Hatched a duck last week! Steemit Original Narrative with Original Photos of Baby Jeffrey!

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Meet Baby Jeffrey, the American Pekin Duck

So last week, I checked my incubator and heard a peep. No hatchlings, just eggs. No movement, just a consistent peep every minute or so. It was 11:30pm. I was exhausted, I was going to bed and I'll see the little guy in the morning...

But noooo... This little guy wasn't having any of that. Again, at 12:45 am on a workday where I had to wake up at 5am, I started hearing an egg rolling around, and the chirping getting a little louder (I'm not that light of a sleeper, so you could imagine it waking me up being pretty loud and consistent).

I checked the egg, and there was  small hole where I could see some duckling fur and a beak every now and then. I whistled at him a little, then went back to bed to try to salvage the night. 

Time Check: 2:45am:

The duckling is now chirping at a very loud level and the rolling having stopped, I couldn't sleep. I took one last peek and I saw the little guy going ballistic! I knew that I wouldn't have time in the morning (which was less than 2 1/2 hours away, so I had to set up his brooder quick! (He could've been in there for up to 48 hours and been fine, but this being my first duckling, I wanted no chances to be taken!

So I grabbed a rubbermaid tote from the basement, a heat lamp, poured down the wood shavings and filled up the waterer all within a cool 20 minutes. Although his beak was the size of half my thumb nail and his wings as small as a baby's earlobes, he knew he was here to stay. Oh, yeah, then I remembered the food. Saucer with chick feed: done. After dipping his beak in the base of the waterer to "teach him" how to drink, he was finally ready for his new home in this new world:

With his down still sticky from the albumen in his egg, he looked up at me, as if to say "Are you my daddy?"

I couldn't wait, my daughter would love this lil guy forever and instantly. And she did.

So now a week later, Baby Jeffrey has grown over twice his size already. (Pekin Ducks are known for their quick growth). Today, he's happy as can be, and still gives me that look as if he thinks of me as dad.