My duckling died 30 minutes ago

[MartinFamilyHomestead]

Sorry for your loss! Ducklings/ Ducks can be loads of fun and a great thing to bond over. Sometimes people on this site can come off a little harsh at times, they forget that once we all were beginners. I 100% agree with not using soap though and actually I don’t bath my ducklings at all. Ducklings that are not hatched from their mother so not have the oils that make them water resistant until they are much older. So they can easily die from water even if it is a good temperature when they are taken out they still can become cold if not dried properly. Although fun to watch the little duckling swim around the safest bet is just to keep out of water unless done a lot of research and feel confident in their safety. However they do always need drinking water available. Do not beat yourself up too much. If you are not a duck owner you most likely don’t know that they aren’t automatically resistant to water especially considering wild ducks swim around with their mom.

Also another piece of advice I know you mentioned getting another duck so your first isn’t lonely, that was a great thought. Ducklings have a much better survival rate if not alone. Hope that helps!

 

[mypoorducky]

Sorry for your loss! Ducklings/ Ducks can be loads of fun and a great thing to bond over. Sometimes people on this site can come off a little harsh at times, they forget that once we all were beginners. I 100% agree with not using soap though and actually I don’t bath my ducklings at all. Ducklings that are not hatched from their mother so not have the oils that make them water resistant until they are much older. So they can easily die from water even if it is a good temperature when they are taken out they still can become cold if not dried properly. Although fun to watch the little duckling swim around the safest bet is just to keep out of water unless done a lot of research and feel confident in their safety. However they do always need drinking water available. Do not beat yourself up too much. If you are not a duck owner you most likely don’t know that they aren’t automatically resistant to water especially considering wild ducks swim around with their mom.

Also another piece of advice I know you mentioned getting another duck so your first isn’t lonely, that was a great thought. Ducklings have a much better survival rate if not alone. Hope that helps!

Thank you so much. I don't mind the harshness, it helps to realize just how severe the situation was. I'm still in a state of disbelief, sometimes when my floor creeks, it sounds like a chirp, and I get the urge to call the now-gone duckling, before I remember what happened. I can only fault myself for the soap, however. Before the incident, I told others not to put soap since it was bad for their feathers, but I ignored my own advice and my duckling paid the ultimate price for it. The water was shallow, it could stand up and get out if it wanted to, however the soap started to bubble up, eventually covering it entirely, where it endured hopefully not a lot of pain before it was all over. My brother said he was underwater for 10 minutes, but I'm not sure that's true since he likes to exaggerate, and he was instructed to look after it, where he, in the same bathtub as it, would likely have noticed what was going on. He was screaming and calling himself a murderer all night. I had only a small little toy bowl I got from my neighbor, but it seemed to be enough to dip its beak in, though I had to constantly clean and refill it.

Anyhow, thank you for the reassurance. It's really helped me calm down. I plan on taking care of my future ducklings with all the love I had wanted to give my fallen ducky, and they will definitely never touch any soap.

I know I've been talking a lot about the incident, so I suppose I'll share a bonus memory. I remember reading a story here about how you shouldn't sleep with a ducky, as you might wake up with a dead ducky (and a couple poop stains) However, I'm a rather still sleeper, and the ducky always walked up to and snuggled on my neck, which comforted me very much, and I was incredibly tired, so I supposed it'd be okay to get a little snooze. I've never slept better. When I woke up, I had checked to make sure my ducky was still alive, and was extremely relieved to find out it was still snuggling and chirping in the exact same position. Then I immediately put it back in its box and cleaned up all the poop stains off my pillow and shirt. I've done this a few times, and I never regretted it, even despite all the green stains. I remember doing this one final time, the night before the incident. I woke up so, so happy, and I went to bed missing the warm fuzzball I fell asleep with only hours earlier. That duckling will always hold a special place in my heart. I only wish I could have played with and snuggled with it just one more time.

 

[TheOddOneOut]

I’m sorry this happened.
Please, do make sure you do research before owning ducks though.
Ducks need a coop, real swimmable water, duck feed, and proper care.
Ducklings need a heat lamp, a brooder, duckling feed, and definitely no hot soapy baths.
I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Animal Export]

Hello all.

I am here because me and my little brother are panicking and crying.

I bought a duckling from my neighbor's kids who were trying to get rid of it so they could get a cat. We played with and cared for it for multiple weeks. Though we could only keep it indoors most the time (we took it outside for walks from time to time), and it was all alone (at least until we got another duckling we were planning on getting soon), we tried our best to keep it happy. We even noticed it was growing.

Today, we saw our duckling got a little dirty. We decided to bathe it. I put some hot water, and accidentally poured too much Dawn dish soap. I figured it would be fine, as long as we took it out before there were too many bubbles. Then, I left the task of bathing it to my little brother so I could check the pizza we were cooking together. I then heard screams and heard my brother calling, so I immediately went to check. I saw the duck was limp, and he was crying. We hurriedly took it out the soapy water, and washed off the soap.

I felt a few kicks, as if the duck was still alive, but the duck's neck was limp. I tried to perform CPR, but unfortunately I had no clue how to perform it, and it seemed to be in vain. It seemed the duckling had drowned in soapy water, and the soap must have seriously damaged it's insides. I stopped performing CPR when I realized I was moving around its organs. Rigor mortis had set in.

I never expected to get the duck, but it gave me the happiest days of my life. I always slept soundly with it snuggling up against me. Though I always woke up to green messes on me and my bed, I didn't mind it. I thought I would see it grow up into a big duck, maybe eventually see its feathers turn white and learn to fly. I didn't even know its gender, or what to name it, but I will never forget it. Goodbye, Ducky.

That's sad! Mine died during night time!