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Original poster

Help!! Advice needed urgently....... Have rescued 6 ducklings..........

34 replies

OggsfrogswartsExpress · 20/07/2007 13:03

We've just fished them out of a cattle grid.

I have a broody hen and was wondering if I'd be able to put the ducklings with her.
Does anyone know if this will work?

OP posts:

UCM · 20/07/2007 13:04

Well I spose you might as well have a go. Can you get through to the RSPCA.

geekgirl · 20/07/2007 13:05

you can try it - depends on the age of the ducklings and just how broody that hen is - some breeds are better than others at accepting whatever baby you give them...

OrmIrian · 20/07/2007 13:05

How lovely! They are so sweet! How old though? I should think the hen could look after them although they may run around after you now? My parents used to keep ducks and hens in the same enclosure.

geekgirl · 20/07/2007 13:06

oh, and it's best to do this at night in the dark, rather than in daytime.
Just put them in a cardboard box for now with a lamp pointed at them for warmth.

Original poster

OggsfrogswartsExpress · 20/07/2007 13:19

Have got them in a box with a warm wheat pad for warmth. Have no idea how old they are.

Am getting a bigger box ready so that I can put in something for them to eat and drink.

Should I feed them the same sort of things that I feed my hen chicks?

Grated egg and cheese for protein. Some chopped up grass and dandelion leaves. Mashed cooked veg.

I'm sure I read somewhere that milk is good but can't remember. Best stick to a small bowl of water (I usually just use a jar lid with a bit in so they don't fall in or get too wet).

Any other pointers?

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Piffle · 20/07/2007 13:22

good info here

geekgirl · 20/07/2007 13:26

how big are they? Do they still have a little pointy bit at the ends of their beaks they use for pipping? Or are the beaks all smooth?

The site piffle's linked to looks very good. The Practical Poultry Forum is also a great place for advice.

OrmIrian · 20/07/2007 13:28

Chicken meal I think is OK.

LazyLineLegilimens · 20/07/2007 13:39

A duck and several babies tried to cross the M6 at rush hour the other week. I just missed the mummy with my car. I was distraught but saw them make it back to the hard shoulder. Don't know how many babies made it.

Original poster

OggsfrogswartsExpress · 20/07/2007 13:46

Reckon they're up to about a week old.
Their beaks are smooth. Still downy rather than any feathering. Can hold in the palm of my hand.
'Wings' are about an 2cms.

I've got dd sifting through the corn mix that I have for the hens, picking out the small barley and corn bits.

Not sure what to do for the best . P'raps shouldn't have brought them away and the mother would have come back. The cattle grid was right near a dam and with steep sided bank dropping off to the river below.
Didn't know where to put them so they would be safe (and away from predators. We have a lot of foxes around and I've had chickens taken), and presumably the mum led them near the cattle grid in the first place.....
Oh bugger....

OP posts:

LazyLineLegilimens · 20/07/2007 13:49

can you go back and look out for the mother?

OrmIrian · 20/07/2007 13:49

Oggs - don't worry. I'm sure they'll be fine. They're more resilient than blackbird/thrush type babies. You couldn't habve left them where they were. Mum managed to rear loads of ducklings by hand over the years. Just wish I could remember what she did. I know there was one that followed me around all the time and poo-ed all over the carpet

Piffle · 20/07/2007 13:51

it says on the link not to use mixture made for chicks?

geekgirl · 20/07/2007 14:11

I think you did the right thing - you could go and look for the mother if you think there's some chance of her still being around.

I agree, they wll be fine. If they're still so little there is a good chance of the broody hen taking to them, anyway - all you can do is give it a go - nothing will happen if you stay right there to keep an eye on things, just put one duckling at a time under and wait a bit to see how she reacts.

Just bear in mind that they shouldn't go near water again as they grow because they won't get the oily coating on their downs (obviously they will be fine once they get proper feathers).

Is there a farm shop nearby where you could buy some duckling food of sorts?

Original poster

OggsfrogswartsExpress · 20/07/2007 14:23

After close inspection they do actually have a pointy bit so they must be very young.

No farm shops within 40 miles (not much of anything within 40 miles )

I tried them with food but they didn't even seem to recognise it as food. I remember teaching some hen chicks how to eat by tapping my finger in the food, but am at a loss with these babies.

