I hope I did this right... :(

[justusnak]

I went out today to check the progress of my little mallards nest. Yesterday she had one that was pipped!! I was soooo excited! This is her 3rd or 4th nest...nothing hatched before.

She was at the pond just quacking up a storm, like something was bothering her. So anyways, I went out there to check on her..fearing the worst....snake! The hatching egg was gone! Not in the nest. I poked around in the straw, and found the hatching egg burried. It was cold....and about half hatched. I just knew it was dead.

So, I decided to carefully peel the rest of the egg off, just to see what " would have been" ( she has no Mallard male.) IT TOOK A BREATH!! OMG! I ran inside with it, ran some warm water, and with it cupped in my hands, ran warm water through my hands to warm the baby. It started squirming, and weakly cheeping. I got out the blow dryer and went to get the bator warmed up. 30 min into drying the baby....it started to peep! The bator was at 100 degrees, so in it went with a damp cloth. So, now it has been in the bator for almost 2 hours...I hear peeping...how long do I keep it in there, and when do I offer it food and water? Help! I so want this little one to make it!

 

[homesteader34]

AWWWW I dont know. Im new at all of this. But ill keep my fingers crossed for you!

 

[nuchickmama]

justusnak, I also have 2 ducklings that somehow have made it through my newbie-ism. I found a good website that helps with some things and maybe it will help you. liveducks.com/care.html. Good Luck!!!

 

[justusnak]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I will check into that site. I have raised chickens from hatch, just not ducks! And this one looks soooo helpless!

 

[justusnak]

ok, out of the incubator...into the small brooder..all alone

when should I try giving it water? It was "hatched" around 2 pm...monday afternoon ( the 4th)

 

[birdlover]

Deb,
You know your it's mother, right?! That precious little life saw you first so you're IT!

I would give it a shallow dish of water and NONmedicated chick starter. It probably doesn't need anything the first 48 hours like chicks. Good save, girl!!!! That is just so wonderful. Were there any other eggs or was she just sitting on one? I incubated duck eggs once and only one hatched. It was miserable if I wasn't in his/her sight at all times so be prepared!! Can't wait to see pics!

Ellen

 

[justusnak]

Ellen, she has 3 more eggs out there still. I just didnt have it in me to take them away from her. She has tried so hard to hatch eggs. I will watch for more pipping...might have to take them in the end.

I am a momma duck.....Ohhhh boy!!

I dont have any non medicated chick feed. I sifted through the cracked corn I have for the larger ducks..and gathered the " corn dust" Mixed it with some oatmeal..in warm water, and made a mash. Added a few drops of vitamins. This will have to do for a few days, untill I can get to the feed store. I will try to get pics tomorrow. This being a momma is hard...been a few weeks since we have done this.

 

[BeckyLa]

I love this story! This is soooo great that you could save this little ducking. Since I have never raised ducks, I am wondering why you don't give it back to it's mother. It's what I do in such situations with chicks so I'm just curious.

 

[Equest94]

Haha! That is wonderful! Fast thinking - good job on your part. The chick starter I have is from the brand - Dumor...it comes in this yellow-orange bag. You can get it at a Tractor Supplies store if you have any in your area....it says it's great for ducks too, so you might want to look into something like that if you can - you can feed you're chicks and duck and save money, kill 2 birds with one stone (wow, really sorry for the pun, that is something I should never use on this forum). Anyways, congrats, and please post pics soon! I love ducks! (we wanted to get those, but the chicks just happened to come along first

)

 

[drafthorse39]

personally it sounds like your doing everything right so far. If you have baby rice cereal they like that. One time we had a very bad blizzard and I didn't have food so i ground laying pellets the baby rice cereal and finch seed in a coffee grinder and it worked fine i have done this lots of times in the past 3 years. Good luck with your new baby!