Blair asks
Hi Kim found ducklings on road, what best way to look after them?
Kim
Hi
If you find ducklings on the road or anywhere else it is important that you get advice on their care ASAP, so phoning myself or the a vet or animal rescue is better than asking questions via givealittle as unfortunately the time frame between your posting a question, and my receiving the email and replying is going to be too long. I am hoping that you have also contacted a vet or rescuer by phone.
But to answer your question: for anyone who finds ducklings on the road:
did you find them on the road because the mother had been hit? Or was the mother nowhere to be found? If the mother has not obviously been hit and killed, consider whether she may be hiding nearby, and look and listen for her. If it’s a quiet spot you may her hear talking quietly to her other ducklings if she’s about.
If the mother has been hit and killed (if she had been hit and is alive, obviously get her immediately to the closest vet. All Nz vets are legally obliged to treat injured wildlife without charge to the person bringing the wildlife to them, so if mum or ducklings are injured just get them to the closest vet that is open, and if it’s after hours and you don’t have an after hour vet close to you, call the spca.
Anyone with urgent duckling rescue needs can also phone me on 020 406 41485 however at times I am outside with wet hands cleaning out the duck runs and ponds and for that reason and patchy coverage where I live, I may not answer straight away. If so please send a text explaining the urgency of your situation to the same number (as it is faster for me with patchy coverage to read a text than to call the voice mail service)
Check the ducklings very carefully for any sign of injury
Ducklings need to be kept warm first and foremost, especially very small ones. Get a box of some sort, place clean dry soft blankets on the bottom, polar fleece is best, cotton gets wet way too fast.
Then get a hot water bottle or better, a heat pad or heat lamp if you happen to have (putting a duckling beside a heater or in a warm room is NOT enough to keep them warm they MUST have a heat source like a weak hot water bottle or heat pad. If you have none of these you can fill up a plastic 1.5, 2 litre or whatever water or coke bottle with very hot water and cover with a clean dry pillowcase or similar.
Then drape a thick blanket over the top of the box so the duckling can go up on top of the blanket on the floor, onto the hot water bottle or coke bottle with hot water and underneath the top blanket that you drape over the side of the box.
Refill a hot water bottle often every 2-3 hours including overnight. As above putting them by the heater or fireplace or the weather being warm is not enough, even on 30plus degree days very small ducklings can need additional heat.
Feeding them:
Best option is canned cat food, chef, whiskers etc.
And water in a small bowl with a rock in the centre so they can dip their beak right into the water but not get in themselves and get wet. Ducklings who have fluff and not feathers can easily die of hypothermia from getting wet.
Get them warm, with a dark covered soft place to hide and then PHONE a vet or wildlife rescuer. Sending messages via givealittle or social media to rescuers is probably not going to get a response in time.
To anyone reading this my number is 020 406 41485. Even if you are not in Canterbury I can still advise on care u til you find somewhere local to you to take the duckling. If you phone and get voice mail if at all possible please text me the details of the duckling or ducklings you have found: number, size, any injuries, whether mother is dead, present or cannot be found, whether your cat had it (even if it looks uninjured, ducklings brought in by your cat need to go to a vet for antibiotics, they will likely have puncture wounds that you will not be able to need antibiotic treatment.)
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