I have a mouth breather....

[turduckin]

My little Turduckin is opening his mouth and will hold it open for a bit then close it and when I hold him his bill feels warm. He does the tail bobbing thing that I read on another forum is a sign of illness? He eats and drinks fine but he does it laying down. Is there something wrong or am I being incredibly paranoid?

 

[Buck Oakes]

I would guess tere is something wrong , I don't know if there's a bird doctor in your area but I'd take him/her to it jut to be safe, as for the mouth breathing get some warm water with salt solution and just dab his nostril with a moist( not wet ) rag or paper towel to clear sinuses

 

[Amiga]

Do the ducks have a head washer? Clogged nares can lead to problems.

 

[turduckin]

What is a head washer?

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

A water bowl that is deep enough to dip the bill into. Like 2" or so.

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

I had a wheezy runner duckling. He wasn't breathing through his mouth but he was really working hard to get air in and out of his nose. Luckily someone introduced me to "head washers." When I learned that ducklings can get food stuck in their nostrils, I took a closer look and sure enough there was a whole meal's worth in there (ok, that's an exaggeration, but I could definitely see food bits)! Have you looked closely up his nose?

The head washer helps a lot. Every night before changing their bedding, I put a large yogurt container full to the brim with water and let them go nuts and make a mess of it. They dip their entire heads in and as much of their necks as possible. It's definitely helping them remove caked food from their nostrils and they love it.

I hope it's nothing too serious, turduckin.

 

[turduckin]

Thank you. I got this vet RX stuff from tractor supply and it smells like Vicks but it seems to be working. Hopefully he will be fine soon.