Oh my goodness, I'm so excited and puzzled. I have call ducks hatching under a duck which is thrilling! She's been such a good sitter. Well, the first 2 ducklings have hatched and I know this because I found one lost down in my nursery yard full of chickens and guineas. The poor, tiny thing must have been caught in the rainstorm we had. I found it in the mud, turned on it's back unable to get back up. It was near death and very cold. So first thing I did was put in under heat for a couple of hours and I assumed it was a newly hatched muscovy duckling which still had traveled a good ways. After it got warm enough for me to wash it off and offer it water, I started thinking how very tiny it was and it finally dawned on me that it was a call duck! I rushed to the call duck and under her she had another tiny baby. Well, I couldn't risk her losing it so I took it to put in the brooder with the other baby thinking I would give them both back to her tomorrow after her 3rd egg hatched. She let me pick up the baby but when I didn't give it back she got very upset. So I moved her, the last egg and the strongest baby into a pen inside their regular yard. She's still not happy. I can tell you that I have never heard those call ducks be that LOUD before, but when she was calling her baby her quacks were deafening.
I hope she'll settle down and sit on the last egg. If not, I'll take it and put it in the incubator. I think this duckling is going to make it which is a miracle in itself. Pictures to come tomorrow. They are the cutest little things I've ever seen. I still cannot believe how far that new baby traveled. He had to have gone through at least 2 fenced yards, one housing my geese. I'm so thankful I found him. Fingers crossed he makes it. These birds sure do keep me on my toes.
