[NickiWilliams]

Hi, have a day old lone ducking, fair to say a little bit of a surprise.  Went to let the girls out this morning and there he was, almost dead laying still in the cold.  We've warmed him up with a mix of body heat and hot water bottles and he's started chirping away intermitently and has perked right up, although he is still very wobbly and as yet he doesn't seem to have much use of his legs. Would estimate less than 24 hours old.  Would welcome any suggestions on what to feed, along with any other advice or guidance. Thank you very much. Nic x

[doganjo]

Keep on doing as you are, keep him warm and dry, water and food within easy reach.  You can feed chick crumbs but make sure they are suitable fro ducks, without the medication that chicks get.  Until you can get it some layers pellets soaked in warm water will keep him going.

[NickiWilliams]

Hi, thank you for that: have another question, if you don't mind? He's definitely on the up and improving, but he's not using his legs properly. Should ducklings take this long to 'find their feet'? He's eating now which would indicate 48/72 hours old and have assumed, possibly wrongly, that they would stand almost straight away? He is trying, so would it be possible that there has been some sort of lack of oxygen in his hypothermic state this morning? Have been massaging his legs and webs, gently to see if that helps. Maybe with food, water and a good nights sleep in the warm, movement and strength will follow?

Have spoken to the local vets in Ashbourne who don't have any idea and google searches not offering any further info.

Thank you :-)

Kindest regards

Nic x

[roddycm]

Hello, what kind of ground was he on? if it was slippery ducklings and goslings can get splayed legs... put him on a surface thats easy for him to walk on, keep him warm and fed and he will be fine In his case it may be related to the cold... while its not normal it does happen, sounds like he is in good hands and so he should be fine!! Good luck

[doganjo]

A bit of old carpet on the bottom of his box or cage should help although it will get really yucky.  So scrounge one of those books squares off your local carpet shop.

[mojocafa]

We had a duckling in our kitchen for about 6 weeks. We put an old towel in the box so he didn't slip, have you got a heat lamp?. Fed ours crushed digestive biscuits till we got chick crumb

Good luck

[northfifeduckling]

miracle feed for all our ducklings - porridge! A bit work intensive this year as we had 8 but it bridged the gap until I found a source of duck starter crumbs (petsupermarket.com - free delivery!) . I hope she pulls through! 

[jaykay]

Loads of good advice  He could do with a heatlamp until he feathers up, needs to be around 35C which is way warmer than even a warm room.

Also, when I had a duckling hatch 4 days before the rest, I put a soft toy into the box with her, so she had something to 'snuggle up against'.

[NickiWilliams]

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for all of your help and advice, kept on going as we were going and he's a little cracker! He's coming on leaps and bounds and whilst still a little wobbly on his legs, he's getting more and more mobile by the day.  He even stands himself up to have a drink.  Not cute, at all. Oh no! So Marco is well and truly on the mend and the new addition, his little brother Leo, is showing him how its all done!!

Thank you again. Warmest wishes to you all.

Nic x