Duckling sneezing and panting - help please!

[lizzyGSR]

I have 2 pekin ducklings that will be two weeks old on 3/26/12. I have had them one week today. I noticed earlier today that one of them was sneezing. I noticed a few minutes ago that that same one was also breathing hard or panting, similar to how it might if it were hot. However, they were both near the light but not directly underneath it, so I don't think that's the case. What should I do?

Edit: I should also mention that I don't see any drainage from either of the duck's "nostrils."

 

[Amy S]

I am an extreme newbie here, but the panting sounds like the duckling is too hot. If he is panting and moving away from the heated area, your lamp is heating too high. You either need to move your lamp upward (farther from the floor) or get a smaller watt light. Are they in a brooder that is draftproof, with a heated area AND non-heated area? Are you keeping a consistent temperature throughout day and night? What is your temperature on the brooder floor in the heated area? What watt light are you using?

When they are still young, fluctuating temperatures (from hot to cold) can be detrimental to ducklings.

Hope others can help with the sneezing. I do not know enough about that to comment. Good luck!!!!

 

[lizzyGSR]

I am currently using a 100W light bulb in the brooder reflector. The ducklings are in a box and are in a corner of the kitchen. They can move out of the heat from the lamp if they so please. AT last check, the light was keeping them at around 90 and is as constant from day to night as I can get it.

I am beating myself up over this now, but I did open two windows in the house yesterday. It was really nice outside (80*F) and there was only the faintest of breezes yesterday so I thought it'd be ok. The windows were NOT in the room the ducks are in, though, and there was no noticeable breeze through there. I feel terrible now.

Any suggestions on what I can do for him/her? Oh, I should also mention that the other duckling seems to be ok, or at least isn't panting (a.k.a. breathing heavily) or sneezing.

 

[Lute]

I had 4 ducklings do the same thing and they all died on me. I believe they had respiratory[FONT=arial, sans-serif] [/FONT]problems. Buy a bottle of Nutri-Drench from your local feed supply store and see if that will help it. I didn't have the chance to see if it would help mine. Make sure yours are getting plenty of Niacin (a deficiency will cause brain damage which will kill them) to help with leg growth. Niacin is one of the Vitamin Bs.

QUARENTINE the sick duckling. Make sure it's nose is clean (they need water to dip their faces in to keep their little noses clean). Give them (each) a mirror to keep them from spazzing out from the other being gone. Maybe a plush duckie to keep them company.

I don't know if the problems I had were transmittable but once one of my ducklings got sick, they all got sick.

So far this is the best advice I can give you. I will be trying again with ducklings in the near future. Good luck.

 

[lizzyGSR]

I've only got one brooder reflector/light so quarantining the duckling is out of the question.

I checked them a few minutes ago and the duckling I was worried about doesn't seem to be panting any more. The one duckling does still seem to be breathing heavier than the other one. I say this because you can visibly see it breathing easier than on the other one. I think it is still sneezing, but it only does it when I'm not standing in front of their box.

They woke me up at 4:30 this morning wanting food, despite the fact that I fed them at 9:30 last night before I went to bed. They do have water. I think it's deep enough that they can dip their heads in it. It is one of the gallon waterers available from Orschelns.

I have well water that is really hard. The lady at the store said that well water was better for them than city water and that she recommended putting vitamins in their water for the first week. I bought them at 5 days old, so I thought that'd be close enough to one week for the vitamins in the water thing, especially since we've got well water.

Neither of them have anything on their bills/noses.

In the last several days, I have been giving my ducklings pieces of bananas and grapes. I also gave them a piece of an olive. Is this OK?

 

[CelticOaksFarm]

First they need the started feed 24/7 not given at set times. Don't think the wateris deep enoug, make sure it is so they can clean their nares. If you want to give treats give mashed up froze peas, finely chopped dark greens such as kale (pencil eraser tip small).

You didn't say how large the brooder is, or what it is made of. If there is t a true cool area then they can be over heating. Place two thermometers one under the heat lamp one on the other end to make sure they have a cooler area to get to.

 

[lizzyGSR]

I have been giving them the alll-purpose poultry feed, which is the same thing that the store was feeding them. I have been trying to keep it so they have food all the time, but they keep running out of what I had given them. I had been feeding them twice daily and that was enough to keep them in food all day and all night, but just yesterday morning, they woke me up at 3:30 am wanting food. I ended up feeding them 3 times yesterday and again early this morning. I think I need to look into a slightly larger food container for them so I can give them more food at once.

They are in a cardboard box that is approximately 2' x 3' and stands probably 2 1/2' tall. If they were overheating wouldn't they both be panting all the time? If they were cold, wouldn't they be staying directly under the light where it should be the warmest? They aren't doing either.

Why is it bad to give them pieces of fruit?

 

[wildpeas]

At the top of the duck forum there is a sticky for duck topics. One of them is a great post about suitable treats for ducklings. I am a bit of a new duck person too so I printed the posting out to have on hand. It's probably been a life saver for my ducklings because I didn't know avacado was bad for them and I would have given them some. Same thing with spinach.

My ducklings sneeze all the time and they are healthy, just clearing the sinuses. Mine don't pant but they do "yawn" every now and then. I also agree with the poster who said food 24/7. I only have 6 ducklings and I bought the longest chick feed tray I could find. It could probably feed 30 ducklings. When they are old enough I am going to transition to 3 feedings a day but that's not for a couple more weeks.

Good luck with your little ducklings, I hope they do better.

 

[Amy S]

Agreed with feed 24/7. Also, water should always be present. Here is a photo of a similiar feeder to what I have. I only have three little ones, and they only eat about half each day I replace the feed.in it. http://www.efowl.com/Chick_Feeder_20_Inches_Long_Purple_Plastic_p/6624.htm While in the brooder stage, you shouldn't ever see this go empty.

I've been really careful about feeding them anything other than their feed. So far, mine have had finely chopped dark leaf lettuce (floated in a small dish of water once a day and taken out within ten mins) and some garden worms. That's not to say other foods cannot be introduced...as someone metioned, there is a great post in the sticky topic about acceptable foods.

Let us know how they are doing! Good luck.

 

[Amy S]

Also, this might be a little unorthadox, but we change out the brooder bedding, food, and water a few hours before we go to bed. Our little ones are really lively during the day, not so much at night, and it tends to save on the spoiling of floor shavings doing it this way. The bedding stays relatively dry throughout the night, and they have all of the following day to get it mucky. LOL Plus, we never forget to refill food or water for overnight, since it is part of the nightly brooder cleaning.