SparkisGmaw
In the Brooder
- Nov 14, 2023
- 12
- 18
- 26
For context…my husband witnessed some tiny ducklings run over by a dump truck on his way home from work in late May. He stopped to check on them and found one duckling was alive and wasn’t hit. Mom was nowhere to be found. He brought it home, and my 15-year-old daughter took it in to raise as her “emotional support duck” her words, not mine. He was probably only a few weeks old when he was rescued. His name is Sparki, and we’re guessing he’s around 6 months old. As he’s matured, we believe it is a male Muscovy. We immediately went to the local feed store, where we were recommended to feed him game bird starter feed. I bought a 50-pound sack and was told that should be fine for him until the bag runs out, and then we should upgrade the food. He ate it just fine up until about a month ago or so. He was still eating it, but he would take a bite and drink water, take a bite, and drink water. Being that he was still eating, we continued with it until the bag ran out. He also loves worms but has never been privy to any fruits or veggies we’ve tried to give him. He will jump in your lap to get a bite of your bread, though, or snatch it out of your hand or off the plate when you’re not looking. He also really loves Kimchi noodles. Anyway, we returned to the feed store, and it was recommended to feed him chicken scratch. Bought a bag. He hates it and won’t eat it. Go back, and they suggest some kind of all-fowl pellets. The bag says, “16% flock maintainer.” Again, he hates it and won’t eat it. We tried to water it down; he ate a little but would not eat anymore. My daughter, in a panic, is afraid he’s starving to death bc he’s barely eaten in a few days; she feeds him two pieces of bread, which he ate right up. The people at the feed store say he’s just being picky, and when he’s hungry enough, he’ll eat it. She offers him a fresh bowl of both the dry pellets and the watered-down pellets. He’ll take a bite of each but drops the hard pellets. He stays inside and roams around the house during the day but does get a lot of outside time. She fills up the garden tub full and lets him swim every day, too, because the closest pond is next door, and they have an aggressive dog who’s already bitten the lady next door to them on the other side. He sleeps in her room in a large dog crate lined with puppy pads and keeps his food and a water dish deep enough for him to dunk his head in there. She cleans the cage and bowls daily, and he’s only put into the cage at night. Well, yesterday, she came to me concerned about him bc when she opened the cage, he walked out slower than normal and then stumbled and fell on his face when he flapped his wings. Thinking he’s lethargic from hunger, we make him his favorite kimchi noodles. But he only eats a few. We try to give him bread. He won’t eat it. We tried crushed-up grapes, peas, and even some wet cat food the neighbor gave us. He won’t eat at all. He walks much slower than usual and seems sluggish, if that makes sense. But what bothers us besides him not eating even the stuff he normally likes now is that he stumbles and falls face first every time he flaps his wings and maybe even seems to pick up his right foot, whereas usually, he’s up on his “tippy toes” when he does it. He’s standing fine and walking okay, just slow. Thankfully, he is still drinking lots of water. The neighbor said it sounded like niacin deficiency and gave us something she called “red cell” to put in his water. She said that would help him since he’s drinking. I will try and get a video of it today if he’s still doing it. She left him out of his cage last night bc she’s worried something may be wrong with his foot. Also, I don’t know if it’s important or not, but she issues plastic grocery bags as a diaper during the day bc he is HUGE, and all of the different duck diapers we ordered were too small. Even the biggest size child’s diaper is too small. Outside of actual adult diapers and not understanding how to make them fit him around because they’re too big, their grocery bags seem to do the trick. She puts his wings through the hand holes and bags over his tail feathers, and they catch the poop great. As for that, his poop has been pretty much only watery. Can anyone help us out with what might be wrong with him and also suggest food options to try that he may actually eat? Also, I realize that some of this information may not be acceptable to more skilled duck owners, but my daughter and I have done a lot of reading and research to try our very best to give him the best of everything. He is more like a dog than a duck, and he is so loved. I have 5 children, and he is great with everyone. My daughter cares for him as he is her child. With that, if there is any advice that could be given without being harsh or rude that could help us with caring for and raising my grand duck, it would be greatly appreciated. I'm checking on him this morning; he’s lying under the bed, wagging his tail. He rejected the hard pellets but drank water when I put it beside him. Attached is a picture of him when he was rescued and a recent one.
EDIT TO ADD: I posted a video link of the stumbling while wing flapping. Also, this morning I’ve tried to feed him peas (both whole and crushed), plum, steamed corn, mashed potatoes, bread, and some of the starter feed. He takes a bite and shakes his head at all of it. I thought he was eating a little of the starter feed and drinking after every bite like he was but I guess he was just washing his mouth out bc the food is all in the bottom of the water bowl. But he def is drinking water and I put some of the Red cell stuff in it again. The Red cell looks like iodine honestly.
EDIT TO ADD: I posted a video link of the stumbling while wing flapping. Also, this morning I’ve tried to feed him peas (both whole and crushed), plum, steamed corn, mashed potatoes, bread, and some of the starter feed. He takes a bite and shakes his head at all of it. I thought he was eating a little of the starter feed and drinking after every bite like he was but I guess he was just washing his mouth out bc the food is all in the bottom of the water bowl. But he def is drinking water and I put some of the Red cell stuff in it again. The Red cell looks like iodine honestly.
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You will know soon enough if it starts laying. That’s great that you rescued her. To be honest, I’m not sure what to tell you. When my ducks were younger, I would sprinkle niacin (bought from 
