[staggs19851]

Hiya, I just joined the site as i can't find information anywhere on a situation i have at the moment ! !
I guess id better explain if i want to get anywhere ! lol!

Up until recently, we had two pet Call Ducks, Barry and Vera ! about about a year old. Vera kept laying eggs all around the garden and abandoning the nests and making new nests. Having been told that ducks don't make very good mothers, my partner took 4 eggs to his fathers house for one of my father in laws chickens to sit on.

Anywayyyy......
to cut a long story short, Vera managed to sit on a nest of her own with about 5 eggs after this for about 3 weeks and then she dissapeared and the eggs had been eaten. We were all really upset about it esp the kids as she was a pet  we are assuming it was a fox.
Yesterday my Father in Law called to announce that one egg hatched and he had a little yellow duckling for us to pick up and take home.
So we picked up the duckling and the chicken, because as far as the chicken is concerned this little baby is hers ! and the baby thinks the chicken is its mum. which is fine i dont mind having the chicken with the duck until its old enough. However i am unsure that the chicken can raise the duckling properly as im unsure as to whether a duck feeds differently from birth etc needs to be taken into water etc.... correct me if im wrong.... i could well be ! i really have no clue whatsoever!

i did buy some starter crumbs and dampened them, took the duckling into the house to introduce them to him, and he ate a tiny bit. i also put him in a tupperware of shallow water. then went and put him back with the chicken. At the moment he is living in a hutch with the chicken in my shed...do i take the duck away from the chicken and raise him myself or do i leave him and he will be fine? or do i just take him away from time to time to feed and introduce water etc? any advice would be so very much appriciated! thanks for taking the time to read!!!!

[Tania]

Hello,
I have a similar situation. My broody silkie sat on and hatched 3 Indian Runner ducklings. I've put the ducklings and surrogate mum in a separate pen with water and crumb and they are absolutely fine. They are nearly 3 weeks old now and just run around after their 'mum'. She quite happily keeps them warm and I haven't had to do anything other than exercise mum and clean them out. ( Little s**d* keep tipping the water over. In a few weeks I'll introduce them to a water bath which is what the breeder I got my original runners from did, then eventually the pond and hopefully all will be great.
My advice is don't panic, they will be fine.

[staggs19851]

Hiya thanks for replying ive sat here waiting for some kind of answer and however i word it in google ive found nothing at all on it ! ! ! i am worried about him because he is so so tiny like the size of a golf ball with a head ! and i dont want to risk losing him at all after we lost our female duck and her baby survived allbeit under a chicken ! ! 

[rossivale]

Hi Staggs

I had a broody hen last year so I bought some day old ducks to go under her and she done a brilliant job with them  She was very proud. 

The ducklings are now laying so all in all the hen done a fab job.
Jo

[Tania]

Hello again,
He won't be the size of a golf ball for long. The first one of mine that hatched is about 3-4 times the size he was when he was born and he's only 3 weeks. I'll try and post some pics tomorrow and you can see how quickly they develop. Please don't worry, he'll be bombing around in no time!

[staggs19851]

Morning ! thanks again for the responses!

[Jeanette]

They are happy i would leave them alone and instinct will take over Ah aint love grand.