Robyn, can I tell their stories here? I don't know whether they should belong to chickens or ??

I still didn't find a satisfied flat. But I found a new job yesterday.

On way home I bought 2 baby ducks. Actually I wanted to buy chickens. But the seller said " In winter baby chickens are not easy to feed up."

I paid RMB 5 to bought these 2 ones.

I have no digital camera, but I have a computer camera. I will take some photos(maybe not clear) uploaded here. Now they are enjoying the sunshine. I will go out to continue my way seeking a flat.

Thanks to my experience mom. Yesterday I had planned to put the ducks in a basin of water. I had thought they liked water. But my mom prevented me, and told me baby ducks were not suitable for swimming, because they had no big feathers.

From today, I will try my best to do a big duck-mother to take good care of them. They are too slender! I hope no cats beside.

Today my cousin's birthday. After we ate the TCBY icecream birthcake, I got the cake's package----a big foam plastic box.

Mom and I took about an hour to rebuild the box to a warm house for the ducks.
It is really warm. I hope they can be satisfied.

But the ducks are too active, and they keep jumping no matter in paper box or plastic box.

I am afraid they will jump out of the box when I am out for work tomorrow.

bigfat,
I am sure you will be a good "duck mother"!! Did you name your new babies? Can you fix a piece of screen or something over the box so they will stay in there?
Ellen

Baby ducks are so cute! I've never had ducks myself. I do know that until they are a few months old, they can't produce their own oil to coat their feathers to make them waterproof. In the wild, the mother will put her oil from the gland at the base of her tail on the babies so they can swim. So, you're not supposed to put human-raised ducklings in water. Yet, I've seen many people do it anyway. I guess if the water is warm, it might be ok. How warm is it there Bigfat? Ducklings need to be kept near 90 degrees F the first week and then in the 80's for a few more weeks. They can't take the cold. How old are the ducklings? We await the photos. I moved this post to miscellaneous animals since ducks aren't chickens or turkeys.

Ellen,

I didn't put screen on the box. Till we are back, they are still in the box.

I didn't name them either. They now are bothe yellow. I know one is male, one is famale, as the seller told me. The seller touched and pressed their tails for a while and told me their sex. Now it seems he is right. One is much stronger than another.

I have typed a lot, but the computer restarted. Faint! :angry:

Robyn, thank you. I will take their photos in the weekend. Because these days I came back home late, they both fell asleep.

What does your Duckling mean?Baby ducks?

My duckling like washing their tails with beaks. I doubt the gland has let the oil out.

What does your 90 degree mean? Is it Centigrade or F? Now it is about 23 centigrade here.

They didn't like the beautiful foam cake box. Yesterday, they cried loudly in the midnight. My mom had to get up from the dream to move them to the paper box.

I don't know how old they are. They now are as big as my wrist.

I feel sorry to them. Because in the daylight, they can only stay in the box when we are out for work. Only in the evening, they can walk for a while on our floor. But they are so easy to be satisfied. A little rice and cabbage makes them happy. I like them.

What kind of toys do ducks like?

Duckling = baby duck

90 degrees F = 90 degrees Fahrenheit = 32.22 degrees Centigrade

You should feed them some other grains other than rice as well. They would love some small bugs for treats if you have any bugs around.

Ducks don't really play with toys. They will try to nibble most anything.

Robyn, you seem to be very familiar with ducks' habits.

My ducklings like nibbling blacks on the floor. I always see them working on the floor hard for nothing.

They can yawn! Interesting.

Sometimes they close one eye and open another eye. Strange.

My ducklings like sleeping in the bowl which contains water for them. Strange hobby! They sit in the bowl like people sitting on the stool. How can they do so! We have prepared clean and dry and warm clothes for them to sleep. :(

Birds that feed off the ground will peck at the ground; that's normal. Most animals can yawn.

Maybe the ducklings are trying to swim in the water bowl! That would be a cute picture.

They sleep on clothes? I assume you didn't mean that you put them in clothes.

