Only One Egg Left - It hatched!

[my1stchicks]

Good job!!

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Read threw all the pages - Great Story!

So happy the little guy made it into this world O.K.

What are you gonna call him?

 

[MrsDuck]

Hello!

Oh my gosh he's so cute! My toddler is enthralled!

Thank you for all your well wishes. We're not sure what we're going to do with it at this point. I'm leaning towards hand-raising it rather than trying to give it back to Lady Duck. (I put a couple of store-bought chicken eggs under her when I took this last one to keep my options open.) Mostly because we think we lost eggs to a rodent, and I don't want to risk loosing this little one to a rat even though I think we've rodent-proofed the house.

Right now the little guy is sitting on my keyboard helping me type. He's certainly in no danger of getting lonely for the time being. If he is in fact a she we can probably keep it... The neighbor was going to take a couple of the little ones, but now that there's only one (and I'm SO attached) that doesn't seem like a good idea... I didn't even let myself think this far ahead.

My inlaws are coming to visit at the first of September. Something tells me they've never kept a duck in the house...

Name suggestions welcome! Oh, he's a Rouen.

 

[katharinad]

Ducklings don't need their mom, because they are self-sufficient from day one. They only use mom for protection. The problem is that mom will not take it back once older, this means you have to wait until he is 3-4 month old before reintroducing. That way you know he can fend for himself and you don't have to worry about injuries if she may get crazy. This of course will go easier if they can see each other through a fence so they know each other. Some pecking will follow, but that is usually nothing big. Imprinting a duck on a human being can actually a good thing. It helps in controlling other ducks and training them. Boy he or she is so cute. You will have tons of fun. I'm glad that the hatching worked out well. I bet he was quite happy to be free of the darn egg.

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

How about Lucky or Lucky Ducky? Ha ha! I had a chicken named that once!

 

[stumble_n_mumble]

hes so cute! what kind of duck is it? a mallard?? and i always hand raise my single ducklings, they turn out better

 

[Mrs. Fluffy Puffy]

Quote:
Rouen Duckling ...

 

[desertdarlene]

Oh, that is such a cute duckling! I've been following your story and am so glad that he's out!

 

[MrsDuck]

Just in case anyone is curious, the little one is doing well.

I ask her/him daily, "Are you a boy-duck or a girl duck?" She (that's my wishful thinking talking) sounds like a girl, but every day her bill is a little lighter and that's making me think boy. I *swear* Mr. Duck's voice CHANGED at one point, so I'm not so confident with the quack test. When he was little he sounded just like his sister, the late Mrs. Duck. We went away for a long weekend, and when we got back we were all, "Woah! That duck lost his voice!" Up until that point we thought he was a she.

Any-hoo this little one is spoiled rotten, and cute as can be. She of course thinks that I'm her mama duck, and that my little one is a sibling. So much fun! I don't know what we're going to go if she is in fact a he. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

 

[Wifezilla]

Don't you just love that scruffy teenager stage??