The Migratory/Ornamental Waterfowl INFO Thread

[chickenlisa]

cool! Can you post pics of those new little ring teal babies? Good news for everyone this weekend hopefully!

 

[KansasKid]

I will if they hatch, no down has been pulled in the box yet and i don't know how long they have been setting there. Hopefully she will lay more then pull down and incubate them. Trying to decide wether i should pull them the after a period of time like i have done or go stress free and let her do it and just film the wild duck chase that follows.... I'm leaning toward just letting her do it and borrowing the HD camera and setting the film to some amusing music....

 

[chickenlisa]

I just posted in the ornamental birds section- but this is the more appropriate place....We had to move the new Mandarin babies to a brooder box, because I found 2 dead in the pen. They got caught in a tight place that they fit into, but couldn't get out of. Too sad! we put the 6 survivors in a big box with a screen on top, chick starter with Mealie worms in it, and a chick waterer. Should we catch their Mama and clip her flight feathers and put her with them for a week or so to help teach eating and keep them warm? They're in our garage, the days aren't too cold now, and I've got a light bulb on right over their brooder box. What's best for these 6? I do not want to lose any of them now- my heart is broken over the 2 that did die. My ignorance caused it I know. I hate that.

Please help with your knowledge and experience so I don't lose any more....
Lisa

 

[KansasKid]

Better off leaving the mother in the pen. They should learn to eat by themselves, if it gets colder do you have a heatbulb that you use for chicks?
I think in the future you should be better off taking them from their mother before they leave the nest box.

 

[chickenlisa]

I do have a heat bulb. It's 58 out right now, and getting up to the 70s this week. We put a teddy bear in there with them now and they seem content to huddle together in the corner, not under the light even.
As for taking them before they leave the nestbox, I didn't even know they had hatched other than getting lucky and seeing 3 of them follow their mom on Friday afternoon. We saw 2 more jump out of the nest box (up 5-6 feet on 1 wall of their pen) so we thought there were 5. When we saw them yesterday (baby-proofing the pen more) there were 8. I didn't think she was going to hatch any b/c it seemed like 34 days of setting....I must've been off when I thought she had started....How do I predict when the other mom hatches, if she does? She's got about 2 weeks to go.....
What an emotional roller coaster!

 

[KansasKid]

best way would probably be just look inside the nest box everyday. She should stay with them inside the box for at least (24?) hours.
And if you don't catch them before they jump out you have to do us all a favor and get somebody to record the wild duck chase.

 

[chickenlisa]

we would've done that today except we were so sick over losing the 2....1 hid on us after running the other way than it's siblings. We got so lucky with those 5; they ran and hopped (very cute- hopping up over 6" to get up and over the bottom of the window/doorway) into the doghouse at the end of the pen, into a nestbox we made out of cat litter plastic buckets with their mom. When we were ready to put them into the brooder box, my daughter just walked over and mom flew out and into the pen, and she just picked the bucket straight up and out . It's smooth inside and over a foot tall, so they were hiding inside under the hay. They were easy. Finding that last one was tough. It had hidden in the same spot as the 2 that died. I had even looked there before rearranging the stuff in the pen trying to find it. I'm just so glad we found it- it was peeping once we had the others out, we could hear it if we were quiet. Mom was calling it and it was answering her if we didn't make any noise.
In almost 2 weeks, I'll start checking the other nest box. At that point, if any do hatch, is it safe to add them into this brooder box with the others? When is it safe to put these ones back into the pen with their parents?

 

[kangababy]

Quote:
we did the wild goos chase two times last week!! once for four little babies that gave us a run around. My dad on the ground with a net, me int he pond in waders trying to catch them as they dove.. Wood ducks. Then on friday. we had 15 little babies in the pen with their mother.. They went right to the corner and we walked right up and get them. When we got them in the brood box they climb the wire over and over and over again.

So far right now wer have 4 unknowns (i thought they were 2 ring teals and something else but only one of them is little still), 26 manadrins or wood ducks mabe a teal or 2 and 5 hoodies (we have lost 2 so far). The little hoodies we have are eating like pigs. they have been through like 500+ meal worms since Monday. They love those little things! They are eating their dry food good too. I really wish I has a video of it but two of them come right up to the door of them pen and sit their waiting on the worms. They will then let you hand feed them!! They are so cute I am not sure how I will be able to get rid of them!!

 

[chickenlisa]

do you feed whole mealie worms to the babies or do you cut them up for them? These babies are climbing the wire walls too- it's 1/4" hardware cloth...very cute little buggers...at least I can see them more this way vs in the pen with their mum....she kept them hidden so well.

 

[Boggy Bottom Bantams]

just PM ed you back lisa.
as for the climbing, snip their hooks off their toe nails, just the very tip, that's what they are there for, climbing out of nest.
Yes do brooder raise them. Candle them to check in the future once all black, you know they are close and they need to be finished in an incubator, in my opinion at least. I hate pen raising babies cause all sorts of stuff can happen to them, but some do have success with it.