Congenital cataracts in Cayuga duckling

[fawnda]

Hi all! I posted in another thread about adding 2 new Cayugas to 3 Welsh Harlequin ducklings of the same age, which went well, however, this thread is about one of the Cayuga ducklings. One of the Cayugas seemed less vigorous and is a bit smaller, but I figured she was just a little runty and with some TLC would catch up/perk up. She has perked up, but does rest a lot more than the others. I noticed upon looking at her more closely, that she appears to have cataracts in both eyes though There doesn't seem to be much info out there about congenital cataracts in ducklings, so I'm assuming it's somewhat unusual(?). I did find a research paper about a commercial duck farm in France where they studied this and it seems that it's not progressive (yay!) and that there's not any others issues such as brain swelling etc. so that's good. Only females ducks had this in the study, no males ducks had it. Of course they culled all these ducklings at 5 weeks due to smaller size, but I'm thinking that a duck that can't see as well, in a commercial hatchery, would surely not gain as well with all that competition! Hoping that that's the case and I can help my little one grow just as well as her siblings. She can drink, find her food and get around fine. She obviously has some vision, but I noticed something tiny in my hand she did not seem to be able to focus in on. One sweet thing that's happened is that one of the other Welsh Harlequin babies, Alice, seems very attached to her! She makes sure she finds her little buddy before plopping down for a nap. I haven't named the little Cayuga yet either, need a girl name I guess if she is a girl Here's the link to the study I found. If anyone has any info or anecdotal stories regarding ducks with cataracts, I'd love to hear about them.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03079450802593332

 

[Lil Drake40]

What sweet pics and how precious is it that one of WH is already attached. I think she’ll do fine with her buddy Alice and you

 

[Jpat]

i will be her seeing eye human. pleaase

 

[fawnda]

She's doing pretty well so far! She seems to be holding her own with the other more rambunctious ducklings. She is the smallest, but only by a little bit. She super sweet and cuddly, very calm, so that's good.

 

[Knighstar679]

I still want to cuddle her!
And the little Welsh being her buddy is awesome. I was worried when I was reading because birds tend to push out any other birds from a flock that weakens it or can’t keep up. So I was hoping for the best for the little one.

Not sure in ducks, but in dogs sometimes with good nutrition and proper care catiteracts can lessen in how severely they effect them until a bit later in life.

Best wishes for the little fluff butt.

 

[fawnda]

I still want to cuddle her!
And the little Welsh being her buddy is awesome. I was worried when I was reading because birds tend to push out any other birds from a flock that weakens it or can’t keep up. So I was hoping for the best for the little one.

Not sure in ducks, but in dogs sometimes with good nutrition and proper care catiteracts can lessen in how severely they effect them until a bit later in life.

Best wishes for the little fluff butt.

Thanks! Yes, at first she was often seen sitting by herself, but now in retrospect, I think she was just unsure of where the others were. They all do pick at each other at times, but they seem to have accepted her and if anyone gets in her way while she's eating, she gives them a little nibble

 

[emmabellybutton]

Hi all! I posted in another thread about adding 2 new Cayugas to 3 Welsh Harlequin ducklings of the same age, which went well, however, this thread is about one of the Cayuga ducklings. One of the Cayugas seemed less vigorous and is a bit smaller, but I figured she was just a little runty and with some TLC would catch up/perk up. She has perked up, but does rest a lot more than the others. I noticed upon looking at her more closely, that she appears to have cataracts in both eyes though There doesn't seem to be much info out there about congenital cataracts in ducklings, so I'm assuming it's somewhat unusual(?). I did find a research paper about a commercial duck farm in France where they studied this and it seems that it's not progressive (yay!) and that there's not any others issues such as brain swelling etc. so that's good. Only females ducks had this in the study, no males ducks had it. Of course they culled all these ducklings at 5 weeks due to smaller size, but I'm thinking that a duck that can't see as well, in a commercial hatchery, would surely not gain as well with all that competition! Hoping that that's the case and I can help my little one grow just as well as her siblings. She can drink, find her food and get around fine. She obviously has some vision, but I noticed something tiny in my hand she did not seem to be able to focus in on. One sweet thing that's happened is that one of the other Welsh Harlequin babies, Alice, seems very attached to her! She makes sure she finds her little buddy before plopping down for a nap. I haven't named the little Cayuga yet either, need a girl name I guess if she is a girl Here's the link to the study I found. If anyone has any info or anecdotal stories regarding ducks with cataracts, I'd love to hear about them.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03079450802593332


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Hi! I know this was several years ago and maybe you won't read this but I have a duckling who is 3 weeks old now and is really similar to what you described. He's pretty small and has some issues with spacial awareness and balance. Today I noticed in his eyes that he has little cataracts or grey cloudy spots in his pupils, which is new. I'm just wondering if your duckling made it and is still living a happy life!