Duckling - runt or not thriving (or nothing!)

[Kat_withducks]

Hi everyone, we just got our first trio of ducklings - 3 female Welsh Harlequins from Metzer. They hatched on June 7, so are about one week old. Two of the three are growing at the same pace, but the third has fallen behind. She’s significantly smaller, doesn’t really stretch her neck, and her eyes are often half closed.

She eats and drinks fine, they are on Metzer’s chick feed and I top it with Brewer’s yeast. She’s not lethargic. I do notice that she doesn’t dunk her head or preen in the bath like the others do.

I know animals grow at their own pace, but does this all seem within the bounds of normal? Is there anything I should do to help her thrive? In the photo she is the one on the right.

Many thanks for your guidance!

 

[johntfs]

You might think about separating her from the other two so they won't bully or trample her given the significant size differential. Maybe put a mirror in with her so she won't be as alone once she's separated.

Others will probably have a better idea of how to boost her growth, but it could she's just a late-bloomer who needs time and care to catch up. She's really cute. All three of them are, actually.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

You might want to call Metzers to see if they have any advice. It's seems we have had more failure to thrive this spring than I remember in the past.

 

[Isaac 0]

She looks like your classic runt duckling, I would suggest against separating her unless the other ducklings are being aggressive towards her, separation, especially at this age cause, 's a lot of stress, so if you were it'd be advised that you make it so they can see and hear each other but can't touch.

As for the duckling, I would make sure she is warm, and drip a drop of a poultry vitamin onto the side of her bill several times a day to give her a boost. Mashed scrambled eggs are also a great source of protein.

If she were mine, I'd start weighing her daily to on a food scale, to make sure she's making daily gains.

 

[416bigbore]

Hello, kat_withducks, Welcome to BYC. Your on a great Forum with many awesome Members who are very knowledgeable and more then willing to jump in and help you with your questions. Your little runt duckling should be fine with time, just need to keep an eye on it to make sure it don't get picked on and keeps doing the normal duckling things that they like do. We currently have two runts out of our ten ducklings and all is well so far, just growing a little slower then the rest is all. For whatever the reason, there seems to be a runt or two in all animals that have multi births, just Mother Nature doing her thing I guess. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Kat_withducks]

Thank you all for your advice, when I checked on them this morning the little one couldn’t stand up and she died in my hands a few minutes later. Bless her, she was so lovely and had become my favorite of the three very quickly.

We called her stripes because she had a distinct line on her head, and now after looking at it closely it looks like an injury. So my guess is that she never had a chance.

 

[416bigbore]

Sorry for your loss, this has to be the hardest part of having any kind of living animal as a pet. A person does the very best they can and unfortunately things like this happen and it is out of our control.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Very sorry

 

[johntfs]

I'm sorry for your loss. For what little it's worth, if she died in your hands, then on some level she knew she was loved in that moment.

 

[Isaac 0]

Sorry