Duck panting alone

[triciayoung]

Hi! My name is Matin, I'm a first time duck owner. I have 5 ducks with varying ages. I have 3 that I hand raised they are around a year old, and 2 that I got from a friend, I believe they are around 2 years old.

I live in Australia so the weather is quite volatile, just to give you an idea of the weather, it has been fluctuating between roughly 15°c (59°f) and 30°c (86°c) recently.

I have noticed one of my female Rouen ducks lightly panting when the others aren't panting. I have observed this a few times. They have free access to drinking water, swimming water and food. They also have plenty of shade.

So my question is to those who have more experience, is this a cause for concern? She seems healthy overall. My theory is she might be slightly broody, which would explain her being hotter than the other ducks. I noticed she was laying in her nest during the day, they usually lay at or before dawn so I think she is starting to go broody.

Welcome. While watching her, is she drinking enough? Does she have clogged nasal passages? is she actively eating and swallowing food? is she overeating? and have you checked for an airway obstruction? If you can rule those out as well as stress and heat, then there may be a medical issue, perhaps lungworm or a respiratory illness.

 

[sourland]

Hello, and welcome to BYC. At this point since all else appears normal, I would just monitor her. She may be less heat tolerant than the others or she may be going broody.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hiya, Matin, and welcome to BYC!

I hope your duck is okay. Definitely lots of good information and links above that will maybe help you.

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!

 

[Tookie]

Hello, welcome to BYC! Glad to have you here. Good luck with your duck.

 

[Matin]

hello and welcome to byc. i have seen that behavior in a couple of my ducks over the years. one duck panting seems like stressed but i just kept a watch and after a while they stopped and were fine. I never knew why perhaps your theory of being broody is the reason.
look at her tail . Is it pumping up and down? Also, do you know when is the last time this particular duck laid an egg?
If her tail is pumping and she hasn’t laid an egg then she is probably egg bound. What do you feed your ducks? Do you give them crushed oyster shell or other form of calcium on the side in a separate dish so they can help themselves to it as needed?
If your duck is egg bound, calcium will help - either give a calcium citrate with D3 tablet or one ML of liquid calcium gluconate you can continue once a day until the problem is solved.
Also, for an egg bound hen a nice soak in a tub of lukewarm water with Epson salt . try not to let her drink any it causes diarrhea
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

Hi Jen! All 4 of my hens have laid this morning and I frequently get 3-4 eggs. I don't have oyster shells available locally but I got some shell grit from a local feed store which they said would be appropriate for ducks and chickens, they don't specify what type of shell it is. When I provide them with it, they usually eat it all up as if it was a treat of some sort, so I usually offer it a few times a week to try and reduce waste. I only got the shell grit about a month ago so it might still be novel to them? Do you recommend I offer it to them more often?

Their feed is from a local company called Vella. I give them their "Poultry Supreme Lay – Show – Breed" details including nutritional information can be found here:
https://thevellagroup.com.au/product/category/layer/

Can you tell me what you mean by tail pumping? I'm not sure if that's the same area bobbing tail, her body moves a little bit with her breath but her tail doesn't bob or anything like that.

Thank you for the helpful information!

 

[Matin]

Welcome. While watching her, is she drinking enough? Does she have clogged nasal passages? is she actively eating and swallowing food? is she overeating? and have you checked for an airway obstruction? If you can rule those out as well as stress and heat, then there may be a medical issue, perhaps lungworm or a respiratory illness.

Hi Tricia!

All of my ducks drink plenty of water They're frequently playing in and drinking water (and making a mess). I have watched them clear their nasal passages in the water by blowing bubbles, they seem to be quite good at keeping them clear. I haven't noticed any blockages externally. They are also eating well, I don't think any are overeating.

We are currently in mid-late spring and it can get up to 30-35°c during the day. The sun is also quite strong here in Australia so I wouldn't be surprised if they get a little hot in the sun with all those feathers! They have access to plenty of shade as well as an adequate amount of swimming water to cool down if they need it.

