Duck stopped quacking??

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farm316

farm316

Songster
9 Years
Jul 28, 2014
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Two days ago, we put in some straw because it was supposed to get cold through the night. In the morning, my male, Henry (3 months) wasnt quacking. He's trying to, but its like he lost his voice or has a sore throat.. We gave him warm water and watered down the feed. He's active, eats more than my female Piper (3 months) sometimes, swims, everything is normal. Except, my mom noticed Henry's eyes had yellow around them. Piper and mom and dad arent like that. Its not jaundice or liver failure… Its not his actual eye that is yellow. Its like his waterline or the "fur" around the eye... He always dunks his head into the water. Maybe his eyes got irritated from the straw? They dig around in the wood chips we lay down in the pen so maybe they dug in the straw. The bale was in the hatch of the car for a few days so it couldve got dusty. Here's a picture of Henry, its kinda blurrish, he was moving. But its in the inside corner of his eye:



(This lady has problems with her duck, her is a link to help her out,

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/918269/duck-stopped-quacking#post_13971594
 
Straw that is dusty I don't think will hurt ducks—mine have had dusty straw. However, if the bale had mold, that could be a problem. Ducks can get sick from the mold and fungus that may be in the straw. I don't know if there's any "self-help" for this—I think it probably requires a vet. Best thing you can do is make sure there's no moldy straw, feed him well, make sure his water is clean (bleach the bowl to kill bacteria at least daily) and see how it goes. Ducks that are well-feed and kept have a better chance of fighting off infections and the like. If you're worried and there is a vet available, you could go that route.

Many people where I am use pine shavings instead of straw for bedding. I use pine shavings and just tall grass cut from my yard (I don't use chemicals on my lawn). Seems to work and is less likely to mold than straw.
 
I use shavings because there was a time when I could not find mold-free straw. The quality of the shavings is consistently better than straw (though I loved it when we got nice, clean oat straw).

If I suspect something I get down at duck level and sniff the bedding. Sometimes there is a spot where ammonia is building up - that is trouble.

Ducks can develop laryngitis from infections, parasites or injury. Try a little ACV in the water (not in galvanized containers, and perhaps just a teaspoon per quart of water) overnight.
 

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