HELP! Rescue duck egg!

[Delphene]

So, (And please don't freak out because I'm not taking it to a rescue place!) my friends found an abandoned duck egg, and yes it was abandoned! was floating in the water! Luckily they were coming to my house after anyway and I noticed I had an emergency incubator though it's not the best, I set it up, and it's heating up right now.

I candled it to see if it was still alive and sure enough there was a heartbeat!

I'm not sure what to do when it hatches but I'm planning on caring for it. I don't have any ducks I have - chickens which might be a good companion for a while of maybe even perfect but I'm stuck what do I do? I'm not going ahead and getting duckling feed but I will if its alive a couple days before hatching day. Duck tips? Housing? Friends? I need to know everything to have everything set up if he/she hatches and what to do if its a drake!

 

[Delphene]

Ps. I like ducks but I know what there capable of doing to your yard and personally I think chickens are much better in a lot of ways, so just saying I'm aware of the faults of having a duck

 

[ruthhope]

So, (And please don't freak out because I'm not taking it to a rescue place!) my friends found an abandoned duck egg, and yes it was abandoned! was floating in the water! Luckily they were coming to my house after anyway and I noticed I had an emergency incubator though it's not the best, I set it up, and it's heating up right now.

I candled it to see if it was still alive and sure enough there was a heartbeat!

I'm not sure what to do when it hatches but I'm planning on caring for it. I don't have any ducks I have - chickens which might be a good companion for a while of maybe even perfect but I'm stuck what do I do? I'm not going ahead and getting duckling feed but I will if its alive a couple days before hatching day. Duck tips? Housing? Friends? I need to know everything to have everything set up if he/she hatches and what to do if its a drake!

Ducklings need ducklings. I suggest you puck up a couple of ducklings from Tractor Supply as soon as this one pips

 

[MGG]

Do you have a picture of the egg?

 

[KathiQuacks]

If you’re in the USA & this is a wild egg, it is illegal to hatch, or at the very least illegal to keep after hatch. If it’s a feral or domestic egg, that should be alright.

Ducks need ducks; Chickens won’t suffice companion-wise. I personally think it’s best to keep drakes away from chickens entirely, else you risk him injuring / killing your birds from mating. I imagine housing is very similar to chickens, minus roosting bars and nesting boxes.

 

[21hens-incharge]

A reminder...

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act prohibits the taking, killing, capturing, transporting, harboring of the birds or hatching eggs, that which are Native to the United States of America. All are protected by state and federal agencies.

https://www.fws.gov/law/migratory-bird-treaty-act-1918

Any threads started on this subject will be closed and/or posts deleted.

Thank you for your understanding.

-BYC Staff