Baby Duckling is weak please help :(

[DuckieLover2014]

Im not sure why all my posts keep reposting like that

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

When they first hatch they do sleep a lot hatching is very hard work for them. The cord will dry up and fall off whatever you do, do not try to remove it. If you do it will pull the abdomen through the navel. The chick can poop because the cord is only attached to the navel ie belly button. The poop you have described sounds completely normal post hatch poop.
Have food and water available for it at all times. You can dip the beak into the water so that it knows what it is I do this with all chicks when they go into the brooder they soon get the hang of it. Also with the food tap your finger into doing this mimics what mum would do. Also they seem to be stimulated by the sound. Once you have done this leave it be to rest and build some strength up to see if it can get its legs working it may just be worn out and tired. If it had a normal hatch it would have stayed in the bator for at least 24-48 with no intervention so would have been fully rested. Hope your new duckling makes a good recovery.

 

[DuckieLover2014]

Thank you so much for your help.
Is it normal for ducklings to be so weak and not be able to hold there heads up like this? I tried to give him a touch of water he/she got a sip then swallowed the feel fast asleep

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

Because it was a difficult hatch that will have made it more tired. But all chicks and ducklings look quite weak when they first hatch and literally look like they are on deaths door so yes it's quite normal for them not too look quite good. They literally thrash about bumbling all over.

 

[Jessica89]

Aww, bless him!
I hope he gets stronger soon.
Make sure there is chick crumb and water available.
Please update us on the progress.

 

[DuckieLover2014]

Well just an update,
Pumpkin " My familys new Duckling" is getting stronger by the hour... Pulling him self along better and better.. able to put his body weight on his legs better.. legs do not seem as far apart as they were about 15 to 20 hours ago... seems the more moving around he is able to do, the stronger the little fellas legs get...
He ( We named him Pumpkin and call him a "he") is now pecking around kinda confusied looking but you can tell he is looking for food.

One concern, my 3 oldest ducks we had got when they were one day old ( so we were told ) and they were so active, alert, in the water and food non stop, alert and awear of what was going on around them.
This newly hatched Duckling is no where near as alert or awear as what my others were at this age. So that being said, how often do i offer food and water? If he eats and dont drink after words will he have issues swallowing being they have to drink as they eat?
The way this little Duckling pulls him self along then just lays down and right to rest he goes, just falls over, im really worried if i put a water feeder in there, he may drown in it.

He sems so strong yet will flip and flop around end up on his back, then cant get flipped back over with out help.

Also his eye lids apear to be sticky. His eyes have been completly normal and i noticed about a hour ago they apared to have a film over them, after looking closer at them, his eye lids looked as if they are dry and sticking to his eye ball causing his eyes to.not be able to move and look around properly. As if he devolped a lazy eye kind of thing. However, i got a warm cloth and let a small drop drip on his eye lids to help moisten his eyes. It fixed the problem for about a good 10 mins then back to cross eyed, sticky, and dry eye lids again..any ideas how to cure this, or why its doing this?

My poor little Baby is having one issue after another..

 

[DuckieLover2014]

He keeps flopping around and ending up on his back and he cant seem to get him self flipped back over. He lays there and crys with his feet kicking 10 miles per min.. He will just give up and go to sleep. ( of course i will put him back on his tummy ) Can he laying on his back hurt him? How long should this take before he gains the strength to flip himself back over?

Thank you all so much ahead of time for your time, thoughts, and concerns..

 

[Yorkshire Coop]

I know this sounds harsh but out in the wild this duckling would not have made it. Hatching is their first big test to see if they are strong enough to survive. It's quite common that duckling/chicks that can't hatch themselves tend to be weak and have ailments with one problem after another. Many people don't help for this very reason they don't want to breed weak sick birds into their flocks.
If this duckling were mine I would leave it to rest try to not disturb it and when it goes on its back and falls asleep leave it be. If it's legs are going like crazy they are obviously working.
They do tend to right themselves and it will have to learn if it has any chance of survival.
I think you have done all you can for this duckling. Time will tell and you need to let nature take its course

 

[DuckieLover2014]

This makes sence. Thank you for your reply.

 

[DuckieLover2014]

Little Pumpkin is doing even better yet today. He is up and on the move. Peeping away. Pecking at the bottom of the cage. Had pushed off of the side of his blanket, landed on his back twice and managed to flip him self back over not once but twice. I'm so happy to see him gaining day by day.

I will continue to Pray for hope for this little Duckling. Lord knows, we sure are attached to him and just love him to pieces.