Sneezy Ducklings??

[coldstreamherbal]

Hello everyone! My Khaki Campbell ducklings are a week and a half old and are lovely. The only concern I've been having about them is that they make these little sneezy sounds, and pretty frequently. They kind of brush the tip of their bills back and forth in the shavings and then "sneeze". Is this normal??

 

[Amiga]

coldstreamherbal,

From what I have experienced, your little ones have dust or something in their nostrils, and they need to be able to rinse them thoroughly. This is important.

Two options: Give them water need enough to dip their heads into. NOTE: leaving them unsupervised with a big bowl of water is not safe at their age. Solution: A margarine tub (or similar item) that is a couple of inches deep, with the lid cut open to make a roundish hole about three head-widths (2 inches or so). Fill that with water. They will be able to dip their heads up to their eyeballs in the water. They really need to be able to do this their whole lives - have water deep enough to wash their nostrils and eyes. They can get infections if they don't have this ability to wash.

The second option which is much more labor intensive and has a little risk to it, depending on your situation, is to let them swim. Now, by swim, I mean in two inches of warm water (90 degrees F), watched very very closely, for about 3 minutes, then right back into a warm, dry brooder, with follow up attention in case they need help drying off. If they are not immediately preening and getting their feathers dry, gently pick them up one at a time and use a dry washcloth to wipe them down (this helps them get used to being handled, too). Then watch for several more minutes, till everyone is nearly dry - make sure the brooder stays warm enough - not too warm. It will tucker them out, but they will be cleaner, and will have received some good exercise, and I think it helps their preen glands and preening behavior develop sooner.

I used a 2 inch deep cake pan for the first couple of swims!

 

[coldstreamherbal]

Thank you very much! I gave them some deeper water (I had been using the red and see-through plastic chick waterers) and the sneezing has subsided!

 

[Amiga]

Just make sure they cannot get stuck in the deeper water container!

Those critters can find trouble where we least expect it!

Enjoy your beautiful birds!