Help please with first hatch

[WVduckchick]

Oh, I just looked at the brooder pic again. The rocks in the water tray are good, but you may leave a little more space between a few of them so the ducklings can get their entire bill down into it. They will scoop the water. I think I used about 6-8 pebbles around it, with open spaces between some.
And watch that they don't "eat" the wood chips. You can cover them for a few days with a towel, if they seem to want to eat it. Some do, some don't.

 

[lj2016]

We'll leave him another hr or so and then whip him in to the brooder. I have no soft toys so put some small rubber bath ducks I have inside and a folded towel for some softness. I'll try and find him a stuffed companion tomorrow

 

[lj2016]

He's out and in the brooder. New issue is the heat lamps making the brooder 120° which is way to high right? I don't think the chick is clever and mobile enough yet to move to the other end where it's cooler. I've actually pointed the heat lamp upwards so it's no longer pointing directly in to the brooder and let's see what happens to the temperature. It's in a room with the air con vent closed off so the room should retain sufficient heat I hope.

 

[Ravynscroft]

He's out and in the brooder. New issue is the heat lamps making the brooder 120° which is way to high right? I don't think the chick is clever and mobile enough yet to move to the other end where it's cooler. I've actually pointed the heat lamp upwards so it's no longer pointing directly in to the brooder and let's see what happens to the temperature. It's in a room with the air con vent closed off so the room should retain sufficient heat I hope.

Looks like you have a clamp for the heat lamp, yes? Just put someting stable like a straight backed chair next to the tub and clamp it on that to raise it higher from the brooder... also, I would use some wire to secure it, sometimes clamps fail... and old wire hanger would even work... and an unbreakable mirror in with the lone duckling will help it feel like it has a buddy for now...

Great job, glad you got one to hatch!

 

[lj2016]

Thanks - I'll get a mirror tomorrow and a similar sized stuffed toy. Got the brooder to 95° which I think is about right? I'll secure the lamp/clamp as well, that's a good idea as I hadn't thought of that falling. Let's hope he's ok when I wake

 

[Ravynscroft]

Thanks - I'll get a mirror tomorrow and a similar sized stuffed toy. Got the brooder to 95° which I think is about right? I'll secure the lamp/clamp as well, that's a good idea as I hadn't thought of that falling. Let's hope he's ok when I wake

95° is ok as long as there are cooler spots too... most of the temp stuff is for chicks though, ducklings go a slight bit cooler like 90° and they tend to be quicker to lower the heat on as well... all that thick down they get keeps them warmer than chickens...

Glad to help... fire danger is the biggest issue with those heat lamps... I also prefer to plug a dimmer switch to mine, much easier to control the temps...

Good luck and hope all goes well!

 

[lj2016]

Thank you. I'm just so happy in finally got one to hatch ok! The pekins we have that are now adults we had from about a week old and they never even needed the heat lamp, but then they had eachother to cuddle. Our lil duckling is nice and fluffy this morning, a few sticky patches so I'll let him have his first supervised swim in a paint roller tray to clean him off

 

[WVduckchick]

You gotta post some pics!

Did the other one hatch?

 

[lj2016]

After no movement in the pipped egg for over 24 hrs, miraculously this little fella popped out, about 30 hrs after it first pipped! I left him in the hatcher 10 hours and he didn't fluff up very much so I removed him and dripped some warm water over his head/back and he's started preening as his feathers are a little crusty. My concern with this second one is 2 things: 1 - he can chirp normally but mostly the chirp is raspy and his breath seems almost laboured when he tries, and 2 - there was a large pile of gunk left when he hatched, I assume this is the yolk which wasn't absorbed I'd say about an inch long by half and inch wide and it was gunky and black/almost mould colour looking, no blood or veins that I can see. The second fella is trying to snuggle with the first one but so far the first one is having none of it and running away! Hopefully they'll bond soon. So's not to scare the newer one I'll wait and bath them in shallow warm water tomorrow to try and get off any remaining crusty down. Am really hoping this second one makes it ok, you'll see our first one is nice and fluffy now and he's eating and drinking ok, so far the new one took only 1 sip of water and nothing else. Any thoughts/advice?

?

 

[WVduckchick]

e congrats! They are precious!

Every bit of that is perfectly normal. Ducks can take even 48 hours, so 30 is fine. The gunk is also normal. His voice will likely fix up when he starts drinking good. And they will definitely bond soon.
Also there is no rush to get them cleaned off, they will do it on their own, and will even preen each other.

So happy for you!