Hello, I have a 7 day old indian runner duckling who just today became ill. He is sitting on his haunches but will walk around on them if forced to, he is crying and seems to be having some labored/ open mouthed breathing. He is still eating and drinking, just not moving around much, any ideas? thank you Amanda
he actually passed away a few hours after I posted. There are 2 other 7 day old ducklings and one 2 week old crested duck. the crested duck seems lethargic today.
I'm sorry your duckling passed. We had a couple of Pekins that developed the same proble. The food turned out to have medication in it. It wasn't written on the bag but on a separate label attached to the bottom of it. When we realised this and changed the feed the ducks had already gained too much weight for their little legs and couldn't walk correctly again. The vet switched us to a lower protein feed and we purchaces antiinflammatories for their inflamed hocks. I even made a sling for them so they didn't carry any weight for a few days. Changing the feed isn't helping. The medication and rest however has definitely reduced the sweling so their pain is gone. they walk on their hocks but don't move well. They seem content though. Just wanted to share our experience so that hopefully someone else will learn from our oversight.
