HELP PLEASE!!! Wild duckling!!

Amiga said:

Kathy - can you point me toward a paper or some reference that resolves the "thiamine uptake inhibitor" part of amprolium with the "okay for ducklings" part? This is not a snarky question, I genuinely have been mulling over this for some time now, and would love to know more.

Click to expand...

Found this:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6878147
Anticoccidial drugs and duckling performance to four weeks of age.

Holderread D, Nakaue HS, Arscott GH.
Abstract

Frequently, publications pertaining to waterfowl state that medicated feeds should not be fed to ducklings and goslings. In some localities, producers and hobbyists who raise a small number of ducklings and goslings can purchase only medicated chick, turkey, or gamebird starter and grower feeds. Because of the lack of documented information on this subject and the numerous requests for advice on this matter, anticoccidial drugs, zoalene, sulfaquinoxaline, and amprolium, were mixed in mash feed and fed to Khaki Campbell male ducklings to 4 weeks of age. No significant differences in mean body weight, mortality, and anatomical development were observed among the treatments. Medicated commercial crumble turkey and chick starter feeds produced significantly better feed conversion than the mash medicated or nonmedicated feeds. These differences can be attributed to greater feed spillage with the mash feed. Some ducklings in all treatments showed unsteadiness of gait and shaky legs. These conditions disappeared when the ducklings were moved from the battery brooder to an outside pen. Zoalene, sulfaquinoxaline, and amprolium used at the recommended levels for chickens and turkeys did not cause any leg or anatomical problems in ducklings.

And I'll look for more.

-Kathy

Quote:

There is an “Old Wive’s Tale” that you should not feed medicated feed to waterfowl. This was true 25+ years ago when the coccidiostats used were harmful to waterfowl. But the coccidiostats used now (such as Amprolium) do not harm waterfowl. So if your only choice is a medicated starter or a non-medicated feed that is not adequate for young ducklings or goslings – you should always use the medicated chick starter.

Click to expand...

-Kathy

Just curiously...why not yogurt? My babies loved it when they were little....

Also, I am sorry to say the little thing passed away earlier this evening....it just wasn't looking good at all this morning when I left for work despite how much I tried to encourage it to eat and drink....perhaps it was sick to begin with and that's why it was left behind by its family, I just don't know. At least I tried.

You did try, sometimes they don't make it.

blondiebee181 said:

Just curiously...why not yogurt? My babies loved it when they were little....

Also, I am sorry to say the little thing passed away earlier this evening....it just wasn't looking good at all this morning when I left for work despite how much I tried to encourage it to eat and drink....perhaps it was sick to begin with and that's why it was left behind by its family, I just don't know. At least I tried.

Click to expand...

Sorry for your loss... Treating the young ones that are really sick can be very difficult without the help of a vet. As for why not to feed yogurt, it's because a sick bird needs fluids and something with the right amount of protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. I think you're right in that it was sick when you found it. {{{{{ hugs}}}}}

-Kathy

The only reason I reverted to it was because it wouldn't touch the chick starter I had for it.....it was the best thing I had available....and I thought that maybe hand-feeding a little yogurt would help, but alas.....thanks you guys.

My warehouse guys found another abandoned baby in the barn today....*le sigh*...at least this time the sanctuary was open!

So just for future FYI, baby wood ducks are notoriously difficult to get to eat. Mainly because their diet is different from the dabbling ducks in that they eat mostly invertabrates. So offering them live food stimulates their appetite more. Meal worms, earth worms, feeder guppies, woodlice, and even small bite sized goldfish can be offered to try and get a wood duckling to eat.

Good to know!

If you have nearby pet stores, rosy minnows are also an option for feeding wood ducks. Just be careful with all live food, buy it healthy, diseases are notorious in feeder fish.