Two of 4 muscovy ducklings hatched unable to raise head/twisted necks

[EllieandOlive]

They have been this way since they came out of their shells. Is this wry neck? They are 1.5 days old and can't walk or lift their heads. I've been dipping their beaks in save a chick electrolyte water every few hours. They are so weak compared to the other 2 normal behaving ducklings. They just lay on their sides and keep their eyes closed mostly. Only move if startled. I'm worried I'll wake up to them dead

 

[EllieandOlive]

One seems almost dead, it barely drinks when I dip its beak, eyes stopped opening at all. Kicks its legs a tiny big if jostled.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

One seems almost dead, it barely drinks when I dip its beak, eyes stopped opening at all. Kicks its legs a tiny big if jostled.

It's likely some kind of defect or an issue they had in the egg. Did you assist at all or did they hatch on their own like this? Some just aren't born right. You can keep up the electrolytes. I'll tag some others here and see if they can help.

@sourland
@Isaac 0

 

[EllieandOlive]

It's likely some kind of defect or an issue they had in the egg. Did you assist at all or did they hatch on their own like this? Some just aren't born right. You can keep up the electrolytes. I'll tag some others here and see if they can help.

@sourland
@Isaac 0

I helped 2/4 hatch after almost 2 days of being barely pipped. They had HUGE air pockets, idk if that is normal or not, but they were crammed tight. I'm not sure which 2 of the 4 I helped. They couldn't seem to zip themselves though.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

I helped 2/4 hatch after almost 2 days of being barely pipped. They had HUGE air pockets, idk if that is normal or not, but they were crammed tight. I'm not sure which 2 of the 4 I helped. They couldn't seem to zip themselves though.

Ah, I see. Unfortunately with assist hatches it's hit or miss. Often times if they can't hatch by themselves it's because something else is wrong. Sometimes though it can also be human error (shrink wrapping from opening the bator, etc).

I've done assist hatches where there's absolutely nothing wrong and they grow up really well. But I've had some that just didn't form right, or had something else going on that died right after. It's not your fault. Mother nature is cruel. I hope some of the others on here can help with your babies!

 

[EllieandOlive]

Ah, I see. Unfortunately with assist hatches it's hit or miss. Often times if they can't hatch by themselves it's because something else is wrong. Sometimes though it can also be human error (shrink wrapping from opening the bator, etc).

I've done assist hatches where there's absolutely nothing wrong and they grow up really well. But I've had some that just didn't form right, or had something else going on that died right after. It's not your fault. Mother nature is cruel. I hope some of the others on here can help with your babies!

I've done several assisted hatches with my chicks with zero casualties. These guys were shrink wrapped unfortunately. They were started for the first 30 days under first time mama duck, and a couple of a different breed hatched early, but being muscovys these took longer. She wasn't consistent on her nest once some hatched so I brought them in. I didn't realize there were a couple duck eggs under her that weren't muscovy. I feel like I screwed everything up from the start.

 

[Isaac 0]

Unfortunately, with ducklings, you are limited in the amount of supportive care you can provide due to their small size, and fragility. Ensuring they stay warm, and keeping them hydrated with an electrolyte, and offering vitamins would be the two most important things to provide. A prolonged hypoxias (shrink wrapped) environment within the shell could have caused some of the symptoms you're noticing in the ducklings.

 

[EllieandOlive]

An update. When I woke up this morning THREE of the babies were stiff and dead. I expected it of the weaker two, but thought the third and fourth were doing well. So now I have one lone 3 day old. Thankfully he won't be alone long, as I have a duck delivery of 10 day-old-ducklings from metzer farms I am due to pick up tomorrow or wednesday.

 

[Isaac 0]

An update. When I woke up this morning THREE of the babies were stiff and dead. I expected it of the weaker two, but thought the third and fourth were doing well. So now I have one lone 3 day old. Thankfully he won't be alone long, as I have a duck delivery of 10 day-old-ducklings from metzer farms I am due to pick up tomorrow or wednesday.

Very sorry for your losses.

 

[FunnyfarmMidwest]

An update. When I woke up this morning THREE of the babies were stiff and dead. I expected it of the weaker two, but thought the third and fourth were doing well. So now I have one lone 3 day old. Thankfully he won't be alone long, as I have a duck delivery of 10 day-old-ducklings from metzer farms I am due to pick up tomorrow or wednesday.

So sorry for your loss of your sweet ducklings. It’s always hard. Hope the last little fella does well. Glad it’ll have some friends soon.