No, they are not trying to swim. They are sitting in the bowl sleeping!

I made a mistake. It is "cloth",not "clothes". We spread these dry and clean rags in the box, but they like sleeping in the bowl(when the water has been drank out).

This evening one unhappy thing happened.

The boy duck was so naughty that he bumped against the fringe of the plastic bowl. Though the fringe is not very sharp, the duckling hurts his right eye.

Now his right eye closed, and became swelled.

Will it infect his left eye? :(

I'm sorry he is hurt. Since it was a physical injury, it should not spread to the other eye. Is the eye bleeding or obviously injured or just shut? Can you get some antibiotics that are safe for eyes for him? If not, I'm not sure what you could do being over there in China. Perhaps soaking a wash cloth with some warm water and gently putting that over the eye area will help with pain and reduce infection.

Robyn, I got some photos of the naughty boy. This morning his eye was still swelled.

I don't know how to upload the photos. I havel emailed them to you(help@fishpondinfo.com), Robyn.

Please help me uploading the photos. Thank you very much.

The most unfortunate thing happened!

My dear girl died with her eyes still open.

I bought them on Monday. Today is Saturday. Now the boy is blind, and the girl is dead. I hate myself.

The girl had come to that strange disease on Monday evening. She lay on the floor, and her legs stretched stubbornly and coudn't stand. My mom said she was cold. That evening we wrapped her with soft dry cloth. Finally she recoverd. Till last night she was active and healthy.

But this morning she came to the strange disease again. I found the box was humid because the ducklings took the water everywhere. I thought she must be cold again. My mom was not at home. I wrapped her like Monday. But finally she left. I cried but no help.

I feel sorry to her. I should not take her home. She might live longer if not taken home by me.

I hate that disease. It is like a cramp. She just couldn't control her legs. Finally she pecked her feet. I think she must feel afraid for no feeling of her feet.

My poor poor girl! I am deep sorry to you!

There is no other phenomenon except "cramps". But it wasn't completely like cramp. She just stretched her legs, without shake or mouthwater.

Finally I embraced her on my chest and wanted to warm her. She raised her head and took a look at me. I felt very very worried at that time, because I recalled that in my childhood, a chicken lying in my hands took a look at me and died soon. Sure the duckling died.

I couldn't believe my eyes at that time. I held her for a long time and tried to warm her to see her back. Useless!

After she died, I took 2 photos for her. You can see her leg huddled after she died. What is this disease??

I hate myself. If I DIDN'T take her home, she would not die.

I have no ability to feed her, and I should not feed her.

How should I do with the boy now? He must be lonely. He now keeps yelling. Sad!

Wish you happy in heaven. I feel deep deep sorry to you. Dear girl. I am so stupid and imcapable that I can't protect a duckling.

I will learn to be strong enought to protect all things I love

I am so sorry that the duckling died. Try not to be too hard on yourself. It sounds like exposure was the problem. If you get wet, then you are colder. To raise baby ducks (or chickens or turkeys), they need a heat lamp to keep warm and must be prevented from getting wet. I will look at your photos and let you know if I can tell more from them.

Bigfat sent me 13 photos of the ducks. Here are three photos of the assumed boy. You can see his infected eye. He's so cute!

Robyn, thank you.

I regret I didn't rescue the girl in right way in time yesterday.
I should put her on my chest for a long time and didn't give up soon.

After the girl died, the boy yelled for all the afternoon.

I was afraid that the boy was too sad to live, so I went to the largest market and bought another duckling. The market is far from my home. If not the boy yelling, I would not go there.

As soon as the boy saw the new friend, he stopped yelling. I was comforted.

He treated the new friend like a host. Whenever the new duckling yells because of frightness, he will run to her/him soon.

Though Mom and I still feel sad for the dead girl, we are now comforted when we see the new duckling.

We become more careful on raising them. We don't put waterbowl in their box any more. If they seem thirsty, we take them out to drink. Thus the box will not be wet.

