Please help duckling emergency

Pictures and video would help so we can see exactly what she looks like.
You can try giving her nutri-drench or some B complex. Keep her warm and comfortable.


I had a chicken with wrey neck and this forum helped me save her and this is what they all told me to do; some I had to improvise. Go get some Poly-Vi-So (infant vitamin), selenium, vitamin E and infant formula. Disolve the vit E, Selenium &poly-vi-sol in the formula, I bought the all ready mix kind so that I didn't have to mix it. Feed the mix to the duckling by eyedropper if you can. My Lucille Ball would drink it if I held her neck & head up a bit. Do this 3-4 times a day. If you have to work, like I did, I would just put some in the crate with some feed and her favorite treat... grapes! After a week she was following me around the house!! Today she is the 1st to greet me when I get home from work. Please let me know how the little duckling does. But you have to start treatment asap.
 
I have 3 baby khaki ducklings, 5 weeks old. This evening I found one of the upside down on her back and she could not right herself.
I have seen this in many that are less than two weeks old, and with time they always get better, but only once in one that's 5 weeks old, so it concerns me a little.
I stood her up and now she is very out of it. She couldnt have been that way at most an hour since I last checked them.
An hour upside down could cause this. Hopefully, she will be better soon.

Now she will not extend her neck out, she is slow when she walks and her whole underside, chest and abdomen looks swollen.
This sounds like it could be a ruptured air sac. I had ducklings, chicks, and a peachick with them and it was very hard for them to walk. Pictures would help us tell you if that's what you are dealing with.
She drinks water, but I havent seen her eat, she goes to the food but acts like it hurts to move her neck. I'm hoping she is just sore from being stick upside down??
Maybe she is sore, but maybe something else is going on. It's good that she is drinking, but not eating is worrisome.
How do ducks get stuck upside down??
I'm not sure why this happens.:idunno I see it in maybe 1 in 100 ducklings, but usually they are much younger when it happens, though I did have one many years ago that, even as an adult, she would get stuck on her back.

This is my second set and never an issue with the first pair. Any suggestions, advice is greatly appreciated. What do I do for her, look for? Thank you so much!
Others have suggested giving vitamin supplements, which I think is a good idea, and @Cayuga momma suggested that you post pictures and a video. To post a video, upload to YouTube or Vimeo the copy/paste the link here.
 
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That’s not treatable is it?
It depends on the cause and the severity. I've seen several with it, and all but one survived. I had varying levels of success by poking a hole in the skin and letting the air out.

Important note! Do not stick a needle in the swelling in less you are 100% sure its air!
Subcutaneous Emphysema
(A vet is *not* needed to make this diagnosis!)
Just wet the feathers with water or rubbing alcohol and it should be obvious.










The red spot is from where I poked it with a needle





Figure 6 - Figure 6: Subcutaneous emphysema in a caught-by-cat fledgling song thrush (Turdus philomelos). In this case there were no associated wounds suggesting that the emphysema had arisen as a result of blunt trauma.
Source:http://www.worldwidewounds.com/2003/august/Cousquer/Avian-Wound-Assessment.html




Postby TX Rehabber » Mon Jun 27, 2011 7:14 pm

Kelly & Toy

Here are some pics of "Ruptured Air Sacs"......This usually occurs from some type of trauma which causes one of the air sacs located throughout the birds body to leak air under the skin. Repeated puncturing of the skin as described by Linda will help, but may need to be repeated several times during the day or until the air sac heals. It may be life threatening, if the rupture prevents the baby from lifting its head to feed.

Source: https://www.purplemartin.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20502
RupturedAirSacs.jpg
 
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