They had found an egg

In the last week of school as I arrived home, I got a phone call from two colleagues who work with me at Brisbane Water Secondary College Umina, Lenora Lawler and her daughter Megan Lawler.

They had found an abandoned egg near the school gates.

As they know I care for injured wildlife and run a Kids Who Are Animal Carers elective class, they decided to ring me and ask for help.

Keeping in mind we also have the Bush Stone-curlews living at the school and I am also a bit involved with them.

The egg was on its own near the school gate.

There were no birds around it and they decided to pick it up, ring me and see if I could help.

My first thought was "what can I do?"

"I have no incubator and I am heading away for two weeks."

My other thought was "there is no way there could be anything in this egg, it's been on its own for goodness knows how long".

"What are the chances?"

Anyway the women were on their way to my place.

At that point I had an idea.

The only thing I could think of doing was popping it under my two broody chickens.

When the girls arrived I had a look at the egg.

It was about the size of a chicken egg but a slightly different shape.

It was white but a different colour than chook eggs.

I had no idea what it could be, but knew by experience that it was not a plover or a curlew egg.

So I figured I would pop it under the chickens and see how we go.

I really didn't think anything would come of this but hey we'd give it a go.

Over the next few days I noticed that the broody chooks were stealing it from one another.

Using their beaks, they would roll it under their plumage and keep it well warm.

They were both caring for it well.

In the meantime, I showed it to a friend who is an experienced animal carer and she suggested that it could be a duck egg.

I marked it with a black dot and instructed all those who were in charge of collecting eggs in my absence not to take the white egg with the black dot on it.

In between my travels I checked on the egg; it wasn't smelly and was still being haggled over by the chickens.

I did not think much of it until I returned home to stay.

The egg still did not smell. It did not seem lighter in weight and I assumed it would soon turn off.

However, a few days later I noticed it had changed colour slightly, or at least I thought it had.

On our hottest day, Tuesday January 8, I went up to feed my animals.

I collected the eggs and again checked the egg with the black dot.

It had a crack in it.

Finally I thought, it's got old or the chickens have fought over it and damaged it.

When I picked it up I noticed the crack was only slight and looked like it was pushed outwards.

As I placed it on a shelf nearby and collected the remaining eggs I noticed some movement.

On closer look, I saw a little beak inside.

What a thrill.

Who would have thought that this could have happened?

I was sceptical from the beginning.

What were the odds of an unattended egg, abandoned for who knows how long to have a chance of hatching?

A big decision then had to be made.

What do I do?

Do I leave it with my chooks, who steal it from each other could harm it or do I intervene and pop it on some heat in my house to monitor?

My chickens lay in a shed and it was hot.

They had not been mums before. Would they care for it as if it was their own?

I had just soft released several baby kookaburras in my yard so I knew it wouldn't have been safe.

I decided to separate the chook and the egg from the others in the hope that the chicken would still look after the egg.

But as these two particular chickens are not too friendly, they were not happy being moved.

I tried both chickens.

I then returned the egg and placed a good sized cage over the top of my still broody chook.

When I checked on her again, moments later, she was not happy being in a cage.

The decision was made.

It was hot and I didn't trust the chickens so I took the egg down to the house.

At this point I knew that this critter, whatever it may be, would be imprinted with the first thing it saw when it came out of the shell - me.

But I thought I could work on that down the track.

The priority here was to keep the egg safe and hope things worked out the way they should.

This turned out to be a better idea as the weather temperatures increased throughout the day.

I made several phone calls and tried calling many others.

Nobody knew anyone who had done this before.

I have since learnt it has been done but nobody around could help me on the day.

I googled and I googled, and wondered whether I should help the little critter out.

Some websites said not to help as the membrane inside the egg was still vascular and damage could be done.

Other websites said it could be a 40 hour process.

Some suggested minimal help, but all said that humidity and temperature were the key elements to success.

I have no humidity crib or the like so I just winged it with a heat pad and monitored the egg all day.

As things progressed, I could see that our new arrival was going to be a duckling.

The little guy shifted and yawned a little, calling out from time to time.

Its demeanour did not change.

The breathing was consistent and it did not seem distressed.

I checked on it continuously and I could see the membrane separating from the shell.

I was worried that it may dry out as this can happen and the baby can get stuck.

Wow, the things I learnt that day were amazing.

I had never hatched an egg.

Anyway just after 2pm, the movement increased.

I picked up the little egg and could see a foot hanging over a beak.

How on earth could he fit in there?

I was claustrophobic at the thought.

The egg shell eventually loosened from my newest edition to our family and out he or she fell.

So out it was, covered in a bit of goo and looking wet and exhausted.

I talked to it the whole time and then we met.

I knew in the back of my mind that imprinting is a no-no (and something I am not a fan of) but what choice did I have?

This situation was not ideal but was also unique in itself.

I didn't even think the egg was viable in the first place.

So now I have this gorgeous duckling who thinks I'm its mother.

A plea for any abandoned ducklings from the local organisation I am involved in has been done and I wait for a response.

If I can get some similar sized babies to go with mine, then I can attempt to dehumanise him before it gets much older.

It would then mean a successful release into the wild down the track.

In the meantime, as I type this, I have a little ball of cuteness sleeping on my chest.

He cries when I leave the room but he sleeps in his little basket all through the night without a peep.

I haven't named him yet but I can tell you this - what a shaky start to the world he has had.

He is one lucky duck.

It just goes to show that it pays to look - what would have happened to him without those lovely women finding him?

Email, 10 Jan 2013

Nerrida Lewis, Kincumber