We have named them. The boy has a big head, so we call him "Bighead". The new friend has a black beak, so we call her/him "Littleblack".

Good luck with your two ducks. I hope you can keep them warm. If you can't buy a special heat lamp for them, you can just put a light with a regular incandescent lamp near them to keep warm. At that age, they should be about 85 degrees Fahrenheit which is 29 degrees Celsius. They can be a little warmer by the light and can take short trips to cooler areas as long as they're not too long.

Robyn, thank you much for your advice.
I have set a lamp in their box.
They are more and more lovely.
After I am back from office, I take them out for free walk. They feel very excited. If they can't see me, they will yell loud and long worriedly. When I appear in front of them, they yell in low and short happy voice.

Robyn, I have two questions needing your reply soonest:
1. The boy always huddle his neck, and his feather becomes loose with his wings not close to his body. My mom said his body was too weak to live longer. I am very worried. It is no relation with his eye. I think it is because we didn't raise him in right way and didn't supply enough nutrition. In the day we all go out for work, so there are no people taking care of them. I am afraid he died of water like the girl. So I leave no water in their box but some micronized fresh apple and some rice. I cut the apple very slight pieces. Can it be OK?

2. Can I feed the boy some milk to strengthen his health? BTW, the boy is much more greedy than the girl and "Little black". Anytime we see him, he is busy eating. I can't imagine such a greedy duckling will die of weak body. Why is he so greedy for food? Though the "Little black" is not as greedy as him. "Little black" is healthier than him. I can't catch bugs for him. Is anything else nourish I can find easier?

Well. I am now in Shenzhen City in South China.
Now the temperature is about 23 degrees centigrade.

In general, if a baby bird huddles close and makes himself small, he's cold. If he fluffs himself up, spreads out his wings, and pants, he is hot. It may be that the light makes it too hot for the baby. If you can hold your hand under the light and not feel too hot, it is probably ok. The babies need to have water available all the time. Since you're not home, that's a long time to go without water, especially under a lamp. In the US, they sell waterers for baby birds that keep them from getting into it but let them drink. I don't know what is available there. Maybe you could put in just a really small water dish (deep but too small for them to sit in) and hope they don't fall in or get wet. If they get wet, the lamp should help keep them warm while they dry off. The babies have to able to get away from the heat lamp too in case they get too hot. Wet foods like apples will help keep the ducklings hydrated (enough water) if you can't keep water in there. Do not feed the birds any milk. Their bodies aren't meant to drink milk. If you can't get bugs, then feed a variety of grains, fruits, and vegetables. Can you get some leafy greens from the grocery store, like kale? You don't want to feed too many fruits and vegetables as it can cause diarrhea. You mostly want them to eat grains - corn, wheat, rice.

Robyn, but how about he fluffs his feather while head huddled?
My mom said he was too weak to live longer. :(

Last night, to be accurate, 4 o'clock in this morning, I woke up in their yelling and fed them half a bowl of milk......It seemed they liked it very much. They even quarrelled(pecked each other) for drinking milk.

Before we went out this morning, I put a bowl of water(boiled and cooled) and a bowl of rice in their box. I spread 3 towels in the box to make them warm.

This afternoon when I came back, I was happy to see them alive. I fed them milk and some very very small dried shrimps which was bought for them specially. They liked the shrimps more than milk. Of course, I dipped the shrimps into the hot boiled water for a while to guarantee the safety. I also broke the shrimps into small pieces to make the duckling eating easily.

I didn't give them lamp in the day. I only give them lamp in the colder night.

Now they have ended the super and went to bed in the lamplight.

I hope "Bighead" can become healthy and strecth his neck proudly.

I will not take their photos untill they are really healthy and strong enough.
I am afraid taking photos will hurt them because I need to catch them to take photos.

"Bighead" 's neck is normal, but he seldom stretches it.

