My duckling got wet and cold, what do i feed it and how do I take care of it?

[Dsterio]

it was about 70 degrees and my ducklings are about 3 week old i have had them fore 2 week i bought them when they where 1 week. It was their fist real swim and i thought if was fine for no mare than 30 min, but i wanted to take them out and at about 15-20 min but i had an emergency and had to go away for a little while i told my my friend to take them out and put them back but he forgot and they ended up being in there for any where form 1 hour to 2 hours, when i got back i duck was laying in the water with its head floating right above the surface i picked him up fast and gently and put him back with the heat bulb. the rest of the ducklings where a float still swimming but barley 1 or 2 the water was over their backs. when i got them all in the rest but the 1st one where doing OK so i put the 1st duckling on a dry towel the heat lamp not directly on him he would take a big breath every 45 second i had to sit there for about 3 hours petting and changing the paper towels( warmed them up) until he was better now he is in the house with the rest of of his friends he is all dry now.
I want to know did it do this right and how do i proceed firm here and do i feed it normal?
PLEASE HELP

 

[Dsterio]

what i want to know is what do i feed to now and did i do thing the right way

 

[Orca5094]

Wow, well I'm sure you are aware of what you did wrong now, so I won't beat you up for that as I'm sure you feel bad enough. Just know that a ducklings first swim should be just a few minutes, not even as long as 15 minutes. Ducklings this young are not waterproof at all and will sink very quickly, get chilled, and drown. You are lucky they were still alive.

You did the right thing getting them dried off and back under heat right away, but you can also use a hair dryer on low setting to dry and warm them up faster in these situations (I trust you won't let this happen again, though?). Just be very careful not to hold the hair dryer too close to them or it could burn them. Always keep one of your hands between the hair dryer and the duckling so you can feel if it's too hot blowing on them.

How is the duckling now? Is it acting normal, or still lethargic? Make sure it has access to food and water, but be sure it cannot get into the water dish and get wet again.

 

[Dsterio]

when i said first real swim i meant than it was their fist swim that wasn't like a 1-2 minuet swim, that was my fault i should have explained it better.
And i did think of the hair dryer but i didn't know if would do any thing and he was in pretty bad shape so i didn't want to put him in stress, i called my dad and sent him a sort video of him and he said that their was no point in helping him any more, and that he had no chance of surviving and that i should help the other one, and he is always right about these things(he grew up on a farm and raised duck for 18-20 years but i am stubborn and i didn't want to give up, and i'm glad i didn't.
right now it has been 2 days the first day he was lethargic but i separated him from his friends with chicken wire( i put rubber knobs on the end where it is sharp so the don't get cut) and today he looks fine, peeping, and protesting, being picked up ( i do not handle them regularly but just to make sure nothing was wrong and just to see how he would act), he also has a 3 gallon water dish. It is one of the ones where when the drink water it put more in the dish and he can't get in to it. i make sure none of my ducklings can get in to the water dish. i took a piece of a laundry basket and glued an taped i over the dish so their head con get in to it but not the rest. ( I put tape where that can't get it.)

Over all he is doing good. I HAVE another question. he looks good and all but i know some disease take a bit to "get going" so what diseases should i be worried about and I think i'm going to put more chicken in there so the can't touch each other and more ventilation and clean the cage again for the second time in 3 day to make sure. Please tell me if these are necessary and other thing to do. THANKS

 

[Orca5094]

Ok, thanks for explaining a little more on the situation and his living quarters. You are doing a great job! Excellent how you separated him from the others like that and have safe water for him to drink. Is he eating good still? If you think he needs a little boost in energy you can give him hard-boiled egg cut up into very small pieces, or even a little bit of sugar water if he starts to act lethargic again.

I'm so glad to hear this guy seems to be doing ok! Can you hold him up to your ear so you can hear his lungs? Do you hear any clicking or crackling sounds when he breathes? Those would be signs of pneumonia, which is something I would be worried about with a near-drowning case like this. If you don't hear anything, that is good! I would listen again in the next couple days to be sure that doesn't develop. If you do hear crackling he should be put on antibiotics to help him fight that and recover. A vet would be best of course, but I hear you can get antibiotics at Tractor Supply in the US. Sorry I'm not of more help on that.

Good luck! And please keep us updated on this guy!

 

[Dsterio]

Thanks, l all ready tried to feed him hard boiled egg but he didn't like it or take it what ever one he his eating his normal food but no with a his usual appetite but i would think that would be normal after this near drowning experience. i will see if i can get a before and after picture on here. THANKS FOR THE HELP

 

[Orca5094]

No problem! I hope he continues to improve for you. I would love to see pics if you could get them.