Duckling sneezing, WHY!!!

[reaver]

I just got a pair of ducklings this last Friday. They are now 1 week old. The little yellow that I have was sneezing a little yesterday, according to our chick sitter, during the day. When I got home she was fine when we brought her out for a bit, but later last evening she was lightly sneezing again. Is this a cold or did she get a little chill? How dangerous can this be for ducklings? I am using pien bedding, but it is covered with netting so the ducks are not walking directly in the shavings. They have a heat lamp on them at around 95 degrees, and it is placed inbetween the middle and the left side of the pen, so that they can lay where it is cooler on the right side if they wish. They are currently sharing space with my new 6 chicks for about another week, where they will be going into their own pen. But they have been eating both Purina flock raise crumbles as well as medicated chick starter. And yes I have heard not ro feed sucklings chick starter, but they are only eating it in moderation and are being taken off of the starter grower next week when they mo0ve and going on to straight flock raiser crumbles. Any ideas what I can do for my duckie? I used to give some birds aureomacyn when they had some respiratory issues, so would that be ok to give her?

 

[ChickenToes]

They should not be sneezing. I don't have much advice to give you, hopefully someone else will chime in.

 

[bemba]

It could be a range of things..... could have blocked nostrils, could even be a respiratory infection, just a couple of suggestions, I had one doing that so I took her to the vet and she had blocked nostrils..... they flushed them out with warm saline water.... heaps of gunk came out, unusual as they usually blow them clear themselves in the water, but anyway haven't had a problem since, she is now 3.

 

[reaver]

I actually have saline solution at home, how did they flush it? Just give a squirt into their nostrils? that sounds a bit rough to me to do it that way, but i dunno...

 

[Amiga]

How about giving the duckling a little "swim?" Just get her into 2 or 3 inches of warm (85 - 90 degrees) water, and let her scoot around and wash for about five minutes. It may be dustiness or something else that is itching her and making her sneeze (I just picked a pronoun, I don't like using "it."). Be sure to keep her warm and dry afterward, so she doesn't catch a chill.

 

[reaver]

I actually realized that with the waterer that I had given them, it was jus tbarely not deep enough for them to dip their little beaks into past their nostrils, so I figured she may not have been able to clear her nostrils. I let the out last night and gave them a deeper tea cup of water, and they both stuck their little heads right in and snorted and cleared their little noses right out! Havent heard sneezing from her since, so I figure she either got a small chill or just was trying to get gunk out of her nose and couldnt. Thanks for the help!

 

[cayuga26]

Thats good to hear, ducks and geese offten suffer from plugged or clogged nostrels so sneezing (unless it is a continuous thing) is not usualy a big concern in waterfowl.

 

[Amiga]

Oh, yay! thanks for sharing the good news!

I find I sometimes start feeling worried for these little ones I haven't even met, and for their caretakers.

 

[Duck_feeder]

Quote:
It's also common to hear whistling or wheezing sounds when they they are clogged up a bit. Whistling isn't a big deal if you hear it, but wheezing should be monitored to make sure it isn't something serious.

 

[bemba]

That's great news..... I was hoping it was that, and not something more serious.