The Quack Shack

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I waited as long as I could between the two eggs of the Survivor bunch, but I had to put the first one in the brooder in the end. The incubator is just too small. He was in there by himself for 24 hours.

You can put a small mirror and a small stuffed toy in there for the baby to snuggle with. And take this time to bond with the little thing.

Fingers crossed the hatch goes well!

How many eggs were in your survivor batch?

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

So glad that you found him!!! He was a very Lucky Duck.

I think so too. Even the crows could have gotten to him…

 

[Supercow]

A Marten? - That's the doomsday-scenario of every poultry owner!
If these critters enter a killing frenzy they will not stop until nothing moves anymore…

Yes, that's what the photos looked like...

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

And now of course I'm worried again because

- it's day 26, Wednesday
- let's say the others stick to the standard schedule and arrive on day 28, Friday
- a duckling can stay in the incubator for 24-48 hrs when freshly hatched (right?)
- well, if i start counting down now, this time is going to run out when Friday starts

So how do I do things right to keep this adventurous duckling healthy and not harm the others' chances?

Forgot to tell you about the most important thing: An external pip does not necessary mean that your duxling is about to hatch right now. I had some that happily sat in their shells for two days without even attempting to zip.
Don't rush it! Do not try to widen the hole in the shell unless the duckling is visible and audible in distress.
But it is perfectly okay to take it out of the incubator for a moment and talk to it and peek into the egg. As long as the chick is making eating motions with its bill, it is absorbing the yolk and the blood back into its body and is not ready to come out.
Remember, Momma Duck will also stand up in her nest to look after her eggs, exposing pipped eggs to the fresh air outside. - And i assume Momma ducks are also curious about their offspring…

 

[Supercow]

Forgot to tell you about the most important thing: An external pip does not necessary mean that your duxling is about to hatch right now. I had some that happily sat in their shells for two days without even attempting to zip.
Don't rush it! Do not try to widen the hole in the shell unless the duckling is visible and audible in distress.
But it is perfectly okay to take it out of the incubator for a moment and talk to it and peek into the egg. As long as the chick is making eating motions with its bill, it is absorbing the yolk and the blood back into its body and is not ready to come out.
Remember, Momma Duck will also stand up in her nest to look after her eggs, exposing pipped eggs to the fresh air outside. - And i assume Momma ducks are also curious about their offspring…

Yes, we're not forcing anything... just sitting tight until at least late Friday (Day 28) and then if there's anything still unclear I'll be back with more questions We have the brooder ready now, plus the toaster, plus the various feeders and waterers, the rubber liner, the puppy pads, the straw.

 

[Canadian Wind]

How many eggs were in your survivor batch?

Two different sets, the first one had four surviving eggs but only two made it. Second batch is six eggs (out of 10 set) and should be hatched by this time next week.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Yes, we're not forcing anything... just sitting tight until at least late Friday (Day 28) and then if there's anything still unclear I'll be back with more questions We have the brooder ready now, plus the toaster, plus the various feeders and waterers, the rubber liner, the puppy pads, the straw.

First time duck parent (2019):

Strongly build Momma-Duck Cave, raised waterer, meal-worm toy, in-house brooder...

More experienced duck parent (2020):

Heat-pad with cardboard-box, waterer and feeder on the ground, brooder on the patio…

Or in other words:

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Industrial strength brooder made out of an apple crate and OSB plates. About 3 x 4 ft. Placed in the newly upgraded part of the garage where there are no cracks for unwelcome visitors to come through. Electric convection heater when needed.

A rubber liner comes on the floor, and then puppy pads for the first few days and straw after that.

The covered part is not permanently covered (obviously, that's a camping table on top). That's the part where the duck toaster will be, and water farthest away from it.

If we ever manage to have puppies (Hovawart breed dogs) they can use this space as well I think, it's for sure large enough.

As a backup space while the main one is being cleaned we'll use a round vineyard crate (about 4 ft diameter and 1 ft high) lined with paper.

One possible improvement for the time you put straw into the brooder: Put a tarp in first then cover the ground with straw. This way you can grab the four corners of the tarp and lift all the poop out at once. - Remove the ducklings first, of course…

As for the backup brooder, i never had one. Remember? - Duckling-box, i finally found the right video:

Same duxlings from 2020, just three days old. You can see them bonding with the grown-ups and calling out for them. Don't over-engineer! Wooden Frame, hardware-cloth if you have, otherwise chicken wire top and bottom open. Cardboard box with a cut-out for shy ducklings, water food, add duxlings and a piece of plywood to cover the top. Grab a chair and sit down at their side, feed some treats to the grown-ups and the duxlings and they will start to bond.

 

[Supercow]

First time duck parent (2019):

Strongly build Momma-Duck Cave, raised waterer, meal-worm toy, in-house brooder...

More experienced duck parent (2020):

Heat-pad with cardboard-box, waterer and feeder on the ground, brooder on the patio…

Or in other words:

View attachment 3810454​

Yes, I understand the idea, rationally

 

[Supercow]

One possible improvement for the time you put straw into the brooder: Put a tarp in first then cover the ground with straw. This way you can grab the four corners of the tarp and lift all the poop out at once. - Remove the ducklings first, of course…

As for the backup brooder, i never had one. Remember? - Duckling-box, i finally found the right video:

Same duxlings from 2020, just three days old. You can see them bonding with the grown-ups and calling out for them. Don't over-engineer! Wooden Frame, hardware-cloth if you have, otherwise chicken wire top and bottom open. Cardboard box with a cut-out for shy ducklings, water food, add duxlings and a piece of plywood to cover the top. Grab a chair and sit down at their side, feed some treats to the grown-ups and the duxlings and they will start to bond.

Yes we do have a rubber mat on the bottom so lifting everything out should be fine.

Very glad to see such little ducklings doing well in a natural environment. Hopefully the weather here really will turn warmer again and we'll be able to do the same. We had a period of 25-30 C in mid April and right now we're just hoping to avoid below-freezing overnight (with mixed results).