My daughter L was at her boyfriend's cottage recently and apparently a neighbour brought over this (duck) egg that had fallen from its nest. L decided to try to help it hatch. They put it in an open box and she put it near a lamp to keep it warm. She figured that in a nest, it would be able to turn more easily than in a flat box, so she decided to help it turn and when she did that, the bird was able to gather enough strength and its beak was able to break through as pictured:
L saw that the bird was cold and decided to breath on it a few times to keep it warm. Over the next 12 hours (a very slow process) she observed it and tried to help it along, using tweezers to ease little bits of shell off when she sensed the bird was exhausted and couldn't push anymore. She had to be careful not to overdo this as it still needed its embryo for nutrients until it did most of the breaking through by itself. When it finally emerged L described it as a small miracle as it unfolded completely out of its shell. It wasn't much to look at by this point, but by the next morning, it had transformed into this:
L saw that the bird was cold and decided to breath on it a few times to keep it warm. Over the next 12 hours (a very slow process) she observed it and tried to help it along, using tweezers to ease little bits of shell off when she sensed the bird was exhausted and couldn't push anymore. She had to be careful not to overdo this as it still needed its embryo for nutrients until it did most of the breaking through by itself. When it finally emerged L described it as a small miracle as it unfolded completely out of its shell. It wasn't much to look at by this point, but by the next morning, it had transformed into this:
They think it is a Merganser Duck as opposed to a Mallard. Apparently these ducks will leave the nest in about 2 days and go off on their own. So far, this duck has become attached to L's boyfriend's mom and has not yet gone off on its own.
15 comments:
Haha wow hes a cutie, hope he turns out OK and can live in the wild.
Oh, how cute! What kind of food does it eat?
That was one lucky duck getting brought into the world by you ladies! Thanks for sharing! Valerie
Oh goodness, that is an adorable duck, and I am glad your daughter helped it through the process of hatching. Now, how does she plans on feeding it? Obviously she can't let it goes to the wild at this stage!
oh my gosh, that's just amazing, I have lived by the water all my life and never never have I saw this happen, incredible.Wonderful people, so caring, he or she will be a beauty, to bad you couldn't find its group it would have a better chance of survival with its family even though they forge on their own they do stay in a unit swimming with mom, safety in numbers as they say!!
Matt that was my concern too.
Gigi I heard they went to the store and bought a pack of duck starter...seeds and things!
Laurie I'll send this comment to my daughter, good to know it needs a group...well, this is its fate so far.
aww cute duckling
heh heh, very cute duckling...
PS : Sorry about the Captcha...home google do something about it
What a wonderful thing your daughter has done.
We had 2 pet ducks for years.They were delightful.
hugs
Icy the duck is with L's boyfriend's family at their cottage. It eats seeds and berries I think.
Amy it's good to know they can be pets if need be!
oh it was ground seeds and bugs, sorry!
Those are WONDERFUL pictures!
Your story made me think of the children's book Are You My Mother? Hope he gets where he needs to be.
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