HELP! Raising one duck

[3DLivestock]

So I got five duck eggs from a friend to incubate for fun. I had never incubated any eggs before but I’ve raised a ton of ducks and chickens so it was just something I wanted to try for fun. After the first two weeks, two of the eggs stopped Developing. Of course I was disappointed but I still had three more and so i wasn’t overly worried. Then at twenty five days one of the eggs pipped but died, probably because it started hatching too early. Again, I was disappointed but I had two left. Then one of the eggs hatched successfully and one of them never made it. Now I have one duckling, by itself. I know how important it is for ducks to have friends because they’re social animals. The duck is a week old and is fine except that unless it is with me, it is freaking out because it’s lonely. I have three other ducks but I can’t put it in with them because they’re very aggressive towards other ducks. They are about three years old. I had ordered five females and one male but then got three females and three males, whom the males have killed off the females due to aggressive breeding behavior, but that’s a whole different story. I dont know what I need to do to help this little guy and for the first time in a long time I feel clueless. I am a student so I can’t spend all my time with this little one. I know lone ducks don’t usually survive but I at least want to give him the best chance of hope possible. Anything helps.

 

[Jenbirdee]

because you have the 3 drakes, in my opinion you should try to find a new home for your new duckling. Chances are they will kill the duckling too at some point.
the other option is to get at least 3 sexed as female ducklings right away to be with your new duckling and they can be a flock of their own. Keep the old drakes separate run separate coop separate yard. If your new duckling turns out to be a drake it will be ok because he will have at least 3 girlfriends.

 

[Luv Ducks]

Get a mirror and put it in the brooder along with a stuffed or rubber animal of some sort to keep it company. It is bonding with you and since it has not seen other ducklings it thinks it is a human and not a duckling. Once you attach a mirror to the side of the brooder and it can see itself it will realize it is a duckling. I have raised one by itself before but got the mirror in with it right away along with the stuffed animal so that it would not attach itself to me. Good luck with this little one and hopefully you can find it some nice friends if it is a female. I would never let those drakes near it if it is not since they already have a bad track record with females.

 

[Kaiju]

I want to preface this by saying I have only kept ducks for 2 years, and there are others that will be far more experienced and knowlegeable than me.

However, my first duck was also a solo hatch. Wasn't meant to be, but out of 6 eggs, only he hatched.

From my experience, the sooner you can mix them with other ducklings, the better. Mine hatched late season too, so I had a bit of trouble finding other ducklings. By the time I did, he was 4 weeks old, and despite being older than the other ducklings (and I had a mirror in his brooder with him), he was terrified of them. It took months of slow introductions and he only wound up being ok with one duck in particular. She was very timid, but she decided he was the best thing ever, and he tolerated that. Eventually they bonded very closely and he has since been able to be introduced to other ducks.

I did however make the mistake of allowing him to imprint on and bond with me. Since I know that ducklings are not meant to be alone, he went everywhere with me. His brooder box came along to whatever room I was in, and he had one next to my bed so he could be near me when I slept. And of course, this reinforced his bond with me and made him distressed to be apart from me.

I never planned for a single duck or for one to be so fiercly imprinted on me, but he lived in my house til the following spring - and his "girlfriend" too once she was introduced, since it was too cold to start them outside. Pretty sure the amount of baby wipes I used could have made its own landfill. It was an intense experience, and while I love my boy to bits, I don't want to go through that again. I did not get to have much of a life outside of being with him.

So, I strongly recommend getting at least one other duckling to introduce to your solo one, ASAP. It is a lot more trouble when they imprint so fiercly on you, and they don't understand that they're a duck.

I also definitely wouldn't introduce this one or any other ducks to your 3 drakes... Even when this one grows up, especially if it is a female. They would absolutely not be safe around a single female.

Personally I'd be considering freezer camp for the 3 of them but I know that isn't everyone's cup of tea. So as someone else said, I'd see about either rehoming your duckling to someone with other similar age ducklings, or picking up more ducklings and planning on a separate coop and pen for them. 3 sexed females would be ideal as they already said.

But I also second putting a mirror in their brooder. You can get safe mirrors for budgies and stuff. And some fluffy stuffed toy for them to snuggle up to. The sooner you get them with other ducklings though, the better.