Will my ducks eye be okay?

[MeatNeggs2012]

This is my ducks eye. I got him on Monday, got him settled in and noticed a little gunk on his eye. I cleaned it off and it was fine, until today it looked like this. He can barely move it and when he does he does it very slow. His other eye is just fine. Sorry his or her not sure yet. Is there anything I can do to help the lil guy/gal or fix it?

 

[Amiga]

Absolutely there is something you can do.

Does the duck get a chance to bathe every day without soap? That is important especially now.

How old is he or she?

Are there other ducks or ducklings?

The eye needs to be gently rinsed with either saline solution or Vetericyn spray.

Also, a good poultry vitamin mix, given twice a week till the eye is all better will help make the duckling stronger.

Please keep us posted.

Also, what is their food?

Do they have water 24/7?

They need a head rinser. Take a look at the sticky on Raising Ducklings - the link to the index is at the top of the duck forum.

 

[MeatNeggs2012]

Absolutely there is something you can do.

Does the duck get a chance to bathe every day without soap?  That is important especially now.

How old is he or she?

Are there other ducks or ducklings?  

The eye needs to be gently rinsed with either saline solution or Vetericyn spray.

Also, a good poultry vitamin mix, given twice a week till the eye is all better will help make the duckling stronger.

Please keep us posted.

Also, what is their food?

Do they have water 24/7?

They need a head rinser.  Take a look at the sticky on Raising Ducklings - the link to the index is at the top of the duck forum.

The duck is about a week and a half to two weeks old. He/she does get to bathe once or twice a day and has one other little buddy and they never go without water. I'm currently feeding them medicated starter. Is that what I should be feeding them? I will try the saline solution asap. Thank you for the help

 

[Amiga]

Many feed the medicated starter, some discourage it. I recently read that it is a thiamine blocker. Thiamine is an important B vitamin. From what I have read over the last four years or so, some ducklings are more sensitive to low levels of B vitamins than others.

Was there an injury? Get started right away with a rinse - you can make your own saline solution. I would add half a teaspoon of salt to one cup of boiling water, then let that cool. Put it in a very clean - sterile is best - spray bottle, or you could drop the cooled solution onto the eye from a dropper or even a spoon. Vetericyn is often sold at feed stores. Rinse the eye three or four times a day.

As always, a vet is best if you can do that.

 

[MeatNeggs2012]

Many feed the medicated starter, some discourage it.  I recently read that it is a thiamine blocker.  Thiamine is an important B vitamin.  From what I have read over the last four years or so, some ducklings are more sensitive to low levels of B vitamins than others.  

Was there an injury?  Get started right away with a rinse - you can make your own saline solution.  I would add half a teaspoon of salt to one cup of boiling water, then let that cool.  Put it in a very clean - sterile is best - spray bottle, or you could drop the cooled solution onto the eye from a dropper or even a spoon.  Vetericyn is often sold at feed stores.  Rinse the eye three or four times a day.

As always, a vet is best if you can do that.

 

[MeatNeggs2012]

No injury that Im aware of. I started rinsing it last night. I will keep you updated. Again, thank you for the help

 

[MeatNeggs2012]

Also, is there a better feed that I can use that isnt a thiamine blocker? Would it just be unmedicated?

 

[Amiga]

Yes, unmedicated feed would do it. I was blessed to be able to find turkey-waterfowl starter crumbles. The protein was high so I added one part chopped rolled oats (not instant) to four parts starter. Worked very well from what I have seen. But if you can only find chick starter, then unmedicated works for many, many people quite nicely.

 

[MeatNeggs2012]

Yes, unmedicated feed would do it.  I was blessed to be able to find turkey-waterfowl starter crumbles.  The protein was high so I added one part chopped rolled oats (not instant) to four parts starter.  Worked very well from what I have seen.  But if you can only find chick starter, then unmedicated works for many, many people quite nicely.

I'm pretty sure my local grain elevator carries turkey-waterfowl starter

 

[Amiga]

Oh, that would be grand!