He has a big head and a big stomach which let him alway seem like two hairy balls. The small ball is his head, and the bigger is his body. There is no neck between the small ball and the big ball. That isn't nice, is it?

Oh bigfat, I am so sorry!! I am so very sorry!! I know you are sad. I hope you feel better. I am so sorry!!
Ellen

If his head is down and his fluffing, he may be cold. Ducks should not drink milk. They are not meant to drink milk. Hopefully, it won't hurt them. It could give them diarrhea. They need the heat lamp all the time while very young. Of course, it's always a potential fire hazard. Shrimp should be good for them to eat. You don't need to catch them to take photos but we can wait. I hope they start to grow and do well. Once they are a few weeks older, they won't be as susceptible to chilling and exposure which means they won't need the heat lamp as often. I hope I haven't put in too many harder English words but it gives you something to look up to learn more!

ELLEN, I am now not as sad sa several days before, because I know some details to raise ducklings. The first important thing, is to keep warm. The girl's death gives me deep impression and I know the importance of heat and light to ducklings.

Robyn, what is "diarrhea"?

Milk should not hurt them, because "Littleblack" grows so fast that my mom think his weight increases at least 100g. :lol:

But "Bighead" is still small with his big head and stomach.

It seems now I am getting the right way to raise ducklings. In the midnight I will get up to feed them extra meal with shrimps and milk. All the night they enjoy the lamplight. The light is adjustable, so I can adjust to a darker light when we are out. Today it rains heavily, but when we are back, we find them healthy. It is too exciting!

This evening I built a hardboard house for them to put in the box. Big thick and soft towels on the house floor. 5-star hotel. Now they are enjoying it! They prefer the house than other place in the box. Ducklings are wise.

:lol:

Robyn, thank you. :lol: I never mind the hard words, because I have a dictionary on line.

I thank you on behalf of the ducklings. :lol:

Ok, I don't want to make people sick but you want to know what diarrhea is. It is when you go to the bathroom and your solid waste is liquid and usually smells extra bad, and your intestines hurt. When you have diarrhea, you lose a lot of water too. It is the leading cause of death in the "third" world for human babies. It kills 5 million people a year. I'm sure it kills many animals too.

Ducks are birds and not mammals so their bodies are not meant to drink milk so it could give them diarrhea.

Oh, I see. Diarrhea in Chinese pronounces "Laashee".

No, they have no obvious diarrhea. But I decide to accept your suggestions. Futhermore, to feed milk everyday is troublesome. They usually jump into milk and have bath which makes me feel angry.

"Littleblack" grows everyday. I am afraid he is a goose.

Today mom and I find he pecking "Bighead" several times. Sometimes for food, sometimes not for food, he still pecked Bighead. He even pecked Bighead's eyes(no residues on the eyes) fierecely and Bighead yelled and fled away. I fellt very angry and lifted him and beated his beak.

Can you tell me why he pecks Bighead?

This evening I fed them half an boiled egg.

Please do not hurt the one bird for pecking at the other. It is common for baby birds like baby ducks to sometimes peck on each other, especially if one is smaller or weak or sick (like the bad eye). If the pecking is bad, you may have to keep them separate when you are not there (but it is okay if they can still see each other). If the new bird is a goose, then it will grow a lot faster than the duck.

I see. Today the big duck didn't peck the small one.

The small one, Bighead, can only swallow very tiny food. Each time he eats a rice, he will drink water. It seems his throat has some problems.

The big one, Littleblack could only eat half a shrimp the day before yesterday, but today he can eat a whole shrimp, while Bighead can only eat a particle of shrimp.

I think this is the point.

I am afraid somthing bad grows in Bighead's throat.

How can I detect it? How can I do with it?

There is no hospital for ducks here. And If people know I send a duckling to hospital, they will laugh at me.

Today my manager asked me what I did off work everyday. I said it took me about 2 hours to feed ducklings and wash the towel pads for them. He felt not satisfied. He thinks I should pay more time on self-study.

It is half past twenty three now.

Mom and I checked the ducklings just now.

