Thread formerly known as Hatch day is today

[hokankai]

Is there a trick to introducing a group of day old ducklings to a 1 week old duckling? Jasper kept "pecking" and grabbing at the babies when I tested him with them.

 

[ChristineR]

Is there a trick to introducing a group of day old ducklings to a 1 week old duckling? Jasper kept "pecking" and grabbing at the babies when I tested him with them. 

I feed the older ducklings, then sneak the new babies in while the others are busy eating. I also do it at night, before I shut off the lights. I let them eat, then lights out. That way they all seem to just snuggle up together and go to sleep.

 

[angiert]

Quote: i tried to introduce my 4 week old babies to my older call drake yesterday.... it wasn't good.... i had to grab the drake up but not before he nipped at the babies. i guess its gonna take some time and i'll have to wait until he realizes they babies are all girls

 

[HanLills777]

Hi all, just been looking at the calendar, I put eggs in on the morning of the 5th and started counting 28 days from then, estimating hatch day to be 2nd July with day 25 being Saturday 28th but as my incy is in my classroom was going to put them into lockdown as late as poss on the fri before I left school...

...just checked calendar again and if I count the morning of 6th June as day one then day 28 is more like weds 3rd july/hatch day which makes day 25 the Sunday and it being at school means I'm not there to start lockdown - so I guess what I'm asking is would it be ok to start lockdown first thing Monday which is morning of day 26 or would I count day one as the whole of that weds i put them in and day 28 is in fact tues after all so lock them down on the Friday evening...sorry if that's confusing, basically is more lockdown better than less??

 

[Goin Quackrrs]

Hi all, just been looking at the calendar, I put eggs in on the morning of the 5th and started counting 28 days from then, estimating hatch day to be 2nd July with day 25 being Saturday 28th but as my incy is in my classroom was going to put them into lockdown as late as poss on the fri before I left school...

...just checked calendar again and if I count the morning of 6th June as day one then day 28 is more like weds 3rd july/hatch day which makes day 25 the Sunday and it being at school means I'm not there to start lockdown - so I guess what I'm asking is would it be ok to start lockdown first thing Monday which is morning of day 26 or would I count day one as the whole of that weds i put them in and day 28 is in fact tues after all so lock them down on the Friday evening...sorry if that's confusing, basically is more lockdown better than less??

I would lockdown early. I lockdown early on all hatches except the first hatch of the year now. If I'm hatching my own eggs, they really want to hatch early.

 

[Heidisgran]

so glad Im not the only worry wart!! so glad you found them safe

 

[HanLills777]

Thanks for replying going quackers, if I lock them down on Friday night and hatch day is weds, that will mean about five days lockdown instead of three, this is better? Last year I locked down on day 25 for definate and only one hatched itself, one was stuck in the egg and died and I assisted the other 6. I won't be in over the weekend to monitor the humidity, was going to set it at 75%

 

[HanLills777]

Why do you lockdown early on all but the first hatch btw?

 

[qwackers]

Thanks qwackers, yes tried googling buy yes get bought here most times lol. All it really says is that it gets bigger but not really how. I posted this in another area of NYC and was told 43% is too low and to raise it to the 60's until lockdown, off to google that hehe

60's thats high, I had mine 50ish most of the time then 70 - 80 in lockdown. If It gets closer to lock down and its still not any bigger then take out the water for a bit and will make the egg evaporate quicker. But keep an eye on it.

 

[qwackers]

Well my ducks just scared the bejeepers out of me. I went out to put everyone to bed and no ducks! My ducks ALWAYS put themselves away so I was worrying. I looked and looked and it started to rain on me (why does it always rain on me when I'm looking for my birds?) and finally found them in a really overgrown area that had gotten marshy thanks to all the rain. I couldn't go in after them so I went back to the pen and clanged around the feed bin. That's a sound they respond to. Soon four ducks came scurrying out of the woods and into the pen they went. Ugh, they like to torment me.

haha yeah they do it deliberately! I've had to split my male up from all the females as he's being a total raping bully! But he still shares a house with 2 of the big females so its all fun and games trying to get them all in at night and then out and split up in the morning. takes like half an hour!!