What is this noise my baby is making?

[lgyure85]

So a let the ducklings (3.5 weeks old) take a bath tonight. They LOVED it. About an hour later, we were snuggling on the couch, when one started sort of coughing? I got a short video. Sorry it's hard to tell what's going on, but you can kind of hear the couching from the grey duckling. He/she is now sleeping peacefully on my leg, so I'm not *too* worried about it. Should I be?

 

[Amiga]

Baby does seem to have a little cough, there. Keep an eye on the little one.

Meanwhile, could you give us a rundown of type of feed, brooder setup, watering system? We can look for clues. It is best not to ignore unusual things. Ducklings can get respiratory infections.

 

[lgyure85]

I have 5 Runner ducklings. They live in the back room of my basement in a blow-up pool that's about 5'x10'. I keep the house temp at 77* but they also have a heat light that's about 3.5 feet off the ground on one side. I work at a hospital, and get the unusued, but no longer sterile, drapes from surgery to cover the bottom of their area with, and I change it daily. Their food is non-medicated chick starter from Stockdales, and I fill up a mason jar-sized bottle once a day for them and use the round feeder with the holes for them to get food. Their water "bowl" holds about 1.5 gallons, and is a basin from work. I clean and empty it 1-2x daily, depending on how dirty it is. I have a piece of plastic grid (like for a flourescent light) covered with a towel under their water so it doesn't pool too badly, or get slippery. I also give them finely chopped greens every few days in their water if their food is empty later on in the day (I've read multiple places that it's better not to give them free-feeding 100% of the time after the first week). They do LOVE to "torpedo" through the water at bath time (they've only had 2, and both were this week).

Here is the video of part of their bath time last night-

Thanks!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have 5 Runner ducklings. They live in the back room of my basement in a blow-up pool that's about 5'x10'. I keep the house temp at 77* but they also have a heat light that's about 3.5 feet off the ground on one side. I work at a hospital, and get the unusued, but no longer sterile, drapes from surgery to cover the bottom of their area with, and I change it daily. Their food is non-medicated chick starter from Stockdales, and I fill up a mason jar-sized bottle once a day for them and use the round feeder with the holes for them to get food. Their water "bowl" holds about 1.5 gallons, and is a basin from work. I clean and empty it 1-2x daily, depending on how dirty it is. I have a piece of plastic grid (like for a flourescent light) covered with a towel under their water so it doesn't pool too badly, or get slippery. I also give them finely chopped greens every few days in their water if their food is empty later on in the day (I've read multiple places that it's better not to give them free-feeding 100% of the time after the first week). They do LOVE to "torpedo" through the water at bath time (they've only had 2, and both were this week).

Here is the video of part of their bath time last night-

Thanks!

They are adorable, I have always given my ducklings food and water 24/7 up until they are 3 weeks old then I take it way at night, they grow so fast they need all the nutrients they can get, plus it helps them not to gorge when they do get fed, But even after 3 weeks on they always have a supply of feed and water available. Can you give a link to where you read this about feeding? thanks. and Welcome to BYC!

 

[lgyure85]

So now that I'm looking, I can't find the feeding schedule online anywhere, but in the Holerread book, it has a feeding table that breaks down how frequently, and for how long to put their food down. Realistically, my ducks probably have food for about 12 hours of the day. Their gizzards are always VERY full, but have usually emptied by the time I refill their food. I worry that they'll eat too much and won't be able to get it down or something. Is this crazy of me? Also, as of today I've started adding Niacin to their water. I saw that their chick starter had Niacin, but didn't realize that it was possibly too little. They aren't showing any signs of Niacin deficiency, so hopefully they'll be OK.

 

[Miss Lydia]

So now that I'm looking, I can't find the feeding schedule online anywhere, but in the Holerread book, it has a feeding table that breaks down how frequently, and for how long to put their food down. Realistically, my ducks probably have food for about 12 hours of the day. Their gizzards are always VERY full, but have usually emptied by the time I refill their food. I worry that they'll eat too much and won't be able to get it down or something. Is this crazy of me? Also, as of today I've started adding Niacin to their water. I saw that their chick starter had Niacin, but didn't realize that it was possibly too little. They aren't showing any signs of Niacin deficiency, so hopefully they'll be OK.

Adding niacin will help to ward off any problems that could rise. As long as your ducklings have plenty of water to drink with their feed they won't have a problem getting it down. Very important they have lots of water any time they have feed though, and if your giving them anything other than their chick starter they need grit.

 

[lgyure85]

I give them grit daily with their feed, and I spread some out on the drapes after putting new ones in. They can't get too much grit, can they?