We're hatching some ducklings

[Melbourne12]

Not, I hasten to add, for ourselves.  One of our allotment neighbours keeps ducks (or, rather, used to until Charlie Fox broke into his run one night recently).  We were especially sad because we'd hatched out some of the previous flock.

He passed to us 11 eggs that were left, and we put them in the incubator.  I must say that I didn't have much hope, but to my surprise after 9 days 9 out of the 11 were showing very nicely defined embryo development.  It's now day 14, so fingers crossed for Sunday 19th when they're due to hatch.  We'll candle them again next weekend, but it's a good start at least.

[Melbourne12]

[goodlife]

Oh how exciting.. Photos please when they are all fluffy little balls.
I miss looking after chicks..my girls are now 1 year old

[pumkinlover]

Good luck little chicks!

[galina]

Good luck little chicks!

Yes, hope there will be a good number for a replacement flock in a foxproof run.  Good luck!   

[Melbourne12]

With just over a week to go, we've candled them for a second time.  Seven are well-developed.  You can see the outline of what will become the duckling, with the blood vessels to the wings and legs.  Amazing.

We've rejected one completely.  It hadn't developed well, and was showing that jelly-like wobble that suggests bacterial infection.  One seemed to be lagging behind, but otherwise normal.  I suspect that it won't come to anything, but we've let it keep its luck for the time being and left it in the incubator.  The camera is on standby for next weekend.

[Melbourne12]

If you want the full story of the first duckling, with lots of pictures, there's a blogpost here: https://johnnorman.wordpress.com/2015/04/17/a-duckling-hatches/

But to be going on with, this is literally the moment of hatching:

[galina]

   How lovely!   Looking forward to reading the blog in a mo.  Thanks for the picture. 

[Melbourne12]

The hatch seems to be quite drawn out.  We now have three ducklings, the first one as shown on the picture above a classic yellow ball of fluff, the next two black.  Salvador, our allotment friend, had two drakes, so maybe the different colours denote different dads.  I'm not the world's greatest expert on ducks, I'm afraid. 

There's still 24 hours to go to the official hatch time, so we have hopes for the remaining 5 eggs.

I haven't set up our big brooder, so they're living in a banana box with a net over the top!  There's an electric hen to keep them warm, of course.

[galina]

The hatch seems to be quite drawn out.  We now have three ducklings, the first one as shown on the picture above a classic yellow ball of fluff, the next two black.  Salvador, our allotment friend, had two drakes, so maybe the different colours denote different dads.  I'm not the world's greatest expert on ducks, I'm afraid. 

There's still 24 hours to go to the official hatch time, so we have hopes for the remaining 5 eggs.

I haven't set up our big brooder, so they're living in a banana box with a net over the top!  There's an electric hen to keep them warm, of course.

You said they were due on the 19th, so still some time to go.  What do the hatched ones eat at this stage?  Electric hen?  They will grow up thinking they are chickens 

Good luck 

[Silverleaf]

They will grow up thinking they are chickens 

There's a scientist called Konrad Lorenz who studied imprinting (the process by which some baby animals like ducklings recognise and follow their mother). He found that the hand-reared greylag goslings he was working with imprinted on his rubber boots and followed them around. They are "programmed" to attach themselves to an object during a critical period of about 13-16 hours after hatching. Of course that's usually the mother, but they'll literally imprint on anything during that time.

One batch of goslings imprinted on the rubber gloves used when caring for them. When the males matured, they ignored females and tried to mate with rubber gloves!

[galina]

Sorry for showing my ignorance - should have googled before writing.  An electric hen is just an elevated heat plate to give the ducklings a warm place to huddle.

Silverleaf, that is very interesting.  I guess if handled very little by humans, they would imprint on other ducklings and not on anything else? 

Melbourne,  hope today is very successful for the remaining birds.  Good luck!  It is such a nice thing you are doing to help out your neighbour whose ducks were destroyed by the fox.  Keeping fingers and toes crossed for a great outcome.   

[Melbourne12]

Sorry for showing my ignorance - should have googled before writing.  An electric hen is just an elevated heat plate to give the ducklings a warm place to huddle.

Silverleaf, that is very interesting.  I guess if handled very little by humans, they would imprint on other ducklings and not on anything else? 

Melbourne,  hope today is very successful for the remaining birds.  Good luck!  It is such a nice thing you are doing to help out your neighbour whose ducks were destroyed by the fox.  Keeping fingers and toes crossed for a great outcome.   

Thank you!  He's asked us to keep them until Wednesday, so I should be able to post some pictures of them at the "adorably cute" stage without needing to photograph them through the incubator lid. 

As of now, which is exactly the due hatching time, we have 7 ducklings, with only one egg not (yet) hatched.

I've done another blog entry. this time for the emergence of duckling number 4.  https://johnnorman.wordpress.com/2015/04/19/the-duckling-hatch-continues/

And here's a picture of 5, 6, and 7 who all hatched today.

[galina]

That has been very successful indeed.  Is the last one in the smaller looking egg?  You said one looked smaller but otherwise ok.  Maybe - if they started 2 days earlier than expected, this one could be a day or even two late?  You should know by Wednesday for sure.  What do they eat at this stage? Do you have to feed them or can they do it for themselves? 

We will certainly oooh and aaah in all the right places ;), just keep the photos coming please.  And congratulations on a good result.   

[Silverleaf]

They are lovely little things! I wish Him Indoors would agree to ducks or chickens, but he (quite correctly) says that with my health he'd end up taking care of them some if the time and he doesn't want to do it.

[Melbourne12]

OK, these are the "adorable fluffy duckling" pix 

Blog entry with picture here: https://johnnorman.wordpress.com/2015/04/20/ducklings-in-the-brooder/

And a taster attached below.

In answer to some of the questions:

They're being fed on unmedicated chick crumbs, designed for chickens, but good for ducks too.  They'll move on to waterfowl pellets.  It's important not to give medicated chick crumbs to ducklings, since they can't cope with it.

As I'm writing this (about 10pm), the ducklings have just emerged from having a sleep under the electric hen for a final feed of the day.  They're very much acting as a flock now.  They all have a snooze together, and they all eat and drink together.

The egg that didn't hatch was the egg that I was dubious about before.  It was developing too slowly, and sure enough it had stopped growing at the point that the bill was just visible.  I guess that the embryo only filled about a half of the shell on day 28, which meant that it was certainly dead.

[Jayb]

They are lovely, ducklings are just so adorable 

[galina]

They are lovely, ducklings are just so adorable 

Thank you for the pictures and for the blog pictures.  They look like real little ducks now.  Impressive how they are feeding/watering themselves and even climbing on the electric hen for a better view.  Also that they behave like a flock and do things together at the same time.  This is a little miracle.  What a brilliant outcome after the shock you and your neighbour got.  Hope they will grow up strong and healthy - no losses.

Love their colours too.    

[goodlife]

What a treat to see those lovely little fluffy things And how well you you've managed to hatch them too..
How long are you able to keep them before they go to their new home?....or will they go after all?!

[Melbourne12]

I haven't got a copy to post, but my neighbour showed me a picture on his phone of him and his wife holding the ducklings, both of them grinning like loons.  They're both delighted with the birds, which are growing incredibly fast.  They're in a brooder at home at the moment, but I'll doubtless see them again when they're sufficiently grown to come down to the allotment.

[galina]

Happy with you (and your neighbour) that they are all doing well