Duckling supposedly born without their upper bill--anything to help them?

We bought some ducklings from a local homesteader who knew she needed to downsize. The stories on these ducklings is that their father is pekin x runner, and mothers are either pekin or cayuga (there's three mama's in the flock). All other ducklings from these ducks have hatched out normally (we have three of the older ones, too). Supposedly, these were sat on by a chicken who then abandoned them, and the eggs were put in an incubator. She said she'd looked online, and saw that sometimes changes in temperature can cause their bills to not form. But, I haven't found anything about that online (maybe I'm not looking in the right places?). I did find info about bills being deformed due to lack of vitamin A and B vitamins. But, the rest of the flock looks fine, and these hatched out this way.

Anyone have any leads on knowledge or if there's anything we can do to help treat them? Supposedly bills continue to grow over time, but I have no idea if that applies to these birds.

Here's some pictures. They're very spunky and friendly ducklings.

Some people have made prosthetic bills for ducks, but if the entire bill is missing, I don't know how you could attach the prosthesis.

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00Man/VeterinaryTechniques/WfowlIndTech/W_Bill_Repair.htm

Try sending an email to Holderread Waterfowl Farm. I think they've seen everything. It might take them a day or two to get back to you. Wanita handles the emails.

Do they have any trouble eating?

ETA: Did they need help hatching?

Beth Johnson wrote:Try sending an email to Holderread Waterfowl Farm. I think they've seen everything. It might take them a day or two to get back to you. Wanita handles the emails.

Do they have any trouble eating?

ETA: Did they need help hatching?

Amazingly enough, they don't seem to have problems eating, even "Ack" the duckling with barely a bill (My husband named them "Qua" and "Ack" because they both have only half a bill and therefore half a "Quack"). They're currently on Scratch and Peck Starter, and looking at their size, they seem to be doing well. They do seem to stretch their legs more than I recall other ducklings doing, but they run around and are happy.

I tried messaging the lady I got them from for more information, but she hasn't replied back. I'm thinking they must have somehow hatched out okay, which is rather surprising!

I'll try emailing Holderread Waterfowl Farm tomorrow. I have his book on ducks, and I've been trying to find time to read through the illness/etc chapter to see if there's anything on stuff like this.

Tyler Ludens wrote: Some people have made prosthetic bills for ducks, but if the entire bill is missing, I don't know how you could attach the prosthesis.

http://wildpro.twycrosszoo.org/S/00Man/VeterinaryTechniques/WfowlIndTech/W_Bill_Repair.htm

I don't think I'll be able to afford/craft a prosthetic for them. I'm hoping they continue to be fine without one. But, it's a really good thing to mention. Thank you!

How are the ducklings managing, Nicole?

They seem to be doing well! I still have them on the starter feed. I'm going to try giving them bigger feed today and see if they can eat it. A LOT of it gets rinsed into their water, and they don't seem to be able to catch bugs like other ducklings. But, they're gaining weight and both are very sweet.