raising baby swans

[birdman123]

a good friend of mine has a pair of swans on her pond at her house
her pond is a farley good sized pond with some pretty big turtles in it
shes had this pair of swans for about 3 years and for the past 3 years theyve laid eggs and hatched babies
well every year none of them have ever made it to adult hood or even 1 month old for that matter
the turtles keep getting them
so she said shes going to incubate the eggs herself and hatch babies in an incubator
shes a very busy ladie and wont have near as much time as me to take care of them
so she told me once they hatch shell let me care for them until they turn adults and then shell let me have some of the profit i think
well i know absolutley nothing about baby swans
i know itll be next year until the swans lay a clutch of eggs again but i need to know everything about raising baby swans
for example
what to feed them!!!
if they will ever like me(imprint)???
if they need a pond or is a kiddie pool good until there adults?!?!
what type of pen/cage i can keep them in
you know the need to know stuff
thanks very much
cole

 

[chickenzoo]

If possible she might let them almost hatch the eggs, then in the last few days take them and put in the bator, as they really do best when incubated by parents..... but others incubate them also in a bator
I am NO EXPERT, but I've raised about 6 of the buggers, Black Swans...... and they are precious. Be prepared to have a good $$$$ in Romane lettuce, little buggers go through a good bit, chopped fine when babies then they can rip it when older. I put mine on a wire bottom pen to start off with, so water etc.... will fall through.... and be prepared to change often. be careful of dog kennels, as I've learned as they grow they can get their head stuck between the bars.... not fun. LOL, Heat lamp on one side for warmth, and I put cardboard around to block drafts. Give a good amount of space and a floor with good traction. A bowl of water that they can't climb into is good for the first few weeks, especially if it's cold in your area. i also take them out often to exercise their legs in the grass. As they get a little older and it gets warmer I let them swim for short supervised spirts in shallow pans.... moving up in depth and length as they age. You don't want them to stay chilled for too long. Feed a fresh swan chow or a good layer feed. They can get really friendly the more time you spend. If she has Black swans, and she ships, let me know when you get ready......

PS - don't leave anything laying around they can get into..... especially bleach water, they will go for it......