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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:
beautifulgirls · 20/07/2007 21:40

Hi - used to do a lot of bird rescue and I'm also a vet - mop is great as surrogate mum to hide in - see you already did that Don't let them have water to swim in at this age as without mum they do not have sufficient waterproofing in their downy fluff (mum duck would normally be passing that on until they get feathers). Small bowls of water they cant really get in are ideal, or if you have a poultry water dispenser thing that has a small ring and a big reservoir chamber type thing that is idea. They need a mix of greens - chopped lettuce, fresh grass, pond weed that sort of thing, plus something like layers mash - a powdery type poultry food that you can soak a little for them. Short term a few soaked dog biscuits are ok, and little bits of bread too though bread is not a complete food (try telling my kids that!!). Please do not give milk - it is not a natural bird food and may kill them. If they are looking a bit weak try a little honey or sugar in the water and dip their beaks in to help raise their energy levels, then they may pick up a bit and eat more. Keeping them warm is quite important at this stage too until they get a bit bigger. You also need to ensure they have suitable flooring - newspaper underneath but they need a better grip under their feet so some old towels are ideal. I'd raid the local charity shops for some if you can as they will go through several a day.

Good luck - they are incredibly messy! They can not be released until they are fully feathered now as their waterproofing will not be ready until then. Contact me if you feel I can be of any more help.

OggsfrogswartsExpress · 21/07/2007 18:58

First chance I've had to report back.

Sadly three more died overnight and we are left with just the one.

It's the intrepid exporer, the feisty one, the one that was guzzling food and water, and the one that took us the longest to fish out from the cattle grid as it was running around.

All the others were more lethargic, easy to catch (they just sat there), and weren't interested in the food and water.

We think that they were just down there too long in the cold and wet, and had not eaten properly, and were weak anyway .

This one is like Tigger! Trying to bounce out of the box, and trying to peck at my hand when I reach in.

Thanks for the advice beautifulgirls. Luckily we are already doing most of what you suggest.

I've got it in a high sided cardboard box near (not too close) to the woodburner, covered with a piece of voile with a fireguard mesh on top. The box is lined with an old towel, and the water is in a shallow bowl with a rock in the middle so that it can't get in completely. (It seems to like sitting on the rock ).
I'm feeding it finely grated egg (the white looks like little worms), finely shredded grass and lettuce, and a small amount of wheat bran. I've also put in a small amount of grit. (Using jam jar lids for the food so it doesn't get too messy)

I've put in a couple of small sods of earth and grass that it seems to like pecking at, and there is a warm wheat pad covered with old t-shirts cut up.

I tried the mop, but it is trying to use it to climb out with, so will wait until later when I bed it down for the night and shut the lid before I put it in.

Is there any other advice? I'm hoping that having got through the first 24 hrs it will be okay.
I'm just a little worried about it getting cold, as it is on it's own now. The wheat pads don't retain the heat for that long. The burner will be on overnight, banked down so it will not be very cold in the room, and I'll suspend the mop for it to snuggle in.

Sorry for such a long post, but I'm trying to do my best for the little fella .

OP posts:
Speccy · 21/07/2007 20:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

beautifulgirls · 21/07/2007 21:43

We used to use a plug in under floor heat pad so cant be of much assistance to the longer term heat thing really - if you can get the mop suspended over night for it to snuggle into and the room it is in is fairly comfortable then it should be pretty ok. Though in the wild they will snuggle with mum, they obviously do live outdoors after all

Sounds like you are doing a fab job - yes if the others were that easy to catch they didn't stand much chance from the outset. One survivor is still a sucess though.

OggsfrogswartsExpress · 22/07/2007 09:29

He lives to see another day, and is currently snuggled into the mop

OP posts:
geekgirl · 22/07/2007 10:41

you're a very dedicated surrogate

sorry to hear so many didn't make it - if it helps - we live next to a river and get to see ducklings grow up every year, their numbers always dwindle so rapidly, quite often the duck starts off with 10-15 babies and then when they're fully feathered usually only has 3 -5 left.

Speccy · 22/07/2007 18:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MegBusset · 26/09/2007 21:55

I want an update! What happened to the last ducking?

LazyLinePUMPKINJane · 06/10/2007 22:17

I want to know what happened to the ducky!

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