Duckling not being a duck

[absduckies]

I recently got 4 baby ducklings, and 3 of them are thriving, but one of them (the littlest of the 4) doesn’t want to do anything but lay around. He doesn’t open his mouth to eat, drink, or even chirp at me. He shakes his head around constantly and can’t really stand up on his own.

Is this just because he might be newer than the others or is there something actually wrong with him?

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

That is definitely not normal. It's an illness (and from what you said, it sounds quite serious). Did you buy the ducks or their eggs? Separate him out from the other ducklings to keep them from catching whatever he has. Dip his beak in slightly sugared water to see if he'll drink water. Keep him nice and warm.

 

[absduckies]

No, I bought them as ducklings. All the others perked right up once I had them in their brooder, but he just hasn’t. He was eating and drinking for about 10 minutes right off the bat, but he looks like he’s playing dead anytime he’s around any of the other ducklings.

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

It was probably sick when you got it, not your fault. But it's definitely not normal behavior. The reason it acted fine at first was probably because it was investigating. Then it probably acted sicker because of the stress of moving to a new environment and the drive over.