Found baby ducklings: How to feed, water, and care for them?

Hello. Looks like you have a pretty young mallard duck. You will need to purchase a bag of duck feed, or at least start the little guy on a chick starter ( hopefully you have some feed stores in your country ) & keep him on this until he looses all his down & is fully feathered. This will be around 7-9 weeks. He will not survive on granola or just bread. Keep him warm & protected & he should grow just fine. You might also see if there are any wildlife rehabilitators in your area who can do a much better job raising & releasing the duckling in a safe manner. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Pretty cool! You don;t really have to feed her as she will look for food in her environment. However you can get a bag of poultry food (not chicken food) and feed her about 6 feet from the nest. Make sure you have a container with some water nearby as well. Poultry food is a mix of food that can be fed to ducks, turkeys and chickens and other fowl. Apart from that, try not to disturb the duck as she may leave the nest if she feels disturbed.

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. With very small chicks, you often need to grind up further the chick crumbles that you can buy from the feed store. I put some in a ziplock bag, & roll over them with a heavy rolling pin making the crumbles even finer. Feed this in a very shallow dish, changing it frequently if they soil it. Once they are bigger, you can use a chick feeding trough. This should be available to the chicks all day long. Water needs to be supplied using a small chick waterer making sure it is fresh every day. Good luck with your little chicks.

If your hen is free ranging, ie, can walk and eat wherever she likes, then she will teach her chicks to eat insects and seeds and grit and you will not need to add anything. If your chicken is in a coop and cannot take her chicks out to forage, then you need to buy either commercial baby chick starter food or feed them insects and worms and chopped greens. You can also feed them chopped boiled eggs. You can also mix finely chopped hard-boiled eggs with oatmeal ground lentils, ground maize, flax, millet. You can add worms and other insects. They will always need fresh water available.

Baby quail will need to be fed a starter/grower mix designed for game birds. Most feed stores will carry this in addition to other poultry starter foods. Once the chicks are old enough you can then begin to feed them the same diet as their parents. You'll also want to have a heat lamp in the brooder that they can move to and away from as needed in order to better regular their temperature until their adult feathers come in.

Contact your veterinary clinic. They can provide information regarding any local wildlife rehabilitators. The duckling can be care for until it recovers. This will give it the best chance at eventual release back into the wild.

Losing weight can be caused by a number of things. Making sure Chelsea is regularly dewormed and treated for mites can help prevent the most common causes, as well as keeping her environment clean and providing fresh food and water. If she continues to lose weight, having a vet examine her to rule out illness or other issues is best. A regular flock diet such as Purina duck chow or layer pellets (if your ducks are laying eggs) can ensure they are getting the right supplementation. Adding in some treats such as fresh fruits and veggies or even sprouted grains can provide extra fun and well-rounded nutrition. If she is older and having some trouble getting around, making sure there are low platforms available so she can climb in and out of the coop, pens or swimming holes may make it easier for Chelsea.