The Quack Shack

[Miss Lydia]

Tendon feels like it’s in the right place feel both legs down the back to compare

 

[shawluvsbirds]

Agree! - I'm using the cat food supplement only to "fatten" it up a bit. As written, the slimmest duckling i have ever seen, flat belly like a runner ducknager.
And it gets pure niacin and multi-vitamin otc.
And if the weather holds, there will be a great opportunity for some grit and plenty of insects later this afternoon...

Ducklings don't really need to eat or usually show interest in food for the first 24 hours. Thats what the yolk is for.
I've never weighed a duckling to know if they actually lose weight, but i can say their bellies are rounder right after they hatch. I assume that is yolk and once that is used up they look skinnier.

I honestly would not give it anything but starter or meat bird crumbles for the first week or two at least.
I get what your saying..but anything you feed it in addition to the starter means it is not consuming the amount of nutrients from the starter feed it should be.
cat food is a nice snack but isn't formulated for ducks or ducklings.
Also improper nutrition and or too much protein is attributed to the development of angel wing.
Just my 2 cents.

 

[Muscovy Wunda]

This is what I see when I picture @WannaBeHillBilly

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I decided to call the duckling Buffzillitus for now. "us" is the neutrum gender in Latin and as i am not qualified to sex ducklings...

And just in case this duckling needs a drivers license, here is a picture for that:

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

I am so proud of Buffzillitus! It drove a wheelbarrow with two bags full of duck pellets from the garage all the way to the duck house! Taking a nap now and this is the preferred sleeping position:

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Tendon feels like it’s in the right place feel both legs down the back to compare

The leg got much better over the day, maybe it got twisted over night

I appreciate Duck Mommas so much more now: A bag full of fleas is easier to manage than that little Spark...

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Ducklings don't really need to eat or usually show interest in food for the first 24 hours. Thats what the yolk is for.
I've never weighed a duckling to know if they actually lose weight, but i can say their bellies are rounder right after they hatch. I assume that is yolk and once that is used up they look skinnier.

I honestly would not give it anything but starter or meat bird crumbles for the first week or two at least.
I get what your saying..but anything you feed it in addition to the starter means it is not consuming the amount of nutrients from the starter feed it should be.
cat food is a nice snack but isn't formulated for ducks or ducklings.
Also improper nutrition and or too much protein is attributed to the development of angel wing.
Just my 2 cents.

And exactly that round belly was missing at this duckling right after it had hatched. It looked so skinny!
We reached two major achievements for Buffzillitus: Eating and Drinking without help and not crying desperately when sat down in the brooder. - At least not for the first 30 seconds...

 

[Canadian Wind]

No clue what went wrong, but my video got deleted on youtube...
Here is Buffzillit[a/o]:

So sweet!

It's normal for babies not to eat for the first day or two, and to lose a bit if weight from hatch. Now that he's eating, he'll put it back on.

As for the leg, it may just be that he's still getting used to not being in a cramped egg. Keep an eye on him (I'm sure you are, that duckling is now never leaving your side). Perhaps Mr. Limpy is his dad, lol!

 

[Luv Ducks]

Here is the video from today:

The limp has gotten much better after eating almost 30 grams of food, drinking multiple gallons of water, sleeping for an hour curled up in my hand and then producing a wheelbarrow full of poop.

No clue what went wrong, but my video got deleted on youtube...
Here is Buffzillit[a/o]:

Such a precious baby!!!

 

[Pyxis]

Well, these replacement runner eggs seem to all be duds. One started a little and then blood ringed. The rest, no life. Ugh. I have never had luck that bad with shipped eggs. Even if I didn't get any to hatch, which has only ever happened a few times, some at least usually start.

On the happier side, my malay eggs have shipped And I have another gosling hatching from the eggs I saved from the nest. It might be the last one because I candled the last egg tonight and it looked a little funky, but my flashlight was also dying so I'll look again.