[WARNING: LONG; WRITING AS I GO]
So just the other week we were given a lone Mallard duckling.
At that time he was maybe less than a week old. He was orphaned with his brother, and after a while of noticing these two weren't getting anywhere, my uncle's brother rescued them.
Sadly, the sibling did not make it. Unknown reasons, most likely stress from being orphaned.
This one seems totally healthy, at least at first.
A few days back, I noted his breathing seemed deep? didn't deem labored, no sound either, Just deep. Mostly because he was sleepy when I checked on him.
Regardless this worried me. I asked my mom if he seemed any different, and she said no. I told her about the breathing (which at this point was 'normal' again) and she said she noticed that when we got him.
I do have a bad habit of forgetting about detailed, then later noticing them again and freaking out. or noticing something only recently, though it had been like that forever.
he's maybe now 2 weeks old and He seems fine. he eats plenty, drinks his water, preens all over, and is very noise when he isn't sleeping. He loves being held, so obviously isn't showing any kind of "don't touch me" behavior.
He's very alert and responsive and doesn't seem lethargic. He doesn't get winded when he runs around or swims.
Sometimes though, his nose makes a clicking noise when he breaths, but this seems to stop when he can get a good face dunking. I make sure he has water deep enough to clear his nares, but sometimes the morning when i get up the water is barely deep enough since he drinks it all.
speaking of, his nares seem clear, I can see out the other side.
he does do this odd little yawning thing. sometimes it's obviously a yawn, but sometimes he does it when excited, nervous or after diving a bit in the bathtub. like earlier, he dove quite a bit, but after his 3rd dive, he popped up, 'yawning' repeatedly and acted like something got in his nose or something. this really worried me because he never did this before, but I assumed maybe he got water up his nares while diving, but I don't know if that's normal as It never happened to my other ducklings I raised long ago. After getting cleared out, he started to sink! I went to get him out of the tub but he didn't want to go yet, and his head still stayed above water, but it was like his bum floated more than the rest of him (Chest in water, Bum above it). So I just watched him closely. after a while of swimming he seemed to even out again and acts totally fine.
the other day he had some clear, all liquid poops, but that didn't last long. he started pooping small, then normal again, all colored like his food. This worried and still worries me a lot as maybe he has a blockage? The bedding I was using was soft wood chips, the kind that will absorb water. though sometimes it would get in his water bowl so maybe he ingested some?
He seems ok, I don't think he has any kind of back hunching, no vomiting, and his poo is now normal, so maybe it cleared up.
he is stretching out his legs a lot, but seems to do so after he's been in the brooder for a while or has been sleeping. Or maybe he's growing. He's doubled in size, so no weight loss.
Hus chirp does sometimes get raspy, or like a wheeze? I'm not sure how to describe it.
it happens when he's all excited and running around and chirping, or when he's very sleepy and cooing. But it only happens for a second, and on occasion, not constant.
I'm unsure if there's something wrong or if his voice is just changing.
Why I'm so worried is because he was previously kept in hay until we got him.
I had no idea about Aspergillus, and I had even raised ducklings before.
His tail doesn't bob when he breathes and his nares a clear and no running, eyes are clear and he's keeping himself clean.
But I've heard ducks are quite good at covering symptoms.
I'm unsure if there's anything wrong, as he seems completely fine other that the occasional fast or deep breathing, raspy chirp and nare clicking that all gets cleared up after some time.
regardless it really worries me and I don't know if I'm just reading into every little detail to much or what.
I have read stories where the duckling seems fine but has one little hiccup in their behavior and then the next thing the owner knows their ducking is gone.
Sadly, Vet and antibiotics and anything expensive is out of the question if there's anything wrong.
I'm not underage, but live with my parents and you know, their house their rules, and there's no way they'd spend much money on a duckling.
another reason I'm worried and just want to know if he's ok...
sorry to make a dumb thread, as he seems ok but I really can't handle the worrying. I just want to know what's normal or what isn't. I especially want to know if he has Asper or not.
