Panting duckling? Don't think he's hot...

[aduckstolemyheart]

It looks like one of my ducklings, the Pekin, is panting a lot lately. In situations where I am pretty sure he cannot be overheating. It looks just like it's panting. It's bill opens and he moves it up and down just like I have always seen my ducks do when they get too hot, except that the temperature is around 70 and their light is not on.

Any other reason a duckling would pant?? Georgie is about 5 weeks old.

 

[Isaac 0]

Don’t worry about it. I’ve had the same thing with my Pekin and he just had a weird breathing thing but when he grew up it went away just give plenty of fresh water.

Panting shouldn't be classified as normal, the underlying problem should be addressed,whether its a respiratory problem or the more common problem, not enough space in the brooder so the birds can not adequately get away from the heat, although what I've been seeing most recently is the birds all go to the cool side of the brooder, but there isn't enough space so they are so crammed there body heat warms them back up. Sometimes they will get something stuck in their throat as well, wood shavings or dry feed, gently feel there throat for any foreign objects.

 

[Magic Quack]

I'll keep a look out, lol
And yes I've noticed they seem to grow insanely fast! They are starting to quack now too it's to cute

My Pekin is 9 weeks old and now weighs 8 pounds.

 

[Amiga]

There are poultry vitamins - some have electrolytes and probiotics as well. I find the at the feed store and online.

 

[Isaac 0]

hi, what kind of vitamins do you give your ducks if you dont mind me asking? my duck has the same problem

Most feed stores sell poultry vitamins some common ones in the US are , Sav-a-chick, Rooster Booster, Poultry Cell or Nutri- Dench. Could you answer @Miss Lydia ?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Depends on what the problem is if your duckling is panting maybe the brooder is too warm how old is the duckling and any other symptoms? No leg weakness? Like @MasterOfClucker said many different vitamins.

 

[Amiga]

Panting can be caused by nervousness, also. What’s the brooder temperature? How many other littles?

 

[Taylorpolly]

It looks like one of my ducklings, the Pekin, is panting a lot lately. In situations where I am pretty sure he cannot be overheating. It looks just like it's panting. It's bill opens and he moves it up and down just like I have always seen my ducks do when they get too hot, except that the temperature is around 70 and their light is not on.

Any other reason a duckling would pant?? Georgie is about 5 weeks old.

He may have food stuck in his throat. Gently rub his throat ... See if that works.

 

[meyerc06]

80 degrees may be a little too warm, I find that even though that’s what the book calls for, some duckies don’t read the darned books! At the same time, I can relate to fretting because there are a number of things that cause panting, some of them quite serious. Aspergiliosis (however we spell that) is a fungal respiratory disease. We can’t rule that out, yet, but if the little has been in a clean environment where contamination (such as wild waterfowl sharing the space, or previously infected birds sharing the space, or a very moldy environment) is not a problem, then it could be nerves, overheating, mild illness, or just one of those things.

I’ve been having the same issue with my baby Pekins (3 1/2 weeks) and I have the Brinsea brooder. It’s definitely not too hot in there and some of them actually start panting outside of it, then go underneath . I love this forum because I was in a full panic about it (3 out of 4 of them have done it on and off for the last couple of days), and I was researching online and finding all of these awful possibilities! I was so relieved to read that a number of people have experienced the same thing and it often isn’t anything horrible. I fully clean their house every morning and spot clean throughout the day, and they have three waterers (!), all deep enough to flush their nostrils. I think mine probably are getting bedding in their throats because they will not stop eating it!

 

[aduckstolemyheart]

Ya know, he has had water, but he did not get to bathe yesterday, because it was freezing here and rainy for two days, so the babies have been inside. I usually throw them into the bath tub once every evening, because they keep just filthy in no time. lol However I was out of town yesterday and had to get a duck sitter for the day.

I wonder if that's it? I don't see anything obvious, but he's pretty dirty so I will just go plop him in the tub for a bit and let him dip his head in there 100 times like he always does! Hopefully that will help.

Thanks!