HELP Mum isn’t sitting on ducklings

[IHaveADuckCalledDonald]

Hey everyone,
I really really need help. I just lost a duckling because the mum wasn’t sitting on it to keep it warm and I can see another few ducklings shivering. How to aid the mum in sitting on them?
how high does a heat lamp need to go?
i need urgent help please.i already lost heaps of eggs during the incubation period.

 

[JaeG]

Some ducks are good at the sitting part, but haven't got a clue when babies appear. It's probably best if you take over this part, at least for now so that you don't lose any ducklings to exposure.

Do you have a thermometer you can put under the heat lamp to make sure it's an ok temperature? It should be around 90 but you can also let the ducklings tell you. If they avoid being under it and are very spread out then it's too hot. If they are huddled together and complaining, it's too cold. If they are near the heat and look content you've got it just right.

 

[Sablehaven]

Take them inside immediately, though I'm sure you've already done that. They need a section of their cage to be approximately 90F. As for convincing her, some ducks are just bad mothers. You can put her in a confined space with them, but watch very carefully that she isn't aggressive to them.

 

[IHaveADuckCalledDonald]

I’ve got them inside but one of them is constantly sleeping and their head is rolling to the side! I have absolutely no idea what to do and it was fine like 20 mins ago! Is he too hot/cold? Too stressed? I have no idea pease help!

 

[IHaveADuckCalledDonald]

However the other babies seem perfectly fine with temp so maybe it’s just that one baby?

 

[IHaveADuckCalledDonald]

The mum seems very distressed that her babies are gone, what do you suggest I do? I know that she’s being a bad mother but I feel really bad. How do I calm her down?

 

[nao57]

The babies falling to sleep with their head down or to the side is fine. (But sometimes they'll do that when tired and stressed out, so you can try to limit them being stressed also. I see some of mine doing that.)

But the temperature does need to be consistent.

Some people make homemade warmers/heaters using light bulbs, or just hang a heat lamp. You can do something like this also. (But you want to make sure you can take no chances with fire hazards. Make sure it can't fall or get bumped into flammable material, etc.)

How many ducklings do you have? (This can help us know how big an area you need.)

One of my homemade incubators is just a light bulb hanging into the side of a plastic tote box. You could put them in something like that.

But my favorite setup is just a cheap budget kiddy pool from Walmart with a heat lamp hanging over it. This is easy to clean and maintain also.

 

[Sonya9]

I would bring the mom in and let her be with the babies.

 

[IHaveADuckCalledDonald]

I’ve got 7 3 day olds in a reasonably sized storage box (plastic container) with larger sized wood shavings for bedding. I’ve covered half the box with a towel and provided them with food and water. I’ve got a 250W red heat lamp hanging about 70cm above the floor (like double the height of the box). The box is in the laundry (fairly small) and I have the door to the rest of the house open for a little airflow for if it gets hot. I’m so glad your babies do that too! I was so worried that he was dying or something and I couldn’t find anything to ‘fix’ it online so I got so scared! quick question: should I be waking up every few hours of the night to check on them? And can I leave the lamp on overnight? Thank you so much for replying, it’s only my second batch of ducklings (the first batch was 2 years ago) and I’m sooo inexperienced. Again, thank you kind person, I really really appreciate it!!

 

[IHaveADuckCalledDonald]

I would bring the mom in and let her be with the babies.

But she wasn’t sitting on them and keeping them warm, I feel so much better having them inside where I can keep an eye on them and I can cope with a mad mum then with 7 dying babies.