graypes
Songster
- Jun 19, 2020
- 400
- 489
- 161
TLDR; My 2wk duck has a stuffy nose and is prematurely (I think) honking, is he gonna die/what do I do?!?!?!?!
Hi All!
This is my first time raising ducklings and I am just a little worried I may have done something wrong or maybe have a sick duck on my hands. I have 2 Runner Ducklings that I purchased from my local farm supply about 12 days ago. The chicks were little but not newborn, so I'd guy maybe 3 or 4 days old.
My babies are growing so fast, but one, Josh, seems to have a chronic nasal thing or an obstruction. He has that tell tale sound of a stuffed nostril that sounds like a human with a stuffy nose. They have a deep, drown-proof dish for water that they can fully submerge their beaks for cleaning and they swim in a kiddie pool (while I watch) all with very fresh water (I am constantly cleaning them out, messy ducks!). Josh sneezes a bit after I clean their brooder so I'm wondering if this is an allergy to their aspen bedding or something fatal. My newest concern is that he also has just started honking today. It sounds a little like duck puberty, as he (or she, I haven't sexed them) fluctuates from (rarely) the new honking to (more often) his peeping. That being said, this is not frantic honking or in no way does josh sound distressed, they just casually peep at me a lot (I like to think we have an open dialogue
) and he's started mixing in a light and calm honk or baby quack.
SO, what is stressing me out is that, after reading up a little bit about this voice drop, I see that this is something that should happen later (they barely have feather dots just starting to come in, so I really believe they're about 2-2.5 weeks old, no more). SOOOOO this is worrying me that he could maybe have contracted something toxic in the yard or is deficient in some vital nutrient! I am like a second away from a vet trip (avoiding because I live with an immune-compromised family member and am trying to keep exposure low), so any advice is welcome!!
ALSO, what age is too soon to take them on (heavily supervised) backyard and kiddie pool adventures. This is where I am worried I screwed up. I started taking them on ducky walks and supervising them swimming in a tiny kiddie pool around Day 3 of having them! They looked so bored and I couldn't find a definite answer online if it is okay for them to play outside at 1 wk old, only people asking if they can live outside. they are still in their large indoor brooder for good chunks of the day but I stay outside with them for a lot of the day.
Ack, I'm rambling.
Hi All!
This is my first time raising ducklings and I am just a little worried I may have done something wrong or maybe have a sick duck on my hands. I have 2 Runner Ducklings that I purchased from my local farm supply about 12 days ago. The chicks were little but not newborn, so I'd guy maybe 3 or 4 days old.
My babies are growing so fast, but one, Josh, seems to have a chronic nasal thing or an obstruction. He has that tell tale sound of a stuffed nostril that sounds like a human with a stuffy nose. They have a deep, drown-proof dish for water that they can fully submerge their beaks for cleaning and they swim in a kiddie pool (while I watch) all with very fresh water (I am constantly cleaning them out, messy ducks!). Josh sneezes a bit after I clean their brooder so I'm wondering if this is an allergy to their aspen bedding or something fatal. My newest concern is that he also has just started honking today. It sounds a little like duck puberty, as he (or she, I haven't sexed them) fluctuates from (rarely) the new honking to (more often) his peeping. That being said, this is not frantic honking or in no way does josh sound distressed, they just casually peep at me a lot (I like to think we have an open dialogue
) and he's started mixing in a light and calm honk or baby quack.SO, what is stressing me out is that, after reading up a little bit about this voice drop, I see that this is something that should happen later (they barely have feather dots just starting to come in, so I really believe they're about 2-2.5 weeks old, no more). SOOOOO this is worrying me that he could maybe have contracted something toxic in the yard or is deficient in some vital nutrient! I am like a second away from a vet trip (avoiding because I live with an immune-compromised family member and am trying to keep exposure low), so any advice is welcome!!
ALSO, what age is too soon to take them on (heavily supervised) backyard and kiddie pool adventures. This is where I am worried I screwed up. I started taking them on ducky walks and supervising them swimming in a tiny kiddie pool around Day 3 of having them! They looked so bored and I couldn't find a definite answer online if it is okay for them to play outside at 1 wk old, only people asking if they can live outside. they are still in their large indoor brooder for good chunks of the day but I stay outside with them for a lot of the day.
Ack, I'm rambling.
I do not know about ducks and therefore cannot help you with yours, but I wish you luck anyways!
. The sneezing I think was due to the saw dust of their bedding after I cleaned their brooder! I ended up putting the back end of a box fan (the sucky part not the blowy part) over the top of my brooder for about 20 minutes after I put new woodchips in and that seemed to do the trick! Although I'm sure I could've just let the wood chips sit for a bit to avoid the sawdust!
