Sneezing 5 day old ducklings!!! ugh ):

[dahlilas~duckies]

Helloo there.
We got 4 khaki campbell ducklings last friday, one day old, Last night i noticed them alll sneezing. its not all the time, just here and there. but i am still worried. their nostrils/eyes arent oosing goo or anything. i have read about an electrolyte to put in there water that might help, im calling the feed store in the morning to see if they carry something along those lines. Also thier food leaves little dust like particals in their water dish from them eating and drinking at the same time. I also have read dust can get into their nostrils and cause sneezing, not sure what to do about the transfer of food into their..kinda stumped on that one. Also we are using large wood shavings for their bedding it looks likes they pick it up and kind of naw on it but we were also worried they were eating it. So i covered it up with an old towel and im getting straw in the morning. Im a worry wort so im always worried something is wrong..

Please help ease my worries or give me your thoughts cause i am new to caring for duckies! Thank youu!

 

[WVman]

Not sure if this helps or not but my adult ducks sneeze also, they get stuff in there nose just like you and I I give mine a little pan of water they can dip their bills in and it helps clean it out

 

[azhenhouse]

As soon as you figure out how to keep their water clean, let us all know. I must change my ducklings water every hour. There is no getting around that, sorry! Make sure that their water is deep enough for them to get their bills in. It helps them clean their little noses out. I didn't put my ducklings into pine shavings until they were a week old. I used pet pads and towels until then. I know that there are some people on the forum that have used pine shavings from the start, and it has worked for them. If you think it might be their bedding try something different for now, and when they get older switch them back to the pine. I would search information on straw. It was my understanding that it doesn't dry out like the pine, and can get moldy. Not sure, so research it. I think that having deep enough water for them to dip their bills in will help a lot. I put my ducklings in a shallow sink of warm water at 3 days old. It was deep enough for them to swim under water, and was so cute to watch. They had a blast! Hope this helps.

 

[dahlilas~duckies]

I was wondering about putting them in deeper warm water and letting them swim but how deep? & how did you make sure they were dry afterwards, they are so wiggly there i feel like im going to hurt them when i pick them up as it is? haha if my findings are correct their little feathers absorb the water until there older. thank you for your in put!!! i might use pet pads thats a good idea.

 

[azhenhouse]

It was deep enough for them to swim under, but shallow enough for them to stand on their little toes. They were three days old in the picture. As you can see, it wasn't very deep. They were only in for about twenty minutes. Once they start slowing down I figure it's time to take them out. Make sure it's warm water that you use. I just dried mine off the best I could with a towel. They were still pretty wet when I put them back in the brooder. I just made sure that they could get warm under their heat lamp. It's worked so far. They are three weeks old now.

Updated to say: The green in the water are thawed frozen peas, mashed. They love them and it teaches them to dive. Try it!

 

[GMT]

dahlilas~duckies :

Helloo there.
We got 4 khaki campbell ducklings last friday, one day old, Last night i noticed them alll sneezing. its not all the time, just here and there. but i am still worried. their nostrils/eyes arent oosing goo or anything. i have read about an electrolyte to put in there water that might help, im calling the feed store in the morning to see if they carry something along those lines. Also thier food leaves little dust like particals in their water dish from them eating and drinking at the same time. I also have read dust can get into their nostrils and cause sneezing, not sure what to do about the transfer of food into their..kinda stumped on that one. Also we are using large wood shavings for their bedding it looks likes they pick it up and kind of naw on it but we were also worried they were eating it. So i covered it up with an old towel and im getting straw in the morning. Im a worry wort so im always worried something is wrong..

Please help ease my worries or give me your thoughts cause i am new to caring for duckies! Thank youu!

Is their water deep enough for them to completely submerge their bills into? Ducks routinely make a noise that sounds very much like a sneeze, but it's just them trying to clear their nostrils and usually doesn't indicate a health problem. Hence the need for adequate water, so they can completely submerge their bills and clear their nostrils that way. It's why duck water quickly ends up with food particles in it.​