Almost drownd Duckling

[emvickrey]

I made a stupid mistake that I didn't know how stupid it was till it was almost too late. I put the ducklings in their new pond for the first time. I have 3 and one is the same age but less than half their size. They're 2 weeks old. I went inside to put on come cooler cloths and when I came back out the little one was just barely holding it's beak above the water. I got it out and held it upside down (head hanging down) and swinging it gently to et out water form it's lungs. It wasn't breathing but it's heart was beating so I started blowing little gentle breaths in it's beak and got it breathing again. Then it started to shake so I brought it in and but in in an incubator to warm it. It's is still breathing on it's own but still shaking. It's been about 20 minutes.

Is there anything else I should do? I sure never would have thought a duck could drownd (sp). The other two are fine. They got out of the pond and started preening and I put them back in the grow pen with the heat lamp so they don't get chilled.

Hey, if one can drownd surely the others can get chilled. Ducks are all new to me and I don't want to kill any with stupidity.

Please, I can do without all the remarks. I'm asking for advice not sarcasm. So those that have any advice that is useful and will help me help my duckling please chime in.

 

[donnavee]

It sounds like you did the right thing and it will probably recover - just keep it warm. Maybe a little sugar or electrolyte stuff in it's drinking water if you have some. I'm new to raising ducklings too, I hatched some that are almost 3wks old now. The next time you put them in water, put in some bricks or something that they can stand/sit on to rest out of the water. I sort of built little steps in and out of the water using bricks so they could decide where they wanted to be. We have a "runt" too, it was the last to hatch and DH actually helped it out of the shell. It was a mess for a few days and required hand feeding of water and food but it's doing fine now so I take that to mean ducks on a whole are pretty tough. I use the little one as my "test" - if it can easily enter and exit the water, I know the others can as well.

 

[lady feathers]

Sounds like you are doing great..... As long as he is dried out and warmed up he should recover. I might add some electrolytes to his drinking water for a few days just because he has been through a bit of an ordeal. Give him some time to relax possibly put them back in the brooder or give him a box with lots of bedding to hang out in if they are already outside.

For now, I would remove the "pond" or access to it. They can still swim in it but only if you can be with them the entire time. Normally a baby duck's momma decides when they have had enough swim time (they get tired very fast), so just keep in mind you are now momma duck! Also, until they are fully feathered they can become chilled (until then they can't coat themselves with the oils necesary to keep the water off of their bodies) so keep an eye on that too, may want to bring them inside to warm up after anymore swimming for now and then only put them back outside after they are completely dried. Don't beat yourself up about it... mistakes happen, and this little guy was fortunate to have your help just in time. Good luck and I hope it makes a full recovery!

 

[emvickrey]

Thanks. It's more alert now and ot shaking but i'm gonna wait till it's back to itself before I put it back with it's little duckie friends.

I have 2 large pieces of drift wood in there and the other ducklings could get up on them and this little one had actually walked over it to get to it's friends on the other side. I would think if it was needing a rest it would have gotten up on it. That's what they're their for. We'll put some bricks on one side to make it a lower level. I didn't even have the pond filled all the way up either. We plan to put some minnows in it from time to time. I don't know if they would like that but we thought they might.

Whats the opinion on the minnows? good idea or not?

 

[lady feathers]

I agree with donnavee, make some steps when you are comfortable that everyone can get in and out.... then they can have full access again to the pond/pool.

 

[lady feathers]

No idea on the minnows.....I haven't tried them myself as this is my first year with dcks too. My mother-in-law had a bunch of little koi fish in one of her ponds and her adult ducks devoured them! I'll be keeping an eye on this thread to see what others say about it, I'd like to have a treat for mine also!

 

[emvickrey]

Quote:
I've had them in the grow pen that has a heat lamp because it's still cool at night. When the other 2 where ready to get out I put them back in the grow pwn so they could warm up and relax. The grow pen is outside in the shed. The little one is doing better and i'll put it in a brooder in the house with a heat light till it's back to normal. I told my neighbor what happened and they couldn't believe a duck could drown. Then they said, "Well, you have chickens that don't look like chickens, why not have a duck that can't swim." The older one that is a sweedish also is very protective of this little one. When I grabbed it out of the pond and held it with it's beak hanging down with a slight swing it jumped out of the pond and stood there sqawking at me. I know it will be glad to see it's buddy back.

Thanks for all your help. I was worried about the little fella. I knew I messed up as soon as I saw it barely above water.. I certainly won't do that again.

 

[donnavee]

Quote:
I have never tried minnows but I understand they love them and it provides great entertainment for the adult watchers. Glad it's feeling better, should be good as new soon. I have found that chickens and ducks don't always do what us humans consider "logical". I wonder why my chickens go right past their nice clean water and head straight for the bucket that the ducks have muddied up (in about 5 minutes).

 

[emvickrey]

I know what you mean. My sizzle pen has a concrete floor and I hose it out every couple of days and let them out while I do it. The silly birds will stand at the doorway and drink the poopy water instead of going out to free range or drink from their clean water container.

And the little duckling is back to normal. It's back in the grow pen with it's buddies. It was a cute reunion.

I'm glad I wasn't a few seconds later or it would have died. I can't believe I actually did mouth to beak but it worked.

It's eating and drinking and running around like normal. Thanks for everybody's support.

 

[KlaHaYa Gardens]

Quote:
I'm sorry you went through this.


I really should write something about ducklings and how they are susceptible to drowning.


A woman drove from out of state to buy ducklings from me. They were actually a couple months old, but still in fuzz and not fully feathered. I strongly cautioned her against permitting unsupervised swimming for her ducklings. She didn't seem to take me seriously, so I took extra time explaining.

A week later she called me saying: "One of the ducklings I bought from you, that you told me not to put in the water because it will drown has drowned. Why did it die?"