MALLARD THREAD...not rouens, Mallards!

I found out my two newly hatched Buff/Mallard ducklings are Blue Fawn patterned! And crossing those two together will get a wealth of diversity in colors! I might try breeding them back to mallards to make them look more thin and sleek. I know they won't be pure pedigreed Mallards, but that doesn't matter to me. They are the tan, and the bluish mallard one.
NathenZee how are your ducklings doing?
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NathenZee how are your ducklings doing?
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Oh sorry forgot to upload the new pics! They are doing great, both of the Buff/Runners are females I believe.
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Oh and I was uncorrect in saying that both of the Mallard/Buff ducklings are Blue Fawn, only the male is. The female is as the genetic calculator calls it, a "Buff Lilac Mallard pattern", so not really a common color. But I am sure she is going to be beautiful, and crossing them together will produce some Blue Fawns, some Duskys, some Apricots and many others.

Here they are! Getting quite a few feathers in, and starting to look more like ducks!




















 
Can anyone help me with a couple questions?
We rescued a mallard duckling from a cat and spent hours trying to find its mom, but couldn't. The local
Wildlife rehabber is full, so we are doing our best.

The duckling was a day or two old when we got it and fiesty. We couldn't find duck starter, so we bought unmedicated chick starter and frozen brine shrimp with spirulina mixed in. We also grabbed some super fine sand from the lake for grit (because nobody around here sells granite grit or other grit safe for ducks). We've been feeding her with the starter, grit and brine shrimp whenever she is hungry, plus taking her out to forage for bugs when it's warm out and she loves worms. She was thriving for a couple days-she would run around (or we would let her swim for a few minutes, supervised), catch bugs, filter feed her food, preen and then settle into sleep. Routinely. She's probably 5 days old now, maybe 6. Today, she just wants to sleep all the time. She is still eating and pooping regularly, but she doesn't have the energy she did the last few days and she's peeping, weakly, almost constantly. If we let her go, she stands there for a few seconds and then sits down and her head nods like she just can't stay awake. She also doesn't seem to be growing.

We feed her as much as she wants, whenever she wants it.
Just wondering if this is normal? Do ducklings sleep extra when they are growing or something?
Is it okay to feed her brine shrimp and chick starter?
I have been reading about duck care for days and there is so much contradicting info out there.
I just want to make sure we are not harming her rather than helping her.
 

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