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Found baby ducks on side of the road...HELP!!?
Their Mother was killed by a car. Her head was taken clean off :( I brought them home, and have them in a clear bin in the bathroom. I gave them a little drinking cup and a very shallow tub of water. I got flock starter for baby birds and gave them a little of that. I'm setting up a heat lamp in a few minutes. I also put a small wild grass plant in a pot to give them something familiar. They still have most of their fluff. Only their tails have changed. They are mallards and their is only two. I am concerned as they keep making high pitched chirps and have been trying to jump out for the past 45 minutes. Is their anything else that I should do?
6 Answers
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
Take them to a wildlife center if possible. If not it sounds as if you are doing most of the right things. When you set up the heat lamp make sure they aren't too hot, if their tails have already started changing it probably means they don't need to be kept all that hot. A good idea is to put them in a large box with the heat lamp at one end. That way they can go and sit either close to the lamp or far from it, depending on what temperature they want to be.
With the food, try giving them a dish of the dry food, and a seperate dish that has been mixed with hot water to make a mush. Let it cool before you give it them so they don't burn their beaks. Make sure it's quite runny as they like dabbling in it and it will encourge them to eat it. You could also try putting down a dish of mushy weetabix (water, not milk). My baby ducks love this.
Wild duckling will be terrified of humans, so resist the temptation to check on the constantly, and put them in a very quiet room by themselves. They will hopefully calm down and eat something when you aren't there. Make sure they can't escape from the box, you could tape cardboar round the sides to make it bigger if necessary. Be warned - baby ducks will call for their mothers constantly for several days. Don't keep going in to 'comfort' them, they will just get more scared and it won't help.
Be prepared for the fact that if they are too traumatised they simply won't eat and will die. If they obviously aren't eating and are getting weak you could try spooning some of the mush mixture into their beaks, but this could choke them and should only really be done by a vet.
Best of luck, Hope they are both ok.
Source(s): I have hand reared domestic ducks on several occasions and once rescued an orphaned mallard baby. The mallard was too distressed to eat and would have died. Luckily I had one of my pet ducks sitting on eggs, so a shoved the baby under her and she thought one of her eggs had hatched, and started taking care of it. - synisterkatLv 51 decade ago
No swimming for these little guys. They get a layer of protective oil from Momma duck as their oil glands have not developed yet. So with Momma gone they won't be able to swim until they get their big duckie feathers and they start preening and spreading oil onto them. Try and find a wildlife rescue organization who can give you some help and advice on how to raise them. Call vets in the area, they should have the number to a local wildlife rehab center. Good luck!!
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- 1 decade ago
I BELIEVE your doing everything right...how did u know what to do?? thats awsome... good job.. =)
