What/when do I feed my ducklings?

[Katrobbins1228]

I am hatching 8 mallards whose mother died and I'm not sure when or what to feed them. They started hatching a couple hours ago. None are out of their shells so far but it should be soon. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[6sablehens]

You can feed them duckling crumbles which you usually find at a feed store or pet shop. They will still be absorbing their yoke for around 24 hours so might not eat at first. Ducklings love water and it needs to be deep enough for them to clean their beaks but not too deep so they don't fall in and get stuck. An old paint tray is good because it has a deep end they can swim in and a shallow end so they can get out easily.
You can give them a bit of lettuce as a treat but not too much as it doesn't have a lot of nutritional value.
For a brooder, we used a bathtub! We put tarp over it except for the drain so they wouldn't slip over. We used hay as a bedding underneath a heat lamp at the opposite end of the drain. We had the water and food where the drain was so when they spilt water or it would run down the drain. To clean we took the tarp outside and rinsed it and replaced the hay.

 

[Katrobbins1228]

I have them in a huge tote with bedding. They are in their nest on one side with the heat lamp over them and I was going to put the food and water on the other side. When we found the mother dead we picked up their whole nest so they'd have it when they were born. They were alone for 2 days before we knew she had died so I was worried they got too cold but they are all alive. Thank god!

 

[6sablehens]

That's good that they are all ok! Have they hatched?

 

[casportpony]

I am hatching 8 mallards whose mother died and I'm not sure when or what to feed them. They started hatching a couple hours ago. None are out of their shells so far but it should be soon. Any help would be appreciated.

Welcome to BYC! You will want to feed them something formulated for duck, like Purina Flock Raiser, but it would be best to contact a wildlife rehabber and let them raise them.