Sick week-old duckling

[FenDruadin]

Oh, no! I am so worried about Harry. He is our silver runner duckling, hatched out from our blue/blue mating. He is my 5-year-old's favorite duck. I am worried he might have been injured yesterday during handling, though I don't know of any particular incident.

Anyway, this morning he is lethargic, not eating or drinking, just lying around sleeping. He will slurp some water off my fingers, but not drink from a container. His eyes open only half-way, as though he is too sick and tired to open them all the way. He was dirty, with poop stuck on his back and near his vent, but I washed him this morning (he was too tired to lift his head very far while I had him in the sink--he kept drooping until his bill was almost submerged, and then sitting up, then drooping...) and wrapped him in a clean towel and put him back under the brood light. He cheeps very faintly on occasion.

I read that boiled egg can be helpful (I don't have any duck vitamins to give him), so I am boiling eggs right now. I don't know whether he will eat them.

What is the likely prognosis? Are we going to lose our little Harry? I am so sad about it, and so worried that we did something to cause this.

Thanks for any tips, help, and also anyone who can either give me hope or even a reality check. Thank you!

Heather

Updated to add: I tried the boiled egg yolk, and he was not interested. Just wants to sleep. I smeared some on the front of his bill and then dipped his bill in clean water--he opened and closed and drank the moisture on his bill (and hopefully a bit of the yolk too), but that was it. The other two--Ron and Hermione--are going crazy over the yolk, which I smashed up and put in there for them, since Harry doesn't want it. They love it.

 

[streemers]

i dont know whats wrong with harry. but you might not have had anything to do with it. i had a buff duckling that was 2wks old start having fits and die on me.
hope someone can help and keep trying

 

[FenDruadin]

Harry died. I had him in a basket with blankets & water up on a shelf in a warm room. I checked on him every few minutes and the last time I checked, his bill was partially submerged in the water (but not over the nostril holes) and when I tried to move him, his neck was already stiff. We buried him in the backyard, and my 5-year-old is convinced he will "come back to us" in the next batch of eggs. I hope we get a silver one again that he can name "Harry." He's sad that it will take so long for the next batch, which isn't even in the incubator yet. But he's not as upset as I expected him to be, which is good.

Anyway, I'm sad about Harry, but I guess it's a part of raising animals. I hope we didn't do anything--he was handled a lot yesterday, but he seemed fine last night, so I don't know that it was us.

Thanks for the feedback, streemers. I'm sorry about your little buff guy.

Heather

 

[froggie71]

So sorry to hear you lost Harry. Sometimes we don't know why they are acting sick. Probably did not have anything to do with handling at all.

I hope you are able to have another "Harry" in your next hatch