Infertility Healed…In Ducks!

It might seem strange that animals would have fertility problems, the same as people do. I would say it is more rare in animals. However, it does occur, and especially in domestic animals. The way they have been bred is sometimes a factor, or the diet. Sometimes the reason is just unknown.

Call Ducks are a kind of bantam duck. I love them because I like ducks, period, and they are extremely adorable as well. Their small size means they are easy to house and they don’t eat as much as say, a goose. The antics of the ducks in the water, in the garden, amuse me no end. And there is nothing cuter than a baby duck! Just look at the photo above!

The parents of this little duck had no success producing babies. Yes, I saw they were attracted to each other (they were mating, as ducks are known to do!) and the wife of the couple was laying eggs. This year, 2016, was the second year they were together. And though neither is young, in duck terms, they are still well within range for fertility. The male, Chubby Cheeks, is five. His wife, Caledonia, is six I believe. As long as she is laying eggs, that means she is fertile.

I kept putting their eggs in the incubator to test them, and week after week, nothing. No fertility whatsoever. This was exceedingly disappointing, as I don’t have many ducks at this point, and only two females left. Chubby is also a very handsome duck, I so wanted him to have some offspring! It took a while to get him paired up with a mate, so time was wasting, and all last year was a waste as well.

Finally I said, “Hey! If people can be prayed for to have a baby, why not a ducks?” So I prayed. I rebuked this infertility. I spoke the truth that I know in the Bible, the words inspired by the Holy Spirit, that “your flocks will increase” and I believed it!

When birds mate, it takes a while for the eggs inside the duck to be fertilised. The egg formation process is a bit complicated, and the eggshell is added to the egg at the end of the process. So I had to wait a week or so, but I kept collecting all eggs, and by this time, there were fewer and fewer because Call Ducks only lay for a few months a year. Like a wild duck, they do not have a large window of reproduction. It’s not like chickens who will lay for many months of the year. There is also a kind of duck called the Indian Runner which is an egg-laying duck, they lay like chickens.

But not Call Ducks. So by this time, my chances of baby ducks had diminished even more. It was middle of Summer, and normally the Call Ducks start laying in February or March and end by June. This was already mid-June.

The few eggs that were laid in the next couple of weeks I collected and put in the incubator. The end of June I put some in the incubator. I had hoped the duck would want to sit on eggs, but she never did. So I had to resort to the incubator. I candled the eggs at one week to see if there was development inside.

What happens in candling is not complicated. In a dark room, a light, such as in my case, a flashlight, is held to the egg. The developing egg will show blood vessels growing inside. At one week it is very easy to tell.

Lo and behold! At one week of incubation, a week or ten days after my prayer, I saw that three eggs were fertile! After two years of no fertility! Praise the Lord!

Then I had the challenge of hatching duck eggs in an incubator. I had tried this before in past years, and had never successfully hatched ducks this way. The mothers were good at it, even chickens had hatched ducks, but this time I had no broody mother to put them under. The incubator was my only hope, and I knew that things can happen in the process, embryos can die, the power can go out, and hatching waterfowl can be finicky.

However, what was there to lose? I was already walking in the power of the Lord in this, I believed I would have some kind of success, even with my past failures. I spoke SUCCESS on the hatching of the duck eggs, in the mighty name of Jesus! And each day I turned them several times, and put a little water on them by wetting my fingers just before each turning (the way a damp mother duck will add moisture to the egg’s surface when she returns from a swim).

I had some chicken eggs in there as well, which I added over a week later, so the ducks would come out first. Chickens take 21 days to hatch, ducks take 28 days.

I candled again, and had to discard one egg which never developed past the initial stage. I was down to two or three duck eggs. The voice of doubt was starting to try and get me. This will happen when you believe and want to keep on believing for something. When you have a promise from the Lord, from his WORD that you are hanging your hopes and belief on. Well, never mind. When doubt attacks, rebuke the doubt. Don’t let it take your mind over. Just say “Doubt, I knew you would try. Now I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

It is not enough to just go on past success. The devil will try and steal away your belief, your hope. We must renew our minds. Daily. That means prayer, reading of the word, listening to inspiring words, talking of the Lord with others, singing praise to the Lord, praying in heavenly tongues if you have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (and I hope you have, this is the power of God’s Spirit at work to do his will through you).

So I continued.

Then I was doing something at my desk. The incubator is in the bathroom, to keep it safe from the cats, and the house temperatures don’t vary as much in there.

Then I heard a peeping. Very loud. For a minute I didn’t know what it was. I went in to look, and one of the wee duck eggs was cracked, and a tiny duckling was working to get out! I can’t tell you how excited I was about this! Not only did it mean a baby from Chubby and Cal, it was also a miracle to get a duck out of the incubator, for me anyway. AND it was confirmation of my belief and the pure LOVE of the Lord.

Of course, there was the waiting to see the baby out of the egg. Would he or she be okay? What if it was deformed? Look, it’s the same questions anyone asks when a baby is about to be born. It is best to not dwell on those questions. The best thing is to speak to your mountain, BEFORE it becomes an issue! Speak the health on the child before it is even born. And I had. But you know the devil, and how the evil kingdom operates? They want to steal your peace. Rebuke these attempts! Turn your heart to the Lord, and no matter what, let him give you his peace in your heart.

All was well. All is well. Baby C. is thriving, now two months of age and almost as big as Mom and Dad. I had to raise the little guy myself. It doesn’t work to put a baby in with a mother or parents who did not participate in the hatching process, unless she has babies the same age. Even then, she could attack her own young if she sees it as strange or acting differently than the others. Nature, which so many virtually worship, can be very cruel. This is a fallen world, it’s not the way the Lord made it in every aspect. (More on that topic later). So care must be taken. As I didn’t have a mother duck who had been sitting on eggs–and thus getting in the family mode hormone-wise–I had to raise the duck myself. Turns out it is a little male. He imprinted on me, and then I obtained some baby Guinea Fowl a week or so later, and he was able to go in with them and have “siblings” to grow up with.

Meantime, it was no hardship to be Momma to a baby duck!

All ducklings are cute, but Call Ducklings are the cutest, they are so tiny, so lovable!

Now, the Lord spoke to me about this recently, and I believe He is telling me that I ought to pray for any couples who have a problem conceiving a child. The Lord does not favour ducks above humans, believe me!

If you believe this means you, then please contact me. Any married couple who is having infertility problems, I believe you can have your child the normal way, nothing is too big, or too small, for the Lord to heal and put right.

There is nothing I gain by this, except I do the will of the Lord, and that is great gain!

If you are inspired and have faith, and want to pray for your own situation, or for others, I urge you to take the step of faith and go for it. If you are unsure, if you have hope but feel you lack faith, I am happy to pray with you and encourage you. The Lord wants couples who want children to have them. He wants to show his love for each person, in a way that will touch the heart.