Starving duck

[Enelson1127]

Hello, I have an 8-12 month old drake who escaped a few weeks ago. A neighbor called that they spotted a duck laying in their backyard who seemed sick. We went to see and it was our duck. It seems like he is starving to death. I see no visible injuries but his chest is extremely sunken in and he has absolutely weight on him. He cannot stand up but is able to hold his head up. I immediately gave him some fresh water and he didn't hesitate to drink. I also gave him some peas since they are his favorite treat and he ate them but didn't gobble them down like he usually does. He dropped a lot out of his mouth and didn't have much ambition to eat. After he ate he was able to stand up with some assistance and took a few steps before his duck wife bumped him super gently and he fell back over. Is there anything else I should do besides just making sure he's eating and drinking? (Assuming the only think wrong is that he hasn't eaten) any advice is appreciated! Me and his wife will be devastated if we lose him

 

[Firewolf]

Enelson1127 just make sure to give him plenty of rest and make sure he is not with too many other duck or chickens because they could stress him out while he is like this. And make sure he always has fresh water and food and make sure he is drinking and eating if he starts refusing to eat or drink then leave him alone for a few minuets then come and check back on him if he still hasn't touched his food then try to add water to the food and make into a slush type food and take a syringe and force feed him, same with water. but only do this if you really are desperate to save him but know that doing this can cause him to become stressed and a lot of birds are killed by too much stress.

I only know this because I had a few ducks who got sick and got severely underweight so I had to do the same thing to them.

 

[Enelson1127]

Enelson1127 just make sure to give him plenty of rest and make sure he is not with too many other duck or chickens because they could stress him out while he is like this. And make sure he always has fresh water and food and make sure he is drinking and eating if he starts refusing to eat or drink then leave him alone for a few minuets then come and check back on him if he still hasn't touched his food then try to add water to the food and make into a slush type food and take a syringe and force feed him, same with water. but only do this if you really are desperate to save him but know that doing this can cause him to become stressed and a lot of birds are killed by too much stress.

I only know this because I had a few ducks who got sick and got severely underweight so I had to do the same thing to them.

Thank you! He wanted to eat yesterday but today has no interest. I left him alone for a while but he's still just sitting there. I had to give him a bath because he was just pooping and not moving so his butt was caked in it and he seemed to swim around a tiny bit and drank the bath water. He also stood up and took a few steps in the water once it was high enough that most of the weight was lifted off him. Just wondering what I should expect? These are my first ducks so first time dealing with anything like this. I don't want to jump the gun and start syringe feeding him already since he was eating good last night and he's still drinking but I'm just worried since he still isn't standing and he just lays in one spot. I guess I just hoped after he had a full belly and water he would be able to stand ☹

 

[Firewolf]

Enelson1127 I am glad to hear that he is eating and drinking well and is trying to stand up on his own. so yes there is no need for syringe feeding him but since he is very weak still its good to help him walk around for a but a build up his leg muscles again if you do that for a couple of days he should be good and like you did earlier when putting him in water and he took a couple of steps thats also a good excersize for him.