Rescued Baby Duck! Help

[AustralorpsAU]

Friend rescued a duckling and gave it to us. Its legs a bit munted but we just hoping it will get through the night and take it to the vets tomorrow. Don't have a heat lamp so filled up a container of hot water and put it in the shoe box with it. Gave it some shallow water and gave it some boiled egg with parsley! Anything else i should be doing? Thanks

 

[AustralorpsAU]

Oh i don't have any chick starter either!

 

[AustralorpsAU]

Its on and off chirping. Does anybody have any idea as to what could feed it as well? Thanks

 

[ChickenChaser9]

Chick feed is alright and probably easy to acquire. I would start there. Any idea how old the duckling is? Share a pic?

 

[AustralorpsAU]

It is midnight right now... cant get a pic or some feed. i think it is only 1 - 2 days old... still very small and fluffy

 

[AustralorpsAU]

It survived! Yay

 

[ChickenChaser9]

It survived! Yay

Cute! If you can keep the little one fed and hydrated it should continue to do so. Just be aware ducks tend to form bonds (imprint) rather strongly so the duckling is going to require attention as well as nutrition, they are very social creatures.

EDIT: Also don't let it get into a water dish as it wont be able to climb out unless you give it some means of egress. It does not have enough feather oil to float for very long so it could drown if left unsupervised near too much water.

 

[AustralorpsAU]

Cute! If you can keep the little one fed and hydrated it should continue to do so. Just be aware ducks tend to form bonds (imprint) rather strongly so the duckling is going to require attention as well as nutrition, they are very social creatures.

EDIT: Also don't let it get into a water dish as it wont be able to climb out unless you give it some means of egress. It does not have enough feather oil to float for very long so it could drown if left unsupervised near too much water.

Thanks. The water dish is only about 1 cm tall and it just hops out when it goes in. It cries every time we leave it. Will it be able to go into the wild or will it forever be a domestic duck?

 

[Sandyduckcrazy]

Hi new here to BYC but no time for all the introductions! Could you put some of you adult chicken food in a food possessor or blender and make it a fine consistency? Ducks need water to wash down food!

 

[ChickenChaser9]

Thanks. The water dish is only about 1 cm tall and it just hops out when it goes in. It cries every time we leave it. Will it be able to go into the wild or will it forever be a domestic duck?

By the time it is old enough to be able to fend for itself it will have most certainly decided that it is infact a human and not a duck at all so releasing it into the wild would not be possible I am afraid. Imprinting is quite an odd evolutionary development. If you cared enough to take its life into your hands then you are responsible for its continued well being and it in turn will look to you as its parental figure and even to the point of shunning other ducks if it does not grow up around them as it will believe itself to be a short feathery human. Here is a link I hope will aid you in understanding the complex relationships and bonds ducks are able and do form as they develop. http://www.thegoosesmother.com/id6.html