Help! Rescued duck no balance and lacking feathers!

[Lynxdragon]

Pulled him/her out of a drain about 2 hours ago, Was freezing cold to the touch. Couldn't walk more than a few steps and wasnt able to keep up with the rest of his siblings so decided to take him/her inside. seemed disorientated. Put into a sink of warm water till he/she stopped shivering, drank some of the water while in there. Seemed to be able to swim okay but isn't scared of me at all.

Seems to have no appetite, preening itself a little bit and not vocal at all. What can I do to help this little guy? How can I help with his missing feathers and red skin?

 

[Orca5094]

Keep him dry and warm, no more baths because they can get chilled very quickly (even if it's warm water, drying off after can get cold). Hair dryers on low setting work really well for drying off and warming up chilled ducklings like this quickly. Do you have a heat lamp to keep him under? It's very important to get him warm and completely dry, and also get him to drink some water with some vitamins in it to perk him up a little. You should also try adding a little sugar to some water and carefully dripping it onto the end of his bill until he naturally swallows it (don't force it in). The sugar water will help perk him up more quickly. He needs to get some energy up and start eating as well ASAP. Finely chopped hard-boiled egg for right now would be best since it's nice and soft and high in protein. Very good for little ones who need a little boost. If he starts eating that for you, you'll want to add in some chick crumb or duckling pellets so he can get proper complete nutrition once he gets going.

Keep us updated on this little guy, ok?

 

[the1913trio]

Keep the duckling warm by using as great a wattage of an incandescent bulb as you can so they stay at around 90 degrees. Or use a heating pad covered with a towel/rag for the inevitable ducky poo. Make sure with either heat source they can get away from it if overheating. You will know they are too hot if they begin panting like a dog.

Get them some water with sugar in it. Like 2-4 teaspoons per quart of water to help replace some its energy loss to perk it up and hydrate at the same time. If the baby begins to wake up more and come to, then boil up some chicken eggs. Give them the yolks boiled chopped into eensy pieces and make sure they know the food is there. The water needs to be deep enough they can dip the full bill into it so it can clean out its bill and nose after eating.

Plop some antibiotic ointment on the wound in a thin layer after you gently clean the wound.

If the little one makes it through all of this and is improving, then you can get some unmedicated game bird feed and add niacin to it (see threads on duckling food needs), and get some electrolyte sav-a-chik packets to help with vitamins and electrolytes to boost the stressed out little one. Ducklings do not need to swim, and can actually drown when little as they need their mom's oil gland to be oiled up with to be able to stay dry and warm when wet. Just make sure they have drinking water deep and wide enough to clear out the bill when they drink.

Hope that helps!

Let us know how it goes!