(And you guys thought we dropped off the face of the earth.)
Oh, on another note, we are now Happy Hilltop Homestead. I found someone else had Happy Homestead so I figured since we were happy here to add Happy to the homestead.
Care of Muscovy Ducklings When Things Don't Go Right
We had a momma duck that was to busy trying to take another ducks babies that she neglected her nest the last days before hatching.
It is important for the hatching process that the eggs be hydrated enough. This is done by the mother bathing daily. When she returns to the nest the moisture transfers to the eggs to keep them properly moist.
We had 5 eggs that didn't hatch on their own due to the inner membrane not being properly moist. When the inner membrane is to dry the duckling is not able to spin in the egg to create a "zip" to hatch from.
When we have eggs like this we assist them in hatching. We know that some don't and that is their choice as it is ours to assist. Most of the time we have good record of success.
Still sometimes you loose some too. Out of the 5 that we rescued we have one remaining alive. I believe this is largely because we were out of town during the hatching and were not here to help sooner. Of course they were the first things on our mind when we returned. (Except for that Mother's Day call I needed to make to my Mom.)
We do what we can and leave the rest to what ever Greater Force you believe in.
Snatam Kaur Khalsa is one of the most soothing singers I have heard. If you have seen some of my other videos then you know I always play it for our babies. This is especially important for this little one who it by itself in the box and not able to join it's siblings until it gets better.
Rehabilitating Muscovy Duckling Introduced to Water
This is the first time the Muscovy Duckling we are nursing to health was introduced to actually getting in water. We were also hoping that it would help it develop a bit of coordination as they are much better in water than on land.
Rehabilitated Muscovy Duckling Returned to It's Siblings and Momma
Our three day old duckling that had difficulties hatching and afterwards has now been returned to it's Mom and siblings outside. It had a rough start but seems to be doing well now.
Tiny the Muscovy Duckling (Our Little Escape Artist)
