5 month old duck cough/wheeze. When to worry?

[AzDuck]

How long has this been going on?

Just randomly started this afternoon into this evening. Maybe 2 hrs. He’s sleeping now.

 

[AzDuck]

​

How long has this been going on?

& he’s done it before, but only once or twice at a time and then he clears his throat and is totally okay again. It’s been going on longer this evening, even after drinking. He seems to be pretty quiet in his coop with the ladies right now though.

 

[Isaac 0]

​

& he’s done it before, but only once or twice at a time and then he clears his throat and is totally okay again. It’s been going on longer this evening, even after drinking. He seems to be pretty quiet in his coop with the ladies right now though.

What kind of bedding do you use in the coop? Do you feed any powdery-like treats, is your feed bag dusty at all?

 

[AzDuck]

What kind of bedding do you use in the coop? Do you feed any powdery-like treats, is your feed bag dusty at all?

They have a bedding of straw over the top of fluffed up pine bedding so I know there is a little bit of “stuff” in there he could be breathing in. He hadn’t been in the coop much today, as they free range when I’m home. They took a nap in there earlier, but I didn’t hear this wheezing at all earlier today. They eat the mazuri floating pellets for breakfast and dinner, and the Nutrena duck pellets with mixed in nutritional yeast for lunch (I wet it and turn it into a bit of a mash so the yeast sticks). Maybe he inhaled a bit of the dried mash? It does get a bit powdery. Or, with it becoming Fall in my area, there are lots of dusty little nasty dry weeds floating around. He could have gotten into something in the yard :/

 

[Isaac 0]

They have a bedding of straw over the top of fluffed up pine bedding so I know there is a little bit of “stuff” in there he could be breathing in. He hadn’t been in the coop much today, as they free range when I’m home. They took a nap in there earlier, but I didn’t hear this wheezing at all earlier today. They eat the mazuri floating pellets for breakfast and dinner, and the Nutrena duck pellets with mixed in nutritional yeast for lunch (I wet it and turn it into a bit of a mash so the yeast sticks). Maybe he inhaled a bit of the dried mash? It does get a bit powdery. Or, with it becoming Fall in my area, there are lots of dusty little nasty dry weeds floating around. He could have gotten into something in the yard :/

Judging from the video I'm fairly sure he inhaled something dusty. I would try to eliminate any "dusty-like" feed sources in his pen and see if that helps. The coughing should go away after a while.

 

[AzDuck]

Judging from the video I'm fairly sure he inhaled something dusty. I would try to eliminate any "dusty-like" feed sources in his pen and see if that helps. The coughing should go away after a while.

Thank you any recommendations on their inner coop material? I currently have straw bales, pine shavings and pine pellets at my home to use or mix and match.

 

[Isaac 0]

Thank you any recommendations on their inner coop material? I currently have straw bales, pine shavings and pine pellets at my home to use or mix and match.

That sounds like a perfect mix, I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[AzDuck]

That sounds like a perfect mix, I wouldn't change a thing.

Thank you! It is going to start to get cold here soon, so I hope it’s comfy for them. Would there be any issue in using the pine shavings over the top of the pellets when we are out of straw? Our feed store is out of straw a lot for some unknown reason lol.