I've got four duck eggs in the incubator. This little dude just popped out. This duckling will be black with a white bib on its chest. S/he is pretty exhausted and has also seriously overdone the hair gel. Over the next 24 hours s/he will fluff up and can then come out of the incubator and go into a warm brooder. The three other eggs have pipped the shell (i.e. they have made a dent in the shell) but they are lagging behind this fellow. Fingers crossed for them. If you look at the egg labelled 23/11 (meaning it was laid on the 23rd Nov) you can see a little star shaped divot in the shell - that is where the duckling inside has made its first assault before resting for up to 24-48 hours and then having another go. The parents of these eggs in the incubator are my duck Duyfken and her man, Solander. I also have two eggs under a hen, and at least one of these has hatched. I can hear the duckling making happy noises and the hen 'bok bok boking' back. The hen is sitting tight though and will not get up to reveal her baby just yet, so I will have to wait for a glimpse. The ducklings do not need food for the first 24/48 hours, which the hen knows. She will sit until the duckling is strong enough and is ready for its first drink and meal. Will get pics when I can The parents of these two eggs are Tassie and her man Magellan (who are Solander's parents). Exciting times, and somewhat nerve wracking with it! We are going out for drinks tonight but I will be itching to come back to stare at the incubator.....
Re: Ducklings Oh how exciting! We hatched chickens at Easter time this year and enjoyed it sooo much we will do it again next year. Hope the rest of your babies all hatch out well. Keep us posted.
Re: Ducklings Ooo how fun! Can't wait to see them all fluffed out! So will you be keeping these, Rachel, or are they potential income? And if so, how long do you keep them before they can be sold? Ducklings and chicks are so cute - you must feel like proud grandparents!
Re: Ducklings Lisa, we will keep the best to show and breed from. The rest will be sold as pets, but we keep them till they are fully grown before selling them (I don't sell ducklings as people get taken up with how cute they are without thought for their welfare). I only hatch in small numbers as they are labour intensive to raise properly - they need a lot of time and attention to become tame and confident around people. Plus, it's important to avoid overcrowding them so I only hatch as many as I have room to raise
Re: Ducklings How lovely! Watching that incubator must be addictive... . You need to set up a webcam so we can all watch. Give us news when you can.
Re: Ducklings Wow,thanks Rachael,your hen is an amazing foster mum by the sounds of it.....why did you give her 2 eggs to hatch?it must be really hard to sell your grown ducks when you have put some much time into them.they are feisty little characters,I never realised what an ordeal it must be breaking out of their shell...I'll show my nephew this,he will love it x
Re: Ducklings Sadly Mr Foxy went off with 6 of my neighbours ducks last week. I'm sure these guys are in safe hands though.
Re: Ducklings Awww so cute Rachael. When I worked in a special needs pre-school we bought an incubator and eggs and the children couldn't believe their eyes to see the chicks hatch - priceless xx
Re: Ducklings Foxes are terrible news for poultry owners - sorry that your neighbours lost their quackers, Jac. Friend of mine lost her hens to a fox a few weeks ago. She is in suburbia, as I am, where the foxes are especially bad. Unfortunately a lot of city-living poultry keepers don't think they have to worry about foxes and they find out the hard way, as my friend did (though I warned her many times...). The little one that hatched last night is doing well this morning and is almost able to walk (in a drunken sailor kind of way). It's still in the incubator but I took it out briefly this morning for a drink of a few drops of water with avian vitamins. I was wrong about the colour - it's a dark blue, not black. The other eggs are just resting still. Ducklings take forever to hatch. You would not have wanted to use duck eggs in your classroom hatch, Helen - the kids would've died of either boredom or stress! I'm hopng to catch a glimpse of whatever is under my hen today.
Re: Ducklings Yes, I remember you saying that, Helen. Very sad The duckling is now out of the incubator and has independently had a drink. I do think it's black after all. Blue does vary but i think this one is just too dark to be blue. Here it is in the brooder (right at the back). It hasn't fully fluffed up yet but it'll get there. At the moment it's down my t-shirt as it peeps for company when it's by itself. The other ducklings probably won't be out till tomorrow, so this one will need to be entertained till then. It's lively and wants to nibble everything - just like a puppy. Fallen asleep. My clever hen has managed to hatch both the eggs she was sitting on and the ducklings have made an appearance this morning. Here they are. These two bubs are definitely both blue. They've both been eating and drinking. They have a small feeder and waterer just near the nest as the hen won't take them far yet. I could put the one that hatched in the incubator in with the hen but I prefer to hand raise some. They become tamer, and it's also lots of fun. They are all so blimmin' cute. That's my holidays sorted - I'll be duckling watching!
Re: Ducklings They are sooo pretty , little fluff balls Many years ago, we used our broody hen to sit some duck eggs , all went well until the ducklings jumped into the water to swim about , Mother hen went crazy at the sight
