Let the parents take care of the swans. They know what to do. Do not place any food near the nest as it will attract predators and pests, i.e., raccoons, turtles, ants, rats etc., that could hurt the young swans. The parents will take the cygnets out into the water 24 hours after hatching to begin allowing them to feed. Baby swans can feed themselves immediately once they are placed in the water. The cygnets are pretty self-sustaining except for the protection of the parents from predators and learning how to bathe, preen, feed and ultimately become an adult swan. You need to get the cygnets back to the parents in a relatively short time, so 2-3 hours is a good window. Once you take the cygnets back to the pond, make sure that you call the parents over, let them see the cygnets. In fact, hold up one of the cygnets which will cause the cygnet to cry. The parents will pick up on this sound and understand that you have their children, which they probably already know since they saw you take them away. Once the parents physically come over to the crying cygnet, show them all the cygnets. Place the cygnets on the edge of the pond and allow them to enter the pond all at once. If you place one cygnet at a time, there is a chance that the parents will leave with the first cygnets that you place in the water and not wait for all of them. Once the parents see all of the cygnets on the edge of the pond, they will call the cygnets over to them or will go toward the cygnets and will then take the young birds back into the pond with them. The Regal Swan