- Oct 7, 2008
- 31
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Hi there!
So around a week ago, I got three Pekin ducklings from a friend of mines, who incubated the eggs and hatched them for her third grade class. One of them is, to my best knowledge blind. His eyes are watery and the pupils are kind of rolled back, and his beak is a bit deformed. However, despite walking around in circles and and "feeling" around with his beak, he still seemed relatively alright for most of the week. He eats and drinks normally like the other ducks.
Yesterday, however, things started going bad. I first noticed that he was breathing heavily, a bit labored I guess. He'd sit on the ground and "pant" slowly, rocking back and forth. I thought that it might have been the bedding (pine shavings), so I immediately cleaned out the pen and added new, fresh bedding. This morning however, he's been getting worse. One of his eyes is slightly pink (although they've always been a tint of pink), and the feathers around it have fallen off, leaving a pinkish bald spot. He scratches it constantly with one leg, but has trouble keeping his balance or standing up, and always falls back down. He doesn't get up from the ground and drinks and eats very little. His breathing is still labored and seems to be heavier than yesterday. It's obvious to me that he's very weak, since he doesn't peep very loudly like he used to.
I'm very worried about the poor guy, and I have no idea what to do! For now, I removed the bedding completely, hoping it will improve his condition. What should I do?
So around a week ago, I got three Pekin ducklings from a friend of mines, who incubated the eggs and hatched them for her third grade class. One of them is, to my best knowledge blind. His eyes are watery and the pupils are kind of rolled back, and his beak is a bit deformed. However, despite walking around in circles and and "feeling" around with his beak, he still seemed relatively alright for most of the week. He eats and drinks normally like the other ducks.
Yesterday, however, things started going bad. I first noticed that he was breathing heavily, a bit labored I guess. He'd sit on the ground and "pant" slowly, rocking back and forth. I thought that it might have been the bedding (pine shavings), so I immediately cleaned out the pen and added new, fresh bedding. This morning however, he's been getting worse. One of his eyes is slightly pink (although they've always been a tint of pink), and the feathers around it have fallen off, leaving a pinkish bald spot. He scratches it constantly with one leg, but has trouble keeping his balance or standing up, and always falls back down. He doesn't get up from the ground and drinks and eats very little. His breathing is still labored and seems to be heavier than yesterday. It's obvious to me that he's very weak, since he doesn't peep very loudly like he used to.
I'm very worried about the poor guy, and I have no idea what to do! For now, I removed the bedding completely, hoping it will improve his condition. What should I do?
