Monday, May 21, 2012

And, Then There Were Two...



The 2nd duckling had a lot harder time being born. It tried and tried with an open hole, almost the size of a half dollar piece, to free itself; with its membranes drying out more and more as time passed. Finally, at 5:30 tonight, Sean and I made the decision to help it along carefully. I started to peel away the hard outer shell bit by bit until it was open (video above). There was no trace of any fresh blood- which is a good sign. When we got to this point, little ducky decided to meet us after all. (video below).



I helped dry and warm new little ducky by wrapping the new duckling into this warmed towel and slipped it into my shirt. It peeped for a few minutes and settled to sleep while I petted it's head and neck.



A couple hours later, both duckies are in the brooder, alternately sleeping and peeping. The older duckling has eaten a little and had a taste of water. I introduced the younger duckling to the water by slowly dipping the tip of its bill into the waterer, but it did not seem interested in drinking, yet. That's normal. They may not eat or drink anything for a day or even two after hatching.

I was excited to see the older duck preening itself  only 4 hours after hatching and both ducklings have gotten to their feet to creep about a little. I am still worried for the younger duckling and will keep a very close eye on it, but for now, we have 2 of the sweetest little ducklings that I have ever seen.

And, now, I can finally get some sleep.

Good night, friends.
Sonja ♥

1 comment:

  1. Wow! Wow! Wow! How cool is that! They are so cute! I appreciate your patience, I know it was hard not to intervene sooner. Yeah Baby Ducks!!!

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