The words Dog Breed Info with the letter D inside of a black paw print

Ducks

Page 2 - The Ducklings

A top down view of two ducklings that are laying on a paper towel in front of a water feeder with marbles in the water.
A top down view of two ducklings sleeping on a paper towel under a heat lamp begining to dry off.

The ducklings are exhausted. Hatching is hard work!

Close up - Two ducklings are next to each other on a paper towel. One is standing and one is laying down. Close up - A duckling is beginning to hatch out of a light green egg inside of an incubator.

Duckling number 3 begins to hatch!

A duckling is standing on a paper towel and there is an egg behind it. There are 9 unhatched eggs in front of it.

Duckling number 3 has hatched and number 4 is on its way.

A top down image of two ducklings laying next to each other on a paper towel under a heat lamp next to a water dispenser.

Ducklings 1 and 2 are drying under the heat lamp.

Three ducklings are under a heatlamp on top of a paper towel in a box with food and water dispensers in front of them.

Duckling number 3 joins the group. Usually you would leave the ducklings in the incubator until fully dry. However, in our case the incubator was equipped with an automatic egg turner and the ducklings were getting themselves into trouble by crawling up on top of the other eggs, getting stuck in the moving egg turner and moving too close to the hot heating element and motor.

Reading about it after the fact, you are supposed to stop turning the eggs about 3 days before they are due to hatch or at any signs of hatching to allow the ducklings to get situated. This would mean we should have turned off the automatic turner. Lucky in our case all turned out well.

Close up - A top down view of three ducklings laying on a paper towel. Two ducks are standing on top of a paper towel under a heat lamp. One duckling is drinking water out of the water dispenser.

A ducklings first drink—marbles are placed in the poultry water feeder so the newly hatched ducklings do not drown.

Close up - A duckling is being held in the hands of a person.