesterday but stopped.
I rushed over afraid of what I was gonna find. When I got there I saw brown membraneson the 2 that were trying to zip. And NO water in the incubator! Humidity had dropped to like 38% I quickly put more water in, and set to work. Still thinking chicken... started cracking the two that had brown membranes hoping for the best. Didn’t dawn on me duck on either yet when I realized they weren't alive. Just moved on to one I saw that was just barely pipped. Candled it again, LIFE! Broke into the air cell a bit and got greeted by a cute little rounded beak. Then it hit me DUCK!!!
so I know nothing about duck hatching, but candled the rest, all we’re dead besides this one. No signs of life and very very fluid movements in the others or a very clearish spots that weren’t there before.

Now here is my issue and where I need help. This friend is going out of town in the morning For the whole weekend. I know her husband won’t do anything for the duckling, and even told me if it survives I can have it. But I know nothing about duck. What do I feed it? How do I care for it? I have no clue what breed. Can a duckling be on its own? I could put it with my chick, they are about 2 weeks old right now, and I have more due to hatch in about a week. I have a creek that runs behind my house For it to play in.
Help me outgive me a crash course in ducklings. Please help me save this baby!

You can put chicks in with the duckling but make sure they get a long before you leave it completely with the chicks. Ducklings can also eat chick starter. Care for it like your chicks but they do need a bowl that they can dunk their head in if they want. See ducklings can get stuff in their noses and then they rinse it their nostrils out and ducklings are a lot more messy then chicks! When you give it water make sure it is room temp because the ducklings body is going to be warm so if you did cold water it can put them in shock! Hope this helps and if I think of anything else I will let you know!!

 

[libspeakin]

Make sure the food is unmediated. Otherwise you could kill the baby. And remember ducklings can’t swim. Their feathers are not yet ready

 

[Isaac 0]

To my knowledge, most chick starters contain something around, 25/30mg of niacin per kilo, and most brewers yeast contain around 5-15mg per two tablespoons. With Pekins were looking to be getting around 70mg of niacin per kilo, therefore not nearly enough.

You'd be better off feeding a feed formulated for all poultry or waterfowl, and addition using nutritional yeast which contains two to three times more niacin as brewers yeast.

Also not, that medicated chick starter won't kill a duckling, it's a very common myth.

 

[CaliFarmsAR]

Make sure the food is unmediated. Otherwise you could kill the baby. And remember ducklings can’t swim. Their feathers are not yet ready

Ducklings can swim after they hatch and at a few hours old!

 

[PenguPen]

Make sure the food is unmediated. Otherwise you could kill the baby. And remember ducklings can’t swim. Their feathers are not yet ready

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen hundreds of ducklings swimming with only down, not feathers.