Blind duck, I think!!!

[Hannah1994]

Hi everyone, just an update, he is now a she haha! She's definitely blind but I think can see see shadows?? Her neck seems worse than it was before though, she is back on the vitamins now as I did stop for a week and she seemed worse. She now does something weird where she twists her head underneath her and then she struggles to get it back round. I have bought her two new friends about three weeks ago and she seems content with them and she does follow them around just about. The only thing now is she is not keen on water at all, even if its just an inch. She just likes washing her head in it.

 

[Hannah1994]

These are the new ducks, I have had them a few weeks, but the females crop is always massive!! The pair of them don't stop eating. I decided to keep the food in with them at night, but they are now all 5/6 weeks old, do you think I should start taking the food out at night??? I'm just wondering if she not completely digesting it all at night as she still eats and its starting to affect her balance. What do you think??

 

[Miss Lydia]

Yes take the food out at night and see how her crop area looks in the morning. They are old enough to go with out both at night.

As for the one that has the crooked neck there is always the possibility she won't live to be very old but as long as she isn't suffering or seem in pain why not let her live her life as long as possible. She has two new friends now I am sure that makes her feel content.
Thanks so much for updating. Hopefully she'll stick close to her pals .

 

[Hannah1994]

Hi everyone I posted on here a couple of months ago about a duckling with neck issues as well as been blind. She is now 4 months and doing great, still has a wonky neck and limited sight but otherwise doing great. I have noticed in the last few weeks her weight has been declining. I am assuming this might hsve something to do with the temperature starting to drop and she's using more energy to keep warm. My question is what can I feed her to help with the weight? She is already on corn but doesn't seem to like eating it that much, I also give her peas 2-3 times a day at the moment. The problem is she doesn't have a massive crop as her neck is bent so it doesn't take much to fill her up. Has anyone got any other suggestions for other foods I can give her. Sorry for such a long post!! Thanks Hannah

 

[Miss Lydia]

Do you feed her other feed besides corn and peas? Corn maybe hard to pass if she has a bent neck but that should only be a treat anyway, A good poultry or water fowl feed should be her main diet and the other things as a treat.

 

[casportpony]

Will she eat crumbles?

 

[cmom]

Have you tried Game Bird grower crumbles. It's a little higher in protein.

 

[Hannah1994]

Do you feed her other feed besides corn and peas? Corn maybe hard to pass if she has a bent neck but that should only be a treat anyway, A good poultry or water fowl feed should be her main diet and the other things as a treat.

Hiya, I have only just weaned her of chick crumb with bit of corn mixed in as that was all I could get her to eat along with the peas. Maybe I should go back to that? As she can't see to forage and I am at work from 7-6 she is only getting 2-3 big feeds a day and sometimes she finds the food I have scattered around. I feed her corn because of how high calorie it is and she really needs it she's getting so skinny. Though I never thought about it scratching her throat. I will get some feed tomorrow, though she won't eat anything tonight, not even peas. I have syringe sugar water and vitamins into her, and she is still drinking. The only issue is she is not able to control her body temp, so she's now on a hot water bottle and towels. Fingers crossed for tomorrow

 

[arrowti]

Are you able to get her a game bird crumble (high protein?). You can encourage her to eat it by soaking the food in water. Make sure you dip her bill in it so she knows where it is. She should have food available at all times.

EDIT: She might still need chick starter until she's even older. 20+ weeks is what I was reading. It's been awhile since I had ducklings.

It sounds as if she isn't feeling well. Hopefully someone can help you. Poor duck.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I’d keep her on chick crumb or try the game bird grower or something similar? Just make sure if you decide to keep her on chick crumb that you supplement with a form of niacin my favorite is nutritional yeast but some use brewers yeast too and she may benefit from a liquid B Complex too. Just let us know which you decide to use and we’ll give you doses .