NewtoDucklings
Hatching
- Sep 6, 2016
- 2
- 0
- 7
Hello Everyone,
Im new to rearing ducklings and to this forum. I would like to introduce my recent experience and post a question I have with regards to, Millie, my Mallard Duckling. I live in Queensland Australia.
My partner and I recently adopted a 1 week old Mallard, whom we called Millie. We havent formally identified her gender (we understand it is a delicate procedure to do so) however we assume from her aesthetic markings, she might be female.
Since bringing her into our home we have done a significant amount of reasearch on Ducklings to ensure we would make the right decisions and offer the appropriate responses with regards to her health and well being.
We brought her home last Friday and have so far have had a wonderful experience rearing her at home. She is certainly lively, inquisitive and so far has shown promising signs of robust health.
We've been keeping her in a reptile glass enclosure, with ample ventilation, a 100 watt heat lamp, and dry conditions. We have been cleaning her enclosure daily. For food we started her on unmediacted starter gaming feed. We mix this with a little water so she can consume easily and digest. We also keep a shallow plate of water (just less than 1 inch) that is deep enough for her to submerge her beak and clean her sinuses, nose, etc. We also gave her a warm bath last night in a bucket to which she responded very enthusiastically by cleaned herself and her beak etc. Outwardly she seemed content and happy.
So far its been great and we're certainly growing an attahment to this sweet little thing.
However only yesterday did we notice that her breathing turned slightly abnormal (not being versed in raising ducklings, this is only a presumption). When she breathes she parts her beak over so slightly open and her body also slightly raises with each breath. She doesnt look stressed, nor is she making any noises so we're not sure if this is a normal. Our initial diagnosis was panting so we reduced the heat in her enclosure. After a while the breathing condition disappeared so we thought it was heat related. But again this morning the breathing returned. It was cooller this morning so we accepted that 25 to 30 degrees was ok.
I want to highlight that apart from this breathing action, her apetite is strong, her body is robust, she's lively and able to clean herself properly. We've always maintained that if an animal is eating, noramlly this is a sign they are not struggling with any serious medical condition. Still naturally we are worried and dont want to ignore what may be a bigger underlining issue.
We took her to our local vet but they are not Avian specialists. Before we ring other veterinarians, or overreact (Ive personally been very upset about this) we wanted to seek advice from members of this forum, in case others have experienced this same breathing condition with their ducklings.
We would greatly appreciate any advice.
Thank you, Susie
Im new to rearing ducklings and to this forum. I would like to introduce my recent experience and post a question I have with regards to, Millie, my Mallard Duckling. I live in Queensland Australia.
My partner and I recently adopted a 1 week old Mallard, whom we called Millie. We havent formally identified her gender (we understand it is a delicate procedure to do so) however we assume from her aesthetic markings, she might be female.
Since bringing her into our home we have done a significant amount of reasearch on Ducklings to ensure we would make the right decisions and offer the appropriate responses with regards to her health and well being.
We brought her home last Friday and have so far have had a wonderful experience rearing her at home. She is certainly lively, inquisitive and so far has shown promising signs of robust health.
We've been keeping her in a reptile glass enclosure, with ample ventilation, a 100 watt heat lamp, and dry conditions. We have been cleaning her enclosure daily. For food we started her on unmediacted starter gaming feed. We mix this with a little water so she can consume easily and digest. We also keep a shallow plate of water (just less than 1 inch) that is deep enough for her to submerge her beak and clean her sinuses, nose, etc. We also gave her a warm bath last night in a bucket to which she responded very enthusiastically by cleaned herself and her beak etc. Outwardly she seemed content and happy.
So far its been great and we're certainly growing an attahment to this sweet little thing.
However only yesterday did we notice that her breathing turned slightly abnormal (not being versed in raising ducklings, this is only a presumption). When she breathes she parts her beak over so slightly open and her body also slightly raises with each breath. She doesnt look stressed, nor is she making any noises so we're not sure if this is a normal. Our initial diagnosis was panting so we reduced the heat in her enclosure. After a while the breathing condition disappeared so we thought it was heat related. But again this morning the breathing returned. It was cooller this morning so we accepted that 25 to 30 degrees was ok.
I want to highlight that apart from this breathing action, her apetite is strong, her body is robust, she's lively and able to clean herself properly. We've always maintained that if an animal is eating, noramlly this is a sign they are not struggling with any serious medical condition. Still naturally we are worried and dont want to ignore what may be a bigger underlining issue.
We took her to our local vet but they are not Avian specialists. Before we ring other veterinarians, or overreact (Ive personally been very upset about this) we wanted to seek advice from members of this forum, in case others have experienced this same breathing condition with their ducklings.
We would greatly appreciate any advice.
Thank you, Susie
