Duckling being sick when I pick her up

[Rosiej]

Hi, I’ve got two 2 week old Indian runner ducklings. When I pick one of them up or press on her chest she vomits water and food. They have imprinted on humans and absolutely love being cuddled and held, I was hugging her (not too tight tho) and she was sick a lot. The other duckling is always fine when picked up and I’ve never noticed him being sick. I was wondering if it’s anything to worry about? It’s been this way ever since she hatched...( she did hatch early and hadn’t absorbed all her yolk and still had her umbilical cord.) thanks x

 

[Rosiej]

Also would like to add there have been a few occasions where she has began to choke on string ( which I pulled out quickly as she was in a lot of distress) One time, on the end of the string was a peice of wood which could of easily damaged her insides after me pulling it out so quickly. She has always ate fine and never noticed her in pain or discomfort.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Why are you pressing on her chest? That's the equivalent of someone pressing on your stomach hard after you ate or in this case a ducks "crop" which is where a duck temporary stores food. Anytime you apply pressure to a ducks crop either directly from pressing or picking them up by grabbing the chest/crop area there is a good chance of them throwing up.

"Food is moved into the esophagus, which in most birds including the duck leads into a specialized expansion of the esophagus known as the crop, which aids in the temporary storage of food. From the esophagus, the food enters into a thin-walled structure of the glandular section of the stomach called the proventriculus."


https://campus.murraystate.edu/facu...nto the,the stomach called the proventriculus.

Also in this diagram in green I circled the #2 which points to where I circled the crop in green. It's a diagram of a goose, but it gives you the idea of the crops location.

https://www.fao.org/3/y4359e/y4359e05.htm

 

[Crazy Maizie]

In addition to the wonderful advice astroduck provided, never ever let your duck have strings of any kind. It can end up in the intestines and it will not be a good outcome.

 

[Rosiej]

No I don’t mean I’m pressing her chest she leans onto my arm and sticks her head forwards putting a lot of pressure on her chest. And then she’s sick, I’ve never purposely put pressure on her crop . I was more asking about the string and that she hatched early and was wondering if the string could of damaged her insides. It’s whenever I take them on walks around the garden they try and put anything in their mouth.

 

[Crazy Maizie]

If she's eating string, it can definitely be damaging. It gets wrapped in their intestines and then it will cut off parts of it which will result in death. I would make sure whatever area they are in is cleaned up. They will pick up and eat lots of things not good for them if easily accessed.
The vomiting is just as astroduck explained. Even though you might not be doing it intentionally, you are or she is pressing on the crop area.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Then you may want to rephrase your original post because your exact wording was "When I pick one of them up or press on her chest she vomits water and food.". Yes any pressure at all can cause commiting. Yes there is always the possibility of a foreign object causing internal damage. We will never be able to tell you for sure, but if you would like to know for sure if damage was done a vet would be the only way to know 100%.

 

[KaleIAm]

String can get easily bunched up like this /\/\/\/\/\ but tightly and create a blockage in the intestines. It has to be removed surgically or it can quickly be fatal. Personally I am very careful to keep strings, screws, and other dangerous items out of any area my ducks play.

My own ducks have tripped and fallen, landing on their crops, and thrown up. It happens, but if I have to pick them up I avoid pressing their crop. It makes me worried about aspiration.

 

[Pierre duck drake]

My duck throws up everytime I pick her up you should take her to the vet if she is not acting better I hope she is doing better now!