New Call Ducks - Advice please!

[AnimalGeek23]

X2 to posts above.
They are so cute!

 

[bluekii]

They may need some really good poultry vitamins added to their feeding like something you can put into their drinking water. If you mean by shaking like he is cold? Is it cold where you are if they have wet feather they could become chilled you might offer some heat for them. If you can get some Liquid B Complex that may help with wobbly. They may just have a big deficiency in their diet and it is going to take a while before they recover. Have you looked them over for external parasites? mites will be very tiny and blk and you'll find them under the wings and around their vent area they move very fast. Lice attach to the feather shafts and a beige looking.

Thank you all! They are both gorgeous and I hope I can get them back to good health and begin the start of a fresh new and happier life for them.

Thanks for the information about the parasites, I'll give them a check over tomorrow. Not sure if the previous owner kept on top of parasites.

He's shaking as if he's trying to get water off himself - probably just the wet feather.
They are staying indoors tonight and I am hoping the wet feather will have cleared up soon, but not sure when they are next due to molt their feathers. The feathers look very scruffy and some even look missing in places, they are a sad sight bless them.

Both of them have just been non stop preening and cleaning themselves. I gave them a bath earlier and dried them as best as I could gently with a hairdryer (Made sure not to burn them of course!) but they're still cleaning non stop. I wonder if it's because they're just relieved to be out of a muddy pen? The pen they were in was a small Guinea-Pig/Rabbit run with a roof and the ground was covered in mud and feces, no grass at all.

The female has a very droopy head but I am putting it down to her being tired.
They act very differently from the other calls I have, but I just put it down to them being young and not having the best of environments to have grown up in.

Is it OK to bathe them every day? Even if the male has wet feather? Will bathing help or are they likely to get ill? The house is warm.​

 

[Miss Lydia]

By washing you just mean nice warm water no soap? Bathing will make them preen more. So they will be spreading the oils over their feathers so when you get a chance look at the oil glands to.

 

[bluekii]

By washing you just mean nice warm water no soap? Bathing will make them preen more. So they will be spreading the oils over their feathers so when you get a chance look at the oil glands to.

Warm water, no soaps. ​

 

[Miss Lydia]

Check for parasites. plenty of fresh feed and vitamins, and be patient they will most likely get through this rough start with your TLC

 

[chickens really]

Hello...Don't allow them bath water at all times. Get them eating a good feed. Provide Peas and veggies too. Get them in good condition before letting them mingle with the rest.

 

[shawluvsbirds]

×2 on all of the above posts. . if they are weak they will be more likely to be bullied. It may not actually be wet feather. . just poor feather condition due to lack of nutrition.
But until the feathers are more waterproof I would not want to turn them loose with the others in the pond.
Also you probably wanna keep them separate until you know for sure that they don't have anything that could spread to the rest of your birds.
They are super cute
I'm glad you got them

 

[bluekii]

Morning everyone!

Thanks so far for all the advice and help with the ducks!

They're now called Jemima (female) and Puddles (male)!

Vocal this morning, and I put them in the bath to see if they'd swim and lo and behold! They swam for what I think was the first time in their lives! They also had an amazing bath, I'll upload a video for you all to see.

Puddles has been acting odd. He keeps stretching up on his tip toes and hunching over, and losing balance. He's been falling into the food bowl and water bowl, clumsy thing!
I tried to get a video, which I will also post.

They don't seem interested in any vegetables or fruit, but I have only tried lettuce and cut up grapes so far. I'm going to try peas and beans later on today, and then find a source of protein for them - possibly meal worms?
They have been eating corn though, which is great. They just keep preening themselves at the moment and trying to get clean. I've been gently helping them get dry by assisting with a hair dryer when I can .

Puddles "tiptoing"

Bath time

Puddles

​

 

[bluekii]

Puddles keeps lifting his rear into the air and is very unstable and wobbly. He also keeps lifting himself up like on his tip toes and arching his neck, and he is trying to chew everything. Still soaking after washes too. I just want to know what is wrong with him, someone please help. I want him to get better.​

 

[Miss Lydia]

I wonder why it wouldn’t be a good thing to let them have bath time the feathers on the one are so dirty hopefully bath time will help with that. What type of beans are you talking about. Dried mealworms would be good for extra protein also a good poultry vitamin or liquid B complex especially for Puddles since he is wobbly on his legs. They could both have a deficiency in niacin. Some offer cat kibble but @casportpony was saying that cat food being high in protein isn’t good to feed often especially if over 30% protein. Bless their hearts they loved that bath . They are precious.