The Duck Thread

[megchu]

I wonder if they are warm enough, because in the pictures you posted in the other thread they look like they might me cold. Can you post a picture of your brooder?

-Kathy

On the picture are the older ducklings. They were in the bathroom for a day and they were cold there. I moved them in the bedroom where i sleep. The younger were kept only in the bedroom. They are in a crate and have a heat lamp. The temperature is about 25 - 26C° in the room and under the lamp is about 30C°, sometimes even 32C°.

 

[Miss Lydia]

No, should i buy them and how to give it?

I'd get chick grit or caged bird grit [grocery store] reason being Our feed store has grit that is way to big for ducklings, put it out in a separate bowl they will only eat what they need.

I'm going to ask @casportpony and
@Amiga what they think of a little warmed olive oil or coconut oil put into the bill tiny amounts at a time. to see if this will help. You can use a small syringe with out needle and just put it right inside the bill wait till he swallows it and give some more maybe .25ml to start with. I keep droppers also to use if I need them.

 

[Amiga]

A little coconut oil warmed to room temperature (it would be liquid then), dabbed on the end of the bill to avoid risk of aspiration might be worth a try.

Per Storey's Guide I sprinkled a tiny bit of chick grit on the starter crumbles from early on so that they could chew non-boughten food after a week or so.

Do they have water with food 24/7?

General rule of thumb - brooder temperature starts at about 32C, then drops 2 - 3 degrees C each week for ducklings.

It could be an infection . . . might the food have a little mold in it?

 

[megchu]

A little coconut oil warmed to room temperature (it would be liquid then), dabbed on the end of the bill to avoid risk of aspiration might be worth a try.

Per Storey's Guide I sprinkled a tiny bit of chick grit on the starter crumbles from early on so that they could chew non-boughten food after a week or so.

Do they have water with food 24/7?

General rule of thumb - brooder temperature starts at about 32C, then drops 2 - 3 degrees C each week for ducklings.

It could be an infection . . . might the food have a little mold in it?

Thank you!! I will give them coconut oil, i will also rise the temperature.
No, the i change the food twise a day and they have water 24/7 which i also change a couple of times a day.

 

[casportpony]

Okay, so there are many threads discussing this, and this is what I think I know now...

• Hatched on 6-1, so they are only five days old
• Being fed chick crumbles
• Allowed to swim while being supervised
• Brooder temp is 77 to 78.8 (25 to 26 c), and under lamp is 86 (30 c)
• One died yesterday
• Two were pooping hard mass, then pooped red tinted gel, now acting normal?
• All have hard mass in belly, which is probably the gizzard
• One remains ill and has a bloated belly. This one is not eating, drinking, or pooping.

1) I would start by raising the temp of the brooder like @Amiga suggested and place their water in a place in the warm zone.

2) Mix their crumbles with warm water since this will help get more fluids into them, but don't let it sit too long because it will go rancid fairly quickly.

3) At this age they are not waterproof, so I would not let them swim because they can get hypothermic (too cold).

4) The one with the bloated belly probably has a yolk sac infection, which is not treatable without the help of a veterinarian, but even then, the prognosis is poor.



-Kathy

 

[Amiga]

@casportpony

thanks for assembling the details here...

Might it be worth a try to medicate the one with the possible yolk sac infection? I am feeling it may be a "nothing left to lose" approach.

When we let our little have tub time, the water was always at least brooder temperature, usually between 85F and 90F (29C to 32C).

 

[megchu]

Okay, so there are many threads discussing this, and this is what I think I know now...

• Hatched on 6-1, so they are only five days old
• Being fed chick crumbles
• Allowed to swim while being supervised
• Brooder temp is 77 to 78.8 (25 to 26 c), and under lamp is 86 (30 c)
• One died yesterday
• Two were pooping hard mass, then pooped red tinted gel, now acting normal?
• All have hard mass in belly, which is probably the gizzard
• One remains ill and has a bloated belly. This one is not eating, drinking, or pooping.

1) I would start by raising the temp of the brooder like @Amiga
 suggested and place their water in a place in the warm zone.

2) Mix their crumbles with warm water since this will help get more fluids into them, but don't let it sit too long because it will go rancid fairly quickly.

3) At this age they are not waterproof, so I would not let them swim because they can get hypothermic (too cold).

4) The one with the bloated belly probably has a yolk sac infection, which is not treatable without the help of a veterinarian, but even then, the prognosis is poor.



-Kathy

I already did 1) and 2) as soon as you told me. I let them swim in warm water, and the two duckling seem to enjoy it, but will stop. And for the 4) i can't find a vet.

 

[megchu]

@casportpony


thanks for assembling the details here...

Might it be worth a try to medicate the one with the possible yolk sac infection?  I am feeling it may be a "nothing left to lose" approach.

When we let our little have tub time, the water was always at least brooder temperature, usually between 85F and 90F (29C to 32C).

The water i let them in is also about 30C° and i don't keem them in there for too long, only about 5-10 min.

 

[casportpony]

@casportpony

thanks for assembling the details here...

Might it be worth a try to medicate the one with the possible yolk sac infection? I am feeling it may be a "nothing left to lose" approach.

When we let our little have tub time, the water was always at least brooder temperature, usually between 85F and 90F (29C to 32C).

If it were mine I would try medicating it, but I don't think the posted has access to the kind of antibiotics that would be used (Baytril, Cipro, Amikacin, etc).

As for swimming, I'm torn on that one... if I let mine swim I can tell if they're getting chilled, as I'm sure you can, so since I think they majority of problems are from them getting too cold and not drinking, I think I would wanna wait until they were 100% normal before swimming them again.

-Kathy

 

[casportpony]

Quote: Normal body temp of a duck is said to be 40 to 42°C (104 to 107.6°F), so if they get waterlogged,which mine do pretty quick, they will get chilled, and as the water dries/evaporates, it will suck the heat out of them.

-Kathy