Skinny, frail, lethargic duckling!!

[DaYooper_Duck]

One of my cayuga ducklings is noticably leaner and less developed than it's siblings. It is slightly lethargic, and has been getting weaker, and more tired every day for the past week or so. It will randomly flop down while everyone else is actively eating, walking around, or swimming. It is also very slow at eating and cannot swallow food dry, while everyone else can without a problem. For the last day or so, it has also become very detached from the other 4. It sleeps and walks separately from the others but has no issue keeping up if it wants to. It is so skinny, it can feel it's spine and other bones poking out, whereas I cannot feel them on any of the other ones.

Some info: Free range during the day, with access to food and kiddie pools, in a coop at night. On chick feed with supplemental niacin, and grit. They willingly catch grasshoppers, caterpillars, moths, and varied vegetation during the day as well. They hatched on memorial day, making them about 5 weeks old. Their poop today is grass green as far as I can tell, then again, they have been eating alot of random weeds, grass, and grasshoppers.

Please help, I don't want the baby to die, and cannot bring it to an avian vet(too far and expensive), this bird is literally 20% of my 5 duck flock, and means alot to me. I it just a weak bird, not destined to survive, or is there something I can do??

 

[DaYooper_Duck]

Imma just bump this real quick...

 

[Stipenvlerk]

Hello,

First I have a few question:
1. Did you check for injuries? Check the bottom of the feet too please...
2. Did you check for parasites like lice, mites, worms?
3. Does it have any nasal discharge?
4. Is it’s poop the same as from the others?
5. Is it actively loosing weight or just not growing?
6. How does the vent area look, is it clean?

 

[DaYooper_Duck]

1. No obvious injuries.
2. No lice or mites, not sure how to check for worms.
3. Not unless it has just drunk water.
4. I cannot tell whose poop is whose, but I will try and observe them alot today, and report back.
5. It has been underweight for a number of weeks now, but I didn't start to worry too much until it started collapsing randomly when I tried to herd them somewhere. It also has noticeably less feathering than the others as well.
6. Vent is clean.

Hope this helped...

 

[Stipenvlerk]

Thank you! Please upload a picture of your sick duckling. And if you are able to make a video of the symptoms, upload it on YouTube and post the link here, that would be great too.

In the mean time, start weighting your little one ( Not so little anymore if they are Cayuga’s and 5 weeks)

If he actually looses weight day by day it will worry me, if he gains weight but way slower than the rest he might be just a slow developing duckling..

maybe you can give him extra attention and feed him something extra apart from the others so he has time to eat before the big food processing machines eat all

 

[DaYooper_Duck]

Thank you! Do you think I should try to feed him somehat separately? Maybe that way he can take as long as he needs to get all filled up?

Edit: I also do not gave a scale, not even in my bathroom, so I have just been checking his weight against that of the other ducklings.

 

[DaYooper_Duck]

Here are some pics. 1st and nd pics are the skinny duckling, last pic is of 3 of the others for comparison.

You cannot see the bones poking out, of course, because of all the feathers and down, but they are very easy to feel when poking around the back/flank area. You can also see the shiny black feathers covering the other's heads and shoulders. The feathers on the smaller one, however are fewer, and less developed.

 

[Stipenvlerk]

Thank you! Do you think I should try to feed him somehat separately? Maybe that way he can take as long as he needs to get all filled up?

Edit: I also do not gave a scale, not even in my bathroom, so I have just been checking his weight against that of the other ducklings.

It would be a good idea to invest in a cheap kitchen scale. I weight my ducklings on a cheap one. Just to keep track of their weigh when you suspect something is wrong. (No bathroom scale in my house either )

yes if he is the slowest, maybe you can feed him extra next to normal feedings so he has the time to eat enough before his siblings eat all...

 

[Stipenvlerk]

Here are some pics. 1st and nd pics are the skinny duckling, last pic is of 3 of the others for comparison.

You cannot see the bones poking out, of course, because of all the feathers and down, but they are very easy to feel when poking around the back/flank area. You can also see the shiny black feathers covering the other's heads and shoulders. The feathers on the smaller one, however are fewer, and less developed.View attachment 2219908View attachment 2219909View attachment 2219910

you have some pretty duckies I love my Cayuga’s

I ment one picture with the small and a normal size duck so I can see the height difference. But the “skinny one” looks like he’s getting feathers too only slower...

 

[DaYooper_Duck]

The skinny one is slightly shorter than the others, but not too drastically so.