Blue Swedish duckling - deformed beak?

[cluckingheck]

So, I just received my ducklings and I noticed the blue swedish duckling’s top bill is shorter than the bottom and she can’t close her mouth all the way. They’re only about 2-3 days old. Should I be worried about this? Will it cause problems in the future? I just got home, so I don’t know if she can drink or eat very well. Also, their noses were a little runny

 

[HappyDuckie]

I would be worried about how well she can eat and drink.

 

[Duck mommy 2019]

if she can’t eat good (try first) then wet the food with water

 

[Isaac 0]

The upper mandible does appear to be longer in size than the lower mandible; luckily this isn't extremely uncommon, and when it does occur, the ducklings tend to make it along fine. Simply moistening the feed down, and providing a wide dish may aid in eating. A running nose shouldn't be considered abnormal given they just went through shipment, they likely have some debris accumulation in their nares - provide a nare deep water source and it should go away on its own.

 

[cluckingheck]

here’s a video of her drinking. She hasn’t tried eating yet, so I don’t know if she has any difficulty with it.

 

[cluckingheck]

The upper mandible does appear to be longer in size than the lower mandible; luckily this isn't extremely uncommon, and when it does occur, the ducklings tend to make it along fine. Simply moistening the feed down, and providing a wide dish may aid in eating. A running nose shouldn't be considered abnormal given they just went through shipment, they likely have some debris accumulation in their nares - provide a nare deep water source and it should go away on its own.

Do you think it would correct itself as she gets older? It doesn’t bother me if it’s not going to cause any failure to thrive type situations, but I do want to know what her outlook is.

 

[cluckingheck]

It looks like she’s able to eat wet mash. She’s kind of scooping it with her bottom bill, though. Whatever works

 

[cluckingheck]

I don’t have any container to cut into, but could I wrap a dish in aluminum foil to keep the ducklings from standing in the water? I could fold the edges over each other and tuck it under the bottom or is it too risky? If they manage to break pieces off, would it cause some kind of metal poisoning?

 

[Isaac 0]

Do you think it would correct itself as she gets older? It doesn’t bother me if it’s not going to cause any failure to thrive type situations, but I do want to know what her outlook is.

I suspect as the bird ages it'll remain the same, but there is a possibility it may become less noticeable.

It looks like she’s able to eat wet mash. She’s kind of scooping it with her bottom bill, though. Whatever works

I don’t have any container to cut into, but could I wrap a dish in aluminum foil to keep the ducklings from standing in the water? I could fold the edges over each other and tuck it under the bottom or is it too risky? If they manage to break pieces off, would it cause some kind of metal poisoning?

I would be hesitant to use aluminum foil as they may tear it off, and eat it.

 

[cluckingheck]

I suspect as the bird ages it'll remain the same, but there is a possibility it may become less noticeable.





I would be hesitant to use aluminum foil as they may tear it off, and eat it.

Yeah, the foil will have to do until I can find a replacement. They don’t seem to be paying any attention to it right now, but I don’t want keep it in there any longer than I have to. I wonder if it’d be safer if I covered it in packaging tape?

Anyways, I did let Meyer’s know about her deformity and they said she should be fine as long as she can eat and drink but they did refund me the entire amount she cost. Hopefully she’ll continue eating and growing fine. I’d hate to see Taffy being hindered by her bill.