I think I'm going to take them back to the Dam in a cardboard box and put it out. Then sit quietly in the car to see if the mum comes back. If she does I can open up a side of the box. I'll leave them with the warm wheat pad so they aren't too cold.

If she doesn't come back I'll maybe try them with the broody hen.

Half the problem is that dd and I go away for a fortnigt next week and dh hasn't the time to tend them.

OP posts:

Original poster

OggsfrogswartsExpress · 20/07/2007 16:02

Right. After over an hour no sign of Mama Duck at all....

They have actually eaten now so that's a relief.

Would I now be better trying to put them with the broody, or raising them myself like I have done with chicks in the past?

If going with the broody option how is it best to introduce them? Put them in a box and let her hear them cheeping first? or just try and put them under her?

Alternatively a friend has a heat lamp that he will lend us and I have a suitable large box. Dh is prepared to do surrogate mother duties while we are away.

OP posts:

geekgirl · 20/07/2007 16:07

definitely try the broody first - just take one at a time and put it right under her.

wannaBe · 20/07/2007 16:07

where do you live? is there a wildlife rescue in your county? might be worth having a look or ringing your local vet for info. they're used to rearing babies and rehabilitating them back to the wile. remember these are wild ducks and not domesticated ones so would be best if they can go back to the wild when they're older.

Original poster

OggsfrogswartsExpress · 20/07/2007 16:15

We live in the wild anyway

We live in a very isolated area, our nearest neighbours are a mile away. The nearest RSPCA type place is about 100 miles away.

We keep chickens and have had ducks in the past, so we're not total amateurs.

We're just off to see what the Broody's reaction is.

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ntsmum · 20/07/2007 16:28

broody a great idea - hope it works. Had a similar exp but with just one. Mother abandoned her nest in our garden leaving one egg that we warmed up and hatched out. Kept the duckling in a large plastic box with a bowl of water. Fed her on duckling food from pet/garden centre and lots of little bugs collected by ds. When she got a bit bigger she slept in the bath and went in the pond each day. She started going in the river at about 8 weeks and then just buggered off with the other ducks one day, she had been totally tame!
She now returns every May to us and has just had her first batch of ducklings!
Good luck, I envy you.

geekgirl · 20/07/2007 16:56

hopefully the broody will be chuffed to have her 'pregnancy' over and done with so quickly

Original poster

OggsfrogswartsExpress · 20/07/2007 17:41

Broody seemed fine and duckling snuggled under. I sat with them for 30 mins and everything seemed okay. Dh went to put another under and discovered first one had suffocated

Now have 5 ducklings in one of those plastic under the bed boxes.
They are on a warm wheat pad, on a towel. I've put in a shallow bowl of water with a rock in the middle so they can't sit in it.
They have a bowl of grated egg and barley.

Problem is that they are jumpers. They can really jump high and the fire guard I had over the top had holes large enough for them to get their head through and I was worried that they would hang themselves.
I've now got a piece of voile over the top.

I need to get a string mophead to suspend, so they can snuggle under it.

OP posts:

geekgirl · 20/07/2007 18:45

I've had poultry pretty much all my life and have never had that happen - how unfortunate

Great idea about string mophead, where did you find that out? Hope everything goes ok now.

Original poster

OggsfrogswartsExpress · 20/07/2007 19:31

I think I must have read about the mop idea somewhere ages ago and it had stuck in my mind.

I tried it last year with a couple of chicks I'd hatched in an incubator, and it worked a treat.

Ducklings all snoozing now .

Have had to put the fireguard back on top of the voile. We were having tea three rooms away from ducklings and one just wandered in . It had jumped out and bypassed the cat and dogs, and just stood there in front of me .

The warm wheat pads aren't very good as they don't hold the heat for very long. I'll pick up a hot water bottle tomorrow. (That's what I used with the chicks.)

Thanks for all your help
I'll update in the morning.

OP posts:

Original poster

OggsfrogswartsExpress · 20/07/2007 21:06

another one has died.

It fell out of the 'nest' and was on it's back and sort of twitching. Dh held it in his hand and it died after about 5 mins

Gawd, this is heartwrenching stuff.....

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