Backyard Poultry Forum

Hi, I hope this is the right section... the first aid section seemed to be all about chickens...

Last weekend a neighbour bought over a duckling that had wandered into his shed. The neighbour had it in a box where is was sitting in cold water in the bottom of a plastic ice-cream container. The poor little thing was shivering it was so cold. I estimated that it was very newly hatched (perhaps that day) as it still had its egg tooth and no sign of any feathers.

I quickly put it in with my day old chicks under the heat lamp and it seemed fine. It was eating and drinking and I gave it daily "baths" where it could go for a little swim and he/she loved them.

Over the past 2 days its neck has started pulling to the right and its left leg is now sticking out at an odd angle. It has also began panting and it sounds a little phlegmy although there is no mucus or any other sign of a cold.

I am unsure what to do to help this little fella and could really use some advice.

Thanks in advance.

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Keeping chickens out of battery cages - one egg at a time!

Other than a vet visit or a wild life rescue organisation adoption, probably the best you can do is to supplement it with some avian vitamins and hope it pulls through.
I would keep it out of the water until it is, hopefully, recovered.

Good luck little duck.

Thanks - I will pop down to the local fodder stop tomorrow and see what vitamins I can find for him.

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Keeping chickens out of battery cages - one egg at a time!

It has a vitamin deficiency and needs avian vitamins asap (like Sue says). A pet shop or produce store will have some. It's a powder (usually) and you mix it up in water. I'd make a double strength and give it to the duckling in an eye dropper. Put drops on the side of its bill where it meets the face and it should drink it in. Aim for half a dozen drops. Repeat every hour till you have to go to bed and then every couple of hours tomorrow. Then if it's improving put it in the drinking water at normal strength. All the chicks can have it too.

If you have any Berocca in the house or even kids vitamin drops that'd be a good stop gap. Use the eye dropper method.

If it is a native duck like a Wood duck it's diet should mainly be things like pond weed and grass. As a substitute chop up some greens like spinach, lettuce, chickweed or fine grass and float this in a small dish of water (like a small ramekin).

As this is probably a wild duckling and has different dietary needs to a domestic bird or a chick I deally this duckling would be with a wildlife carer....asap. Your local vet could probably give you the contact info.

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Cheerio, Rach
Blue Swedish Ducks

I think it is muscovy as a few houses away from us there is an animal hoarder and she had over one hundred Muscovy Ducks at one point...

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Keeping chickens out of battery cages - one egg at a time!

What does the duckling look like?

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Cheerio, Rach
Blue Swedish Ducks

It's yellow and look to have a darker spot forming on its head. I will try and post a pic

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Keeping chickens out of battery cages - one egg at a time!

I did my best with my phone. It is under a red heat lamp so it may appear a little redder than it actually is.

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Keeping chickens out of battery cages - one egg at a time!

I have been giving it the avian vitamin mixture every hour or so since about 1pm today. (I had to go to a lot of different places to find it)

Unfortunately I only had womens multivitamins here last night and was able to get one of them opened (it was an oil) and it had some of that.

It doesn't seem have made much different but I will check again in the morning and let you know how I go. Is there anything more I can do to help it?

Thanks for all of your help so far.

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Keeping chickens out of battery cages - one egg at a time!

That isn't a wild duckling - it's a domestic species.

Great job on sourcing some avian vitamins. Just keep doing what you're doing.

If it is co-ordinated enough to swim then swims in the bath would be good (fill the bath with about 10cm of lukewarm water and let it swim for 5 mins, then pat dry with paper towel and pop it back in the brooder).

It will take a day or so to show some improvement, but I'd be hoping that by the time a couple of days have gone by the duckling should be looking a lot better.

Let us know how things are going

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Cheerio, Rach
Blue Swedish Ducks

Update... The little thing has stopped the panting, which is awesome because that was worrying... Its neck seems to be less curved but its leg is still sticking out at an odd angle and it is struggling to walk.

I am hand feeding it with chick starter (that I am soaking in vitamin water) and I am still giving it vitamin water in an eye dropper.

Hopefully it will start getting around under its own steam soon! I'm kind of madly in love with it now!!

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Keeping chickens out of battery cages - one egg at a time!

You do get attached to the ones that need the most care

It might have an underlying skeletal deformity. That's not an insurmountable problem....

One option would be to splint the legs so the dodgy one isn't so stuck out (like you'd do for a splay legged chick).

I'm inclined though to suggest that instead you just keep up the vitamins, feeding and swim sessions. I would really recommend swimming sessions a couple of times daily - it's great therapy.

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Cheerio, Rach
Blue Swedish Ducks

Are you on Hayman road too? I think i know the house waaay to many muscovys! Their Maremma has walked past my house twice by itself and cars fly down hayman! i hope the duckling pulls through!

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Matt
Pekin, Saxony and Muscovy Ducks!
Welsummer, Croad Langshan, Barnevelder, Silver Sussex, Ancona

From memory ducklings and ducks have a high demand for Niacin in their diet also

Your absolutely right I thinks it's a must to feed duck starter to your ducklings as its formulated to include Niacin, which is produced in the liver from the amino acid tryptophan which ducks cannot do very well. they do receive niacin from green feed things like silverbeet, kale, spinach etc.. But a combination of duck starter and green feed seems to works well for me I've never had a leg issue so far I think a pond also helps for getting weight off of those rapidly developing legs!

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Matt
Pekin, Saxony and Muscovy Ducks!
Welsummer, Croad Langshan, Barnevelder, Silver Sussex, Ancona