I can provide pictures and video if need be.
So just the other week we were given a lone Mallard duckling.
At that time he was maybe less than a week old. He was orphaned with his brother, and after a while of noticing these two weren't getting anywhere, my uncle's brother rescued them.
Sadly, the sibling did not make it. Unknown reasons, most likely stress from being orphaned.
This one seems totally healthy, at least at first.
A few days back, I noted his breathing seemed deep? didn't deem labored, no sound either, Just deep. Mostly because he was sleepy when I checked on him.
Regardless this worried me. I asked my mom if he seemed any different, and she said no. I told her about the breathing (which at this point was 'normal' again) and she said she noticed that when we got him.
I do have a bad habit of forgetting about detailed, then later noticing them again and freaking out. or noticing something only recently, though it had been like that forever.
he's maybe now 2 weeks old and He seems fine. he eats plenty, drinks his water, preens all over, and is very noise when he isn't sleeping. He loves being held, so obviously isn't showing any kind of "don't touch me" behavior.
He's very alert and responsive and doesn't seem lethargic. He doesn't get winded when he runs around or swims.
Sometimes though, his nose makes a clicking noise when he breaths, but this seems to stop when he can get a good face dunking. I make sure he has water deep enough to clear his nares, but sometimes the morning when i get up the water is barely deep enough since he drinks it all.
speaking of, his nares seem clear, I can see out the other side.
he does do this odd little yawning thing. sometimes it's obviously a yawn, but sometimes he does it when excited, nervous or after diving a bit in the bathtub. like earlier, he dove quite a bit, but after his 3rd dive, he popped up, 'yawning' repeatedly and acted like something got in his nose or something. this really worried me because he never did this before, but I assumed maybe he got water up his nares while diving, but I don't know if that's normal as It never happened to my other ducklings I raised long ago. After getting cleared out, he started to sink! I went to get him out of the tub but he didn't want to go yet, and his head still stayed above water, but it was like his bum floated more than the rest of him (Chest in water, Bum above it). So I just watched him closely. after a while of swimming he seemed to even out again and acts totally fine.
the other day he had some clear, all liquid poops, but that didn't last long. he started pooping small, then normal again, all colored like his food. This worried and still worries me a lot as maybe he has a blockage? The bedding I was using was soft wood chips, the kind that will absorb water. though sometimes it would get in his water bowl so maybe he ingested some?
He seems ok, I don't think he has any kind of back hunching, no vomiting, and his poo is now normal, so maybe it cleared up.
he is stretching out his legs a lot, but seems to do so after he's been in the brooder for a while or has been sleeping. Or maybe he's growing. He's doubled in size, so no weight loss.
Hus chirp does sometimes get raspy, or like a wheeze? I'm not sure how to describe it.
it happens when he's all excited and running around and chirping, or when he's very sleepy and cooing. But it only happens for a second, and on occasion, not constant.
I'm unsure if there's something wrong or if his voice is just changing.
Why I'm so worried is because he was previously kept in hay until we got him.
I had no idea about Aspergillus, and I had even raised ducklings before.
His tail doesn't bob when he breathes and his nares a clear and no running, eyes are clear and he's keeping himself clean.
But I've heard ducks are quite good at covering symptoms.
I'm unsure if there's anything wrong, as he seems completely fine other that the occasional fast or deep breathing, raspy chirp and nare clicking that all gets cleared up after some time.
regardless it really worries me and I don't know if I'm just reading into every little detail to much or what.
I have read stories where the duckling seems fine but has one little hiccup in their behavior and then the next thing the owner knows their ducking is gone.
Sadly, Vet and antibiotics and anything expensive is out of the question if there's anything wrong.
I'm not underage, but live with my parents and you know, their house their rules, and there's no way they'd spend much money on a duckling.
another reason I'm worried and just want to know if he's ok...
sorry to make a dumb thread, as he seems ok but I really can't handle the worrying. I just want to know what's normal or what isn't. I especially want to know if he has Asper or not.
I can provide pictures and video if need be.
