Five week old ate a paperclip - HELP

[BornToQuack]

Not sure how a paper clip managed to get into our duck run, but this evening I saw one of our five week old runners eating what looked just like a blue paper clip. I tried getting it away from her, but she sucked it down before I could stop her. I've been looking online for what to do, but can't find anything.

Any suggestions? How long will something like this take to pass?

 

[Quacking Pigeon]

Sorry I’m not sure. But is the duckling eating and drinking?

 

[BornToQuack]

Yes, she's eating and drinking. Overall seems to be acting fine. I guess my only option now is to wait until tomorrow morning and see how she's doing. There's an avian vet just down the street from us, so I'll call them tomorrow if she starts acting strangely.

It just upsets me because we've been so careful about making sure our backyard/their run is clean and free of small inedible objects. The only thing I can think of is that we had some friends over tonight and they have two young kids. I'm not sure why their kids would have paper clips with them, but maybe one of them accidentally dropped something that looks like a paper clip into the duck run? I was trying to keep a close eye on them while they pet the ducks, but obviously I wasn't watching close enough.

 

[harmonymw]

Do you have chickens also? My chickens uncover the weirdest things in our yard.

 

[Alexander2000]

Yes, she's eating and drinking. Overall seems to be acting fine. I guess my only option now is to wait until tomorrow morning and see how she's doing. There's an avian vet just down the street from us, so I'll call them tomorrow if she starts acting strangely.

It just upsets me because we've been so careful about making sure our backyard/their run is clean and free of small inedible objects. The only thing I can think of is that we had some friends over tonight and they have two young kids. I'm not sure why their kids would have paper clips with them, but maybe one of them accidentally dropped something that looks like a paper clip into the duck run? I was trying to keep a close eye on them while they pet the ducks, but obviously I wasn't watching close enough.

How big is the paper clip?

 

[BornToQuack]

Thankfully this morning she woke up chipper as can be! She's eating, drinking, running, and swimming like nothing ever happened.

To answer your questions, the paper clip was a small one, so I'm assuming about 3 centimeters long (30mm). It was also coated in blue plastic or rubber, so I'm not sure if that's good or bad. My hope is the coating would help the clip slide through her system, but I'm a novice when it comes to duck anatomy, so I'm not sure how the coating would impact her crop.

And no, we don't have chickens or any other backyard animals (unless you count a 4 year old boy ).

I'll still keep a close eye on her and do a through sifting through their duck house straw in the hopes of finding the clip (maybe she threw it up?).

 

[Moments]

Yes, she's eating and drinking. Overall seems to be acting fine. I guess my only option now is to wait until tomorrow morning and see how she's doing. There's an avian vet just down the street from us, so I'll call them tomorrow if she starts acting strangely.

It just upsets me because we've been so careful about making sure our backyard/their run is clean and free of small inedible objects. The only thing I can think of is that we had some friends over tonight and they have two young kids. I'm not sure why their kids would have paper clips with them, but maybe one of them accidentally dropped something that looks like a paper clip into the duck run? I was trying to keep a close eye on them while they pet the ducks, but obviously I wasn't watching close enough.

It can take a little while for something they ate to effect them

 

[Moments]

Do you have chickens also? My chickens uncover the weirdest things in our yard.

My ducks free range and I got nervous this fall when I saw what they've been digging up. It's like the people who lived here before just buried all the hardware, etc that was no good instead of throwing it away. Washers, screws, nails, industrial staples and more. all around the house and in the wooded area.