I don't think they are too stressed, they have plenty of space to roam in the backyard and they are seperated from the chickens so there's never any fighting. The only thing they have to worry about here is a few crows that come looking for the eggs. They're usually chased off by my drake and I.

She only occasionally pants and usually always when she is laying down. I'll continue to monitor her and look for symptoms of lungworm. Thank you for the helpful information!

 

[Jenbirdee]

Hi Tricia!

All of my ducks drink plenty of water They're frequently playing in and drinking water (and making a mess). I have watched them clear their nasal passages in the water by blowing bubbles, they seem to be quite good at keeping them clear. I haven't noticed any blockages externally. They are also eating well, I don't think any are overeating.

We are currently in mid-late spring and it can get up to 30-35°c during the day. The sun is also quite strong here in Australia so I wouldn't be surprised if they get a little hot in the sun with all those feathers! They have access to plenty of shade as well as an adequate amount of swimming water to cool down if they need it.

I don't think they are too stressed, they have plenty of space to roam in the backyard and they are seperated from the chickens so there's never any fighting. The only thing they have to worry about here is a few crows that come looking for the eggs. They're usually chased off by my drake and I.

She only occasionally pants and usually always when she is laying down. I'll continue to monitor her and look for symptoms of lungworm. Thank you for the helpful information!

i would leave the shells out all the time in a separate dish from their food. they know how to eat just as much calcium as they need from it and the males will not eat any. They might taste it, but then they will stop.
How is duck today? if she is still panting, perhaps you could post a video. you can upload a short video to a host like YouTube or other and then post the link here.
i’m concerned about the behavior of her being alone - that’s what 2 of my ducks did in the past before they had prolapses.
I would like to see a video and hear if the duck is making any sounds is there any wheezing squeaking or coughing?

 

[Matin]

i would leave the shells out all the time in a separate dish from their food. they know how to eat just as much calcium as they need from it and the males will not eat any. They might taste it, but then they will stop.
How is duck today? if she is still panting, perhaps you could post a video. you can upload a short video to a host like YouTube or other and then post the link here.
i’m concerned about the behavior of her being alone - that’s what 2 of my ducks did in the past before they had prolapses.
I would like to see a video and hear if the duck is making any sounds is there any wheezing squeaking or coughing?

Hi! I have filled their bowl to the top with shells for the past few days, they seem to eat little bits at a time now. Thank you for the advice!

I've also continued to monitor all of the ducks. It's getting hotter during the day so they all tend to pant a little from time to time, but I have noticed the one duck panting more often than the others and a little more heavily at times. She doesn't seem to be gasping for air or shaking her head.

My ducks aren't too keen on getting super close to me unless I have food, especially the two older ducks (one of which is the duck in question) since they lived elsewhere for the first 2-3 years of their lives. So I'm reluctant to catch them and get a close listen to her breaths.

I'll try to get a video of them when I get a chance. Do you have any further advice?

 

[Jenbirdee]

Hi! I have filled their bowl to the top with shells for the past few days, they seem to eat little bits at a time now. Thank you for the advice!

I've also continued to monitor all of the ducks. It's getting hotter during the day so they all tend to pant a little from time to time, but I have noticed the one duck panting more often than the others and a little more heavily at times. She doesn't seem to be gasping for air or shaking her head.

My ducks aren't too keen on getting super close to me unless I have food, especially the two older ducks (one of which is the duck in question) since they lived elsewhere for the first 2-3 years of their lives. So I'm reluctant to catch them and get a close listen to her breaths.

I'll try to get a video of them when I get a chance. Do you have any further advice?

if she was coughing squeaking or hiccuping you could hear it from several yards away. I once lost a duck to aspergillosis after a long battle and many treatments. The very first symptom I heard from her sounded like hiccuping and I could hear it from 60 feet away.