Are my ducklings ok?! D:

[chickenz101]

Would you know what is wrong with one of my ducklings at the moment!? He/she is stands up and sticks her wings out slightly and squats a bit, but stays like this for a bit and sits down! She does sound as if she has heavy breathing sometimes. But it may be cause of food! :S Help would be apprieciated! And also they are nearly 4 weeks old and I was wondering if it's ok to feed them growers pellets?! :S

 

[duckyfromoz]

What size are food particles? I switch mine to a grower " crumble " at around 3 weeks its in between the baby crumble and the layer pellets. Some of mine are " stompers" They stomp there feet for a few steps then suddenly plonk down - its so cute, maybe yours just have their own funny little trait. I also find that some of mine seem to be breathing different when they have just eaten- they can really gorge themselves at times. I wouldnt worry about it too much unless you notice other symptoms like discharge from the nostrils. .

 

[Amiga]

As long as the food is passing all the way out, it doesn't sound too worrisome. My runners would do this kind of thing. They'd stand up, flap their itty bitty winglets, (often at this point they'd poop), kind of hover in that position for a moment, then plunk down.

Awwww. Babies.

 

[chickenz101]

Yeah well, i hope they are ok, onlt the one does it and keeps her feet still and moves her body forwads and backwards and sticking her wings out fully! :S Its almost like she is trying to balance :L But, i think i may need to exercise them a bit more, because they sit down alot of time and they need to build up muscle, but its hard to when its nasty weather outside!

But thanks for the help!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I don't know if anyone has said this but if you can get your hands on a Kiddie pool then you could put them in it for playtime, just put old towels or something to give them traction on the bottom, they could run around and have a blast in it.

 

[Amiga]

chickenz101,

how many ducklings do you have? Is a trip to the tub an option for them? I let my eleven swim in my tub in warm water just up to their bellies from the time they were three days old. They need to return to a warm, clean dry brooder afterward so they don't catch a chill, and I wiped of the few who didn't start preening right away.

Actually, they really need to be able to wash their entire little heads daily to avoid serious sinus and eye infections.