How to help partly clogged nostrils?

[sweeetea]

My 2 ducklings are about 1.5 weeks old. One of them sounds like her nostrils are blocked; I can hear the air as she breathes through them. I guess they're not completely blocked because she isn't mouth-breathing.

Yes, they have constant access to clean water deep enough for the whole head! She just doesn't seem to know how to fix her problem. Anything I can do to help her?

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

I think with time it will clear. This exact same thing happened to my duckling once, and when I looked I could actually see food in his nares. It took a while, but eventually cleared.

Maybe giving this one a little alone time away from the other ducklings and with warm water to dip his head into a couple times a day will help.

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

Oops, I forgot to mention if you're not 100% sure it's food blockage, you might want to look into common respiratory issues for ducks to be safe!

 

[jenniemig]

I had one that sounded like she was whistling because of clogged nares, and would also mouth breathe. Even though she had access to water she wouldn't keep them clean. I let her swim with her siblings in the tub every other day which cleared them out.
If you let them swim make sure the water is warm, they're constantly supervised, dried off well and immediately returned to a warm brooder.

 

[sweeetea]

Thanks, guys. I'll try more frequent warm baths and hope she figures it out! Silly girl.

 

[kaymari1115]

I dropped a few drops off warm water on the nostril and then suctioned it out with the little nose bulb used for babies. Worked like a charm..
It was dried food.

 

[Weeg]

I dropped a few drops off warm water on the nostril and then suctioned it out with the little nose bulb used for babies. Worked like a charm..
It was dried food.

This thread was started in 2014, these members are no longer looking at this thread, and probably not going to respond. I have done it before too, its no big deal, but you may want to look at the thread date before you post. A lot of the threads in the "similar thread " section are years old. Hope this helps!