We find Bighead's stomach is hard. Every night his stomach is big and hard. We think he got some disease in digestive system. (Well, this phenomenen exists before we fed them milk).

His stomach is always so big and hard while Littleblack's is not.
He can only swallow tiny food while Littleblack large.
He is so thin while Little black is fat.
They eat the same and are treated the same.

What should I do?

It sounds like the small duckling may have an impacted crop. The crop is a bag at the bottom of the neck where food goes first. The crop should contain small rocks to grind up food. When the crop becomes impacted, it becomes infected or gets stuck so no food can move from there on to the stomach. So, the bird dies of starvation and infection.

Can you find flaxseed oil? If you put a few drops in the duck's mouth and then gently massage the crop, it may have get things going. You should be offering both ducklings very small rocks (called grit) to eat. Those rocks stay in the crop and help grind up food. If the crop is really infected, the duckling would need antibiotics. He also needs them for his eye. It is too bad that there is no place you can take the ducklings for medical treatment.

I believe time spent helping others (other people or animals) is an important part of your life, perhaps more important than just learning academics. I have forgotten most of what I learned in school but I have never forgotten any of the animals I have had and what they have taught me, most of all compassion (caring) and empathy (which means that you understand what someone else is feeling and feel it too).

This text is from my chicken page:

"Crop Problems:

If a chicken's crop becomes hard and food does not digest, if may be because not enough grit was given or the chicken is otherwise sick. Impacted crops occur when food just rots there. Bad bacteria grow, the chicken stops eating, and often dies. If a chicken in not eating, feel the crop on the front chest. If it is full and hard instead of light, bouncy, and full of rocks, then put your fingers on both sides of the chicken's mouth to open it and add a few drops of flaxseed oil sold at health food stores. Then, gently massage the crop. Do this for a week or until things get better. Consult a vet if the chicken still is not doing well."

I see, Robyn.

But we seldom see flaxseed oil in Walmart. Can I take seamseed/peanut oil instead of it? Should I boil them first?


I take raising the ducklings to adults as my second enterprise. My first enterprise is to earn money and finally get my own house in this city. :lol: I have just changed job to an absolutely new field and know little about the trade, so the manager kindly wishes me pay more attention on my improvement. I understand them. :)

I don't know how well other plant oils would work. If you want to boil them to be sure they are sterile (no bacteria), then that would be okay. Be sure they are cooled before giving them to the duck. Peanut oil is very fatty but also pretty slippery so it could help things move along. I have not heard of seemseed oil. Vegetable oil may work if you can't find flaxseed oil.

bigfat, you have a Walmart in China? Oh my gosh!! I hope your babies are doing good today. Does the little boy seem to be getting any better? I hope so.
Ellen

Robyn, we have bought a bottle of seamseed oil. SEAM, is that kind of small and black thing.....I don't know how to describe it.

But we don't know how to feed ducks the oil. An injector is prohibited in pharmstores.

Ellen, Walmart exists in most big cities in China. We like it because the quality/price is really nice.

What does "my gosh" mean? Is it good or not?

The day before yesterday was Sunday. It was shinning. So I took a big basin of water for them to swim. They were happy.

Today they seem good. Littleblack is rather strong, and Bighead is still greedy for food.

Now it is 22:48 o'clock, and Littleblack falls into sleep while Bighead is still busy eating.

We think maybe he needs a new nickname, such as "RICEBARREL"

I don't know an easy way to describe these things but you can inject the oil into the mouth of the duck with either a plastic pipet or a small turkey baster. You don't want to use anything sharp or actually inject (stick into) the duckling. If you can't do those things, then try to find another way to squirt some in there. If the duckling is eating, simply add some to his food! Since he's eating now, does he seem better? If so, he may not need the oil.

"My gosh" is a nicer and altered way to say "my God" because some people find that offensive religiously. In saying "my gosh," she is just saying that she is really surprised that they have Walmarts there. I already knew they have a ton there.