Duckling not eating, just dribbles water. large crop.

[Patrick McKee]

2nd day. her fuzz is matted around her face and neck making her look like skinny chicken.

Now she just peeps and follows DJ Duck Step...her man.

She is Harriett, the feathered legged one...I was watching her from beginning as she had feathered legs. Could there be some other defect as well. She pooped a little last night after I massaged her crop. Nothing since that I can tell.

I just gave her and DJ a nice warm bath. DJ loved it, she just peeped and stood by him, not interested.

What do I do? Prepare for the worse? Done. Ok, now how can I save her?

hrumph...she gets worse by the minute. I turned of the family video feed. So sad.

 

[CayugaJana]

I would continue to gently massage her crop. Have you YouTubed it? I watched one where the guy very gently massaged a chicken and turned her upside down and she expelled the food that wouldn’t digest.

 

[junebuggena]

Can you post photos of the duckling and of your setup for them?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Check her bottom there is pasty butt where they get blocked with poop and it will look like her bottom has dried poop on it. You can put her in warm water and take a cotton ball or qtip and gently wash off her bottom if you see it's pasty butt.

 

[DwayneNLiz]

How old is the duckling?
did you hatch or a broody?
temperature in brooder?
how many ducklings?

 

[Patrick McKee]

How old is the duckling?
did you hatch or a broody?
temperature in brooder?
how many ducklings?

Thank you. I had to step away from it a bit and focus on her.

The duckling is 6 days old, hatched and shipped by metzer in gonzales. ca.
Temp at their spot is 95-6, at the feeder is 76-78,
6


Here is what I did.

1. Water bath...seemed to help even though she just stood there.
2. More massage, gently, did not turn her upside down.
3. Tried to clean the matted fuzz.
4. I am giving all the ducks a 1 inch tub every hour or so. She will eat some dry mash and hop in tub and muddle, then hop out and eat a little more.
5. I am hand feeding grit. Seems like she will take it out of my hand but not the dish yet, she seems to just be slow.
6. No more paper towel bedding. Straw and a towel for their nest area.
7. I had made a muddler out of a tupperware container. Water and mash was her preffered eating method and she would just engorge herself, so I removed it.

After the last 3 hours and lots of warm water baths, the crop seems to be going down and she has had a couple more poops...not as often as the other rocket launchers in the tank with her, but she is pooping a little now.

What more can I do? Thank you.

 

[Patrick McKee]

She also has feathered legs on both outside ankles...hence her name, Harriett, aka. Miss Piggie.

 

[Patrick McKee]

Ok the matting isn't matting, it is hair loss I think, crap not the time for me to need new glasses.

 

[Patrick McKee]

I also messed up the temp in their brooder when I removed the paper towels system. Rather than do the calculations surrounding the loss of the thermal retention blanket and the fact that the underlayment was at a steady 82-3, blah blah blahbity science blah...

temp went down to, you guessed it 82-3 when I removed the paper towel poop system.

So if I make it through the next 24 hours with 6 ducks, it will be his wish. I am adding additional heat sources and camping out. I suppose those warm baths were not the best idea...with the temp at 82.

Wish them well, peeps. Thank you for making me think outside the brooder DwayneNLiz

 

[Patrick McKee]

Found as thread here at BYC that says maybe someone is pecking them out. She does get bullied. Probably the feathered legs, none of the others appear to get bullied. I think maybe that is why she clings to DJ...he is protecting her now.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/duckling-feather-loss.813213/