Eye Crust...

[cow_girl]

I have 2 pekins... just over 3 weeks old .. my question is - they seem to have a little bit of crust around both eyes...( not so much that they cant open them.. just enough that it looks kind of wet i guess..if that makes sense ) they have a large bowl of water that they can dip there heads into, but I rarely ever see them dip there whole head in... They eat like crazy, and are otherwise perfectly fine and active... is this normal??.. a stage they go through??..

 

[Amiga]

It could be the ducklings just don't understand the importance of washing their whole heads!

Do you have an opportunity to let them swim in a tub (warm water, up to their bellies for a few minutes, then back to a warm dry brooder)?

I did this with my runners to make sure everyone got a good face washing at least every few days.

 

[Sweetfolly]

I agree with everything Amiga said - give them a kiddie pool or tub to really bathe in, and then forcibly put them in the water to try and make them splash around a little and get clean - I've had ducklings that were dirty little scuzz-buckets who didn't like to bathe.

If it looks like they have a full-blown eye infection, I would treat it with Terramycin Ophthalmic Ointment, which you can get at any Tractor Supply Company, Farm & Fleet, or online. It's a good broad-spectrum antibiotic for the eyes, and you can use it on practically any animal from cows to cats to chickens.

However, I wouldn't use it unless they actually have gooey discharge around their eyes, which would indicate an infection. If they're just a little crusty, a week or so of good rinsing in clean water should do the trick, and you can flush out their eyes with plain saline eyedrops as well. Good luck!

 

[cow_girl]

thanks, I put them in water when they were 1.5 weeks old, but havent since because its been to cold out... maybe ill try that again today, its suppose to be fairly warm... its doesnt look like an infection, just a little crust, but I will keep an eye on it ( no pun intended hahah ) I have a pond on my farm.. when will I be able to let them go in therE to clean up??.. ( at what age? )

 

[Amiga]

Any possibility of bringing them indoors into a tub for washing? I know, I am so bohemian!

Just don't want to give infections a chance to begin. Or even grab a soft clean washcloth with warm water and gently wipe their little heads?

I get jittery hearing about domestic ducks on ponds because of predators. I had to confess that, it is just my bugbear. Large fish, snapping turtles, flying predators, waters' edge predators . . . much of it depends on the size of the pond. Small ponds with fish suffer with ducks sometimes, due to their waste. Again, it depends on the pond. Is it a wide spot that is part of a stream? Is it spring fed? Runoff fed? Ducks can enrich pondwater very quickly.

 

[cow_girl]

the pond is pretty tiny... about 10 x 8 feet maybe... is that too small to let them swim around in ???... there are no turtles..fish etc in this pond.. just some water plants...

also.. I changed the water dish to something completely open ( an ice cream container ) instead of a container w/ a partially blocked off lid and they seem to be putting there whole heads in now... one duck has no crust at all this morning... and the other just a little... I wanted to keep them out of the water dish, which is why I had a dish w/ half the lid cut out... but they are def. too big to try and get into this waterer so maybe this will work better for them.. thanks for help so far!!

 

[Amiga]

I think the pond will get enriched with duck nutrients very quickly. If you don't have a system of circulating and cleaning the water it could become unhealthy, especially during long dry spells. It is not impossible - see if you can find some of Wifezilla's information on duckponix.

The water would need to be filtered, and run through plant roots to clean it up, aerated (like with a waterfall), back in to the pond and then around again. My system is low budget. I have a couple of concrete mixing pans that I almost fill with water, then once a day or two, I dump them into the garden and refill.

 

[cow_girl]

ill check that out.. thanks for all your help!!

 

[katharinad]

I'm keeping my ducks away from my koi pond. They will eat all the plants, if I let them in. It's best to give them a kiddie pool. Walmart sells them starting at 10 dollars. That one is big enough for two ducks. You can easily change the water in those. My 2 Saxony ducks are 3 weeks old and swim daily. They have a long cleaning procedure that includes ears and face. They get the outdoor pool as soon as it hits 65. I kick them out when it hits 60 and they are fine. Before that it was the daily swim in the bath tub.
Katharina