Conjoined twin duckling

[ryneaeiel]

Can she get around and eat/drink okay?

This! I've seen ducks and chickens with parasitic twins like this survive. I'd separate the duckling from the others and place it on paper towels so that you can track the bowel movements. The ones that don't survive are usually because their organs are messed up and they can't defecate properly, or they were in the egg too long and just hatch out too weak. If the duckling is relatively mobile, eating and drinking, and defecating normally, there's a good chance it will survive without issue.

 

[Rjhp0524]

So cute

Walk yes.. they aren’t eating yet as they are just a few hours old

 

[CoopsNPoops]

Parasitic twins aren't necessarily a problem unless shared internal organs are involved. Or if the parasitic twin is to large. The extra bloodflow to the twin can be rather hard on the heart being its working overtime to accommodate the extra. Especially as they age and grow. Yes, the parasitic extremities can grow normally with it. This growth makes it especially harder to supply blood to both when older and bigger, if no other complications arise before maturity. It's hard to put an opinion on the quality of life, as it's 50/50. Especially without knowing whats going on within.

 

[ryneaeiel]

Especially without knowing whats going on within.

Agreed. If possible, I'd recommend seeing an avian vet if the duckling survives its first two weeks. They'd likely examine it and do a scan to see what it looks like on the inside. It'd be the quickest (and most humane) way to get a prognosis for the long-term.

Sometimes vets will even do exams like that for free because it's a great teaching tool for students with how rare parasitic twins are. The real thing is always superior to diagrams!

 

[Rjhp0524]

Agreed. If possible, I'd recommend seeing an avian vet if the duckling survives its first two weeks. They'd likely examine it and do a scan to see what it looks like on the inside. It'd be the quickest (and most humane) way to get a prognosis for the long-term.

Sometimes vets will even do exams like that for free because it's a great teaching tool for students with how rare parasitic twins are. The real thing is always superior to diagrams!

As far as I can tell the parasitic twin is from the shoulders down… these birds are being raised for meat so no need for an avian vet. Not that there are many in my area.. the plan is to let nature take its course… if it survives till October great!! If not sad… either way we will give Frank and his twin Stein the best life possible… just like we do for our other ducks

 

[ryneaeiel]

these birds are being raised for meat so no need for an avian vet.

I'd still recommend a vet. A duckling shouldn't suffer needless pain just because it's possibly going to live long enough to be ready for butchering (not to mention how difficult it may be to actually butcher the bird.) If its quality of life is going to suffer because of its deformities, it should be euthanized.

 

[Rjhp0524]

I'd still recommend a vet. A duckling shouldn't suffer needless pain just because it's possibly going to live long enough to be ready for butchering (not to mention how difficult it may be to actually butcher the bird.) If its quality of life is going to suffer because of its deformities, it should be euthanized.

If I feel that it’s quality of life is lacking then I will euthanize the bird… right now Frank is walking normally and bright eyed… as I said these are meat birds.. no need for a vet… also there aren’t many in the area.. please don’t be to quick to judge me.. I raise birds for my family to consume because I like to know my meat is well cared for.. raised in humane conditions and allowed to be the animals they were intended to be.

 

[Cecisflock]

Hiya! How are you doing! Thanks for the tag. Ask me anything, as I do live with a 4 legged chicken lol.

 

[Rjhp0524]

Hiya! How are you doing! Thanks for the tag. Ask me anything, as I do live with a 4 legged chicken lol.

I’m not sure if you’ve seen the pictures or not.. but it seems that only the head was absorbed into Frank’s body… so there are two winds shoulders body and two legs coming out of Frank’s abdomen… right now he is acting like any normal hours old duckling… I’ve hatched a lot of feathered babies healed curled twos spry legs angel wing, wry neck and never seen anything like this!!

 

[ryneaeiel]

please don’t be to quick to judge me..

I'm sorry if I came off as judging, it wasn't my intention!

I've seen a lot of birds come in with debilitating injuries/conditions that otherwise we wouldn't have known about without internal examination. These birds are prey animals, so weakness and pain is something they can't show if they can help it.

We once had a broiler hen come in with a defective breastbone. It was likely that it was broken at some point as a chick, but it healed improperly and she grew a long calcified spike that poked directly toward her chest. It would have jabbed into her muscles every time she breathed. You'd have never known she had the injury because she never showed signs of pain other than the fact she never moved her left wing much, but there's no doubt that she was suffering from it

The only way to relieve the pain would be surgery to remove the spike, and the price of the surgery was far more than she would earn as a meat hen, so the decision was made to cull her.

Sometimes birds show no signs of illness because they're prey animals, and it's in their instinct to not become food. Often it's too late to treat them by the time they start showing symptoms. Should the duckling survive its first two weeks, an exam would be the easiest and most humane way to determine if the bird will have a good quality of life as it matures, or if it should be culled. (And again, many vets would do an exam for this duckling for free because it's such a rare occurrence!)