Has anyone ever seen anything like this?

[karanleaf]

the little sweetie

She has alot more down feathers than the other 2 Did you hatch them? If not I would say they are about 3 weeks older than her. I have Rouen ducks and they look like your ducks at 3 and 6 -7 weeks of age. Just a shot in the dark.

I sure hope she lives a long happy waddling life

Karan

 

[farrier!]

It sounds like you know her best and have done all you can. I agree that as long as she seems happy to just let her do the best she can.

The suggestion of a change in feed is a good one, would not hurt to try something different.

Cute little girl!!!

 

[chickensioux]

She was the same as the others when they arrived. I have had her 1 month with no change.
I also think her crop is malformed and not functioning properly. If she wasn't such a happy little booger, I would do something different.
I like the changing of the feed suggestions, but to what?

 

[crtrlovr]

I don't know about ducks, but I have had cockatiel babies (not all by any means, but several) whose crops would get so full they'd be visible from above on both sides of the neck. It almost looked like a crop rupture. I called an avian vet about it, and he said it was not uncommon in several species and nothing to worry about. I hope it's the same with your duck.

 

[Patchesnposies]

This is a bit different in that my experience is with baby sparrows that someone dropped by our house for us to care for, because they were sure as chicken people "we'd know what to do with them."

Looking at everything as an opportunity to lear, we decided to try. We fed them by hand and they thrived much to our surprise. However, the greedy little buggers would eat so much that it often looked as if their crop would burst.

I was always afraid they would die as a result of eating so much. They had very little in the way of feathering and you could see the gruel (commercial baby bird food) under the skin of their chests and on both sides of the neck and even behind their necks/head. Unreal.

They would carry on and act as if they were starving until it was all full. They are now eating the transition stage food on their own and once they are fully feathered they will be released.

The only thing that worries me about your little duckling is the fact that it seems hard for her to breathe.

I am subscribing to this thread and hope you will continue to update it......with pictures, too!

 

[California Ducken]

Ok I will bump you for an answer on new feed to feed her.
But try chick starter NON medicated. And portion it. And if you let them in the yard watch where they dig to see if it might have been something she ate previously. Oh and if you can see if it smells in there. Yes put your nose up to her open mouth and see if it has a foul smell.
That might indicate something else.
Good Luck and keep us updated!