Weird breathing

[Jfun]

Hey,

I rescued this duckling a couple days ago and tonight he started doing this weird breathing. His mouth is open and his who body seems to move. Not sure what’s wrong with him?

Everything else about him seems to be normal except for his poop tends to be runny.
Just worried he might have HPAI or another illness.
Any advice is appreciated as I’ve never owned any poultry before!

 

[BelovedBirds]

Hey,

I rescued this duckling a couple days ago and tonight he started doing this weird breathing. His mouth is open and his who body seems to move. Not sure what’s wrong with him?

Everything else about him seems to be normal except for his poop tends to be runny.
Just worried he might have HPAI or another illness.
Any advice is appreciated as I’ve never owned any poultry before!

what is the weather like where you are? Ducks tend to pant when hot. Though it can be due to pain or difficulty breathing. Does he have water deep enough to dunk his head in? What was the situation he was rescued from? Do you plan to get a friend for him? Ducklings really shouldnt be kept alone, they're flock animals. What feed is he on? Is he getting enough niacin?
He's a cute little baby!

 

[Jfun]

what is the weather like where you are? Ducks tend to pant when hot. Though it can be due to pain or difficulty breathing. Does he have water deep enough to dunk his head in? What was the situation he was rescued from? Do you plan to get a friend for him? Ducklings really shouldnt be kept alone, they're flock animals. What feed is he on? Is he getting enough niacin?
He's a cute little baby!

The weather right now tends to be mid 80s with low humidity. He does have a very deep water dish and access to the bath tub at least once a day. I found him around my local lake completely alone so I’m not sure where he came from or how long he was out there.
As much as i would like to get him a friend my parents aren’t even happy with me having the one but we’re trying to find some place for him to go to (hopefully a farm with other ducks) but due to HPAI still pretty high in my state we’re having trouble finding somewhere that will take him.
For the time being though he’s never really alone as my work schedule is very low right now so he’s usually out and about with me (although I know I’m no duck lol)
He’s currently on a duckling and gosling starter grower (22% protein I believe) that I picked up from fleet farm. He also gets mealworms and the occasional fruity treat.
We think he’s around 3-4 weeks and a Pekin duckling if that helps any.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Adorable duckling and bless you for saving it. When that young they get picked off pretty quick by predators.
Is the duckling panting like this all the time or just a specific times?
What are the temps in the room he is in the most?
You could try posting on your state forum about a home for this duckling if it's not your plan to keep it long term. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/where-am-i-where-are-you.26/
It doesn't look sick. How are the eyes clear and bright? No drainage from eyes or nares. No raspy breathing? Hows the energy? Eating and drinking good?
watery poop is normal with waterfowl they drink alot of water.

 

[Jfun]

Adorable duckling and bless you for saving it. When that young they get picked off pretty quick by predators.
Is the duckling panting like this all the time or just a specific times?
What are the temps in the room he is in the most?
You could try posting on your state forum about a home for this duckling if it's not your plan to keep it long term. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/where-am-i-where-are-you.26/
It doesn't look sick. How are the eyes clear and bright? No drainage from eyes or nares. No raspy breathing? Hows the energy? Eating and drinking good?
watery poop is normal with waterfowl they drink alot of water.

He’s usually in my room which is about 75ish, a little cooler sometimes. He doesn’t really do it at specific times or at least not that I’ve noticed.
I didn’t know there was a state forum (I’m still new to the site) so thank you for that!
His eyes and nose are good although he is pretty sneezy. He’s usually laying down/ sleeping but I just figured it’s because I’m not usually that active either. He is very vocal though! When I do get up and moving to he’ll be active and movin right along behind me just fine. He’s eating and drinking just fine, almost never stops trying to consume things.
I was hoping watery poop was normal but I’m a pretty paranoid person so thanks for clarifying that.

He does sometimes have raspy breathing though and some wheezing? The best I can describe it is it sounds like he’s pushing the air out. It’s not constant but it does happen very often.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sneezy can be from dusty feed . Dusty bedding too. I’m not trying to come by off that the duckling doesn’t have something going on sure hoping that isn’t the case though. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if you finding him alone that someone dumped him there. It happens so much and being this one is a Pekin someone probably got it and decided they didn’t want it any longer. But being it is eating good, vocal and likes following you around I wouldn’t think it’s sick. Usually they go off their feed and water when sick. Lose interest in life.

Let’s get some Pekin owners here
@Quatie
@CoriM

 

[Jfun]

Sneezy can be from dusty feed . Dusty bedding too. I’m not trying to come by off that the duckling doesn’t have something going on sure hoping that isn’t the case though. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if you finding him alone that someone dumped him there. It happens so much and being this one is a Pekin someone probably got it and decided they didn’t want it any longer. But being it is eating good, vocal and likes following you around I wouldn’t think it’s sick. Usually they go off their feed and water when sick. Lose interest in life.

Let’s get some Pekin owners here
@Quatie
@CoriM

Ok thank you so much! When I get the money I was gonna take him to my old avian vet just to get him checked out. I wasn’t expecting to get another pet anytime soon to vet money isn’t in the budget right now lol.
But all this was good to know and calmed my mind for a while!