Duckling dying! Urgent! Please help!

[Keira1st]

I am a first time duck owner and I have two Pekin ducklings. I had three but one got sick and died I am still unsure of how but now one of my other ducks is showing similar symptoms. It is quite big compared to my other one and it just starting to get its white feathers. It is keeping its head close to its body and won’t extend its neck. It is stumbling and having trouble walking around. Now it is sleeping standing up. I am inexperienced and really need some advice.

 

[Weeg]

How old are they, what are you feeding what temperature is your brooder/area, you aren't using cedar shaving right? Do you have niacin available? is it a broody or incubator ducklings, just checking. Could you upload a video by uploading to youtube or vimeo and posting here? Or at lest some pictures? I would recommend changing your title to something that sounds more urgent that explains your situation, like "Help needed, ducklings are dying!!" That will attract more help. @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @Overo Mare @Isaac 0

 

[Keira1st]

We got them at tsc they didn’t tell us how old but I believe they are about four weeks we are feeding them mazuri feed with brewers yeast I will work on the photos and will change the title. The brooder is at 75 degrees.

 

[LT71689]

Is it eating, drinking, and pooping alright?

 

[Weeg]

Alright, what about shavings and what kind of Mazuri are you feeding them, it isn't medicated right? I am not super experienced with this condition, but I can help some, I hope @Isaac 0 responds because he will be the most help. What is their poop like? Do you have a cool side of the brooder they can escape t off they get to hot, pekin can be very venerable to high heat.

 

[Keira1st]

Is it eating, drinking, and pooping alright?

I have not seen it eat or drink, usually it will take food from me but the lack of all three is concerning me

 

[Keira1st]

Alright, what about shavings and what kind of Mazuri are you feeding them, it isn't medicated right? I am not super experienced with this condition, but I can help some, I hope @Isaac 0 responds because he will be the most help. What is their poop like? Do you have a cool side of the brooder they can escape t off they get to hot, pekin can be very venerable to high heat.

They are on the mazuri water fowl starter, I do not believe it is medicated but my dad bought it and the website didn’t really say as far as I could see. They are in aspen shavings. Heat was a concern in the past but they have a lot of space away from the lamp. I have not seen the duck poop.

 

[Isaac 0]

Lack of eating and drinking is very serious and is something that needs to be addressed before we even begin to think about the underlying cause of her problem, her current state of health needs to be the first priority here, IMO.

I don't believe anyone has mentioned it yet, but is a vet an option? If so, that'd really be your best bet here.

Here is a Waterfowl/Poultry vet directory,

https://www.metzerfarms.com/Veterinarians.cfm?CustID=27014516

If you are unable to find, or take her to a vet, you'll need to start gathering tube feeding supplies so you satisfy the bird's nutritional and fluid requirement. It's important to note that most sick birds tend to die of dehydration before anything else, that's why its so important we take care of this now.

For tube feeding, you'll need some Parrot baby feeding formula (Kaytee Exact is great), a few 35/60ml catheter tip syringes, you'll be able to find the syringes at any feed or medical store. A gram scale to weigh her on, and lastly, some tubing, which will likely be the hardest thing to find, preferably you want a catheter, but you can also use plastic aquarium tubing and meltdown the tip to make it smooth.

Once you get those supplies we can proceed further, and you may consider reading some of these links regarding the topic of tube feeding birds,

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-q-and-a.1215032/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-guide-pictures-under-construction.1064392/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-ducks-updated-5-7-2020.1211994/

Sick birds often have a "tucked-in" head looking appearance, but if she's physically unable to pull her neck out/ or keep it steady, that may be due to the paralysis of the anterior neck muscles. This can be caused by several things ranging from vitamin deficiencies, toxins, viral or bacterial infections, to neurological damage. Without the diagnostics tools a vet has on hand, diagnosing these conditions are somewhat hard, but we can narrow down possible causes by treating for some of them, and looking at the bird's past history, and using some of that knowledge to base off of which condition would be more likely in the long run.

So that is something that we can look into, if she does pull through, but right now we really need to focus on getting her hydrated, and back into a somewhat stable condition, so we can move on further with this.

As others suggested, a video of the duck would be quite helpful.

 

[Weeg]

Since Issac mentioned vitamin deficentlcies, maybe not having the niacin in the feed is an issue? I really hope she pulls through make sure she is not being fed medicated feed. I am 13 so I am very proud of you for taking her lively hood into your own hands!

 

[Keira1st]

Lack of eating and drinking is very serious and is something that needs to be addressed before we even begin to think about the underlying cause of her problem, her current state of health needs to be the first priority here, IMO.

I don't believe anyone has mentioned it yet, but is a vet an option? If so, that'd really be your best bet here.

Here is a Waterfowl/Poultry vet directory,

https://www.metzerfarms.com/Veterinarians.cfm?CustID=27014516

If you are unable to find, or take her to a vet, you'll need to start gathering tube feeding supplies so you satisfy the bird's nutritional and fluid requirement. It's important to note that most sick birds tend to die of dehydration before anything else, that's why its so important we take care of this now.

For tube feeding, you'll need some Parrot baby feeding formula (Kaytee Exact is great), a few 35/60ml catheter tip syringes, you'll be able to find the syringes at any feed or medical store. A gram scale to weigh her on, and lastly, some tubing, which will likely be the hardest thing to find, preferably you want a catheter, but you can also use plastic aquarium tubing and meltdown the tip to make it smooth.

Once you get those supplies we can proceed further, and you may consider reading some of these links regarding the topic of tube feeding birds,

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-q-and-a.1215032/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-guide-pictures-under-construction.1064392/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-ducks-updated-5-7-2020.1211994/

Sick birds often have a "tucked-in" head looking appearance, but if she's physically unable to pull her neck out/ or keep it steady, that may be due to the paralysis of the anterior neck muscles. This can be caused by several things ranging from vitamin deficiencies, toxins, viral or bacterial infections, to neurological damage. Without the diagnostics tools a vet has on hand, diagnosing these conditions are somewhat hard, but we can narrow down possible causes by treating for some of them, and looking at the bird's past history, and using some of that knowledge to base off of which condition would be more likely in the long run.

So that is something that we can look into, if she does pull through, but right now we really need to focus on getting her hydrated, and back into a somewhat stable condition, so we can move on further with this.

As others suggested, a video of the duck would be quite helpful.

Thank you so much for this in detail response. I will talk to my dad about finding a vet I will read the articles you have linked. As I am 15 it is difficult to take this into my own hands. I was up all night with her and I wasn’t sure she would make it through the night. Thankfully she pulled through and we have more time to take action.