Help! Weak duckling

[Taralynnludwig]

I ordered some ducklings from metzer farms, they were hatched monday. 9 out of 11 are thriving. But my cayuga and golden layer are teeny. The others have all basically doubled in size and these 2 are still the size i got them. We had 2 golden layers (a friend took half) and hers is thriving. Mine was born with one full wing and a little nub. She has started to kind of fall forward while still keeping her butt in the air and legs still straight under her. She seems to be very weak. My cayuga seems ok but isnt growing at all. Any advice on what i can do for these 2? I really dont want to lose any of them, and these were 2 of the ones i was looking most forward to having. Im thinking of seperating the 2 of them from the flock and seeing if that helps. No one will be alone but no chance of being trampled either. Thanks so much

 

[Amiga]

You might want to have the two littles separated by a bit of plastic poultry fence so that they can still be with the others, just not susceptible to getting knocked around.

What are they eating? Did they get any gro-gel or sav-a-chick? I would start with putting a tablespoon of brewer's yeast (not baking yeast) into each cup of their food. That provides B vitamins.

 

[Taralynnludwig]

They had the gro gel stuff, and i made sure everyone ate some and drank water when they arrived. I then scraped all the gro gel out of the cup it was in and added it to their feeder. It was all gone within an hour. The 2 littles had both perked up and. Were running with the big ducks by the end of the day. All was going well. My cayuga seems fine, just little. But my layer us the one im worried abouy more... ok ill try giving them a mesh divider and aee if it helps!

 

[Orca5094]

You can also try putting a little finely chopped hard-boiled egg into the two little one's food. The extra protein can really help give them a boost when they have a rough start. The different colors the egg provides in the food bowl can also get their attention and get them to eat more. Just don't give the egg for more than a couple of days since it can cause them to get too much protein. Egg is good for a little boost and a very occasional treat, but not good for them to get all the time. Extra vitamins in the water can help as well.

You might also want to give the layer a few drops of sugar water to help perk her up. Just drip it onto the end of her bill and she should naturally open her bill to swallow it. Once they start getting weak, they can go downhill very fast.

 

[Taralynnludwig]

I tried the eggs, my little cayuga ate some but the layer isnt interested. Can i put some sugar in their water feeder or just dropper it?

 

[Taralynnludwig]

So here are my 8 girls. All were hatched on monday. My golden layer and cayuga have been seperated off. When i came home after getting the supplies to do so the big girls had smashed my layer lady under the water feeder (plastic one) so seperating them was definitely a good idea. I cant get her to eat at all but she did take the sugar water. Any other suggestions?? And do cayuga generally grow slower or should i be more worried about her as well?

 

[Taralynnludwig]

The whole set up. Rralized the feeders werent visible in the close up of the girls

 

[Orca5094]

Do you see the layer eat at all? You can also try to get their attention on the food by playing around in it with your finger. Ducklings learn how to do thing by watching their mother and siblings, so if they see you playing in the food, they usually come over to investigate and will start to eat, too. Try to do this as often as you can through the day (every couple hours if you can) to get it to eat more. It really needs to start eating well or it will continue to get weak and will not make it.

I'm not sure I would put sugar in their water as you don't want to over-do it. But you should try to dropper some to that little layer several times a day I think to try to get it more active and interested in eating more.

What breed are the bigger guys? It's possible they are just a larger breed (like Pekins maybe) than the Cayuga and that is why there is such a big size difference. Sometimes some ducks/ducklings are just smaller than their siblings and do just fine, but alot of the time it seems to be an indication of an underlying health issue. But as long as your little Cayuga is eating well and active, I wouldn't be too worried about that one. I'm more concerned about your layer. Is it still lethargic? Does it seem to be getting worse? Just do your best to get it to eat as much as possible and it should hopefully gain some strength back and catch up with everyone. Just be prepared for her not to make it, just in case. Sometimes it's really hard to turn them back around once they start getting lethargic, but at least if you give it your best you will know you tried. Good luck, I have my fingers crossed for you and the little one!

Edit: Also, your set up looks great! Good idea to separate the two little guys from the others for now.

 

[Taralynnludwig]

She wasnt eating much at all yesterday. Couldnt entice her to it at all. I think the sugar water helped though! Last night she seemed to get some energy back. Neither her or the cayuga are as active as the big girls. But the cayuga was much more active then the layer. Today both layer and cayuga are about the same in activity level. I noticed both seem to have a bit of a poopy butt today. None of the big girls do. The big girls are 2 welsh harlequins, a white layer, a black swedish, a buff duck, and a fawn runner. When they arrived the cayuga and golden layer were both tiny compared to the others and they dont really seem to have grown much, where as the big girls are just doubling in size daily it seems. My little layer is at the energy level the cayuga was before so im hopeful but neither are anywhere near as active as the big girls

 

[Taralynnludwig]

Gave the girls all their first swim today. My 2 littles seem to have perked up quite a bit they splashed around a bit and preened and both pooped in the water so im hoping that bathing them daily will help with the poopy butt issue. The second pic is my son with the white layer, he calls her Bak Bak. He sayd thanks (and so do I) for the help with our little ladies. I wont let him touch them until i know they are ok!