Baby duck panting /rapid body motions

[phate008]

One of the baby ducks I hatched this week is seemingly panting. It's weird because his body is moving like he is breathing heavy. It's not from heat because he does it both in and out of the brooder. I don't know if it's a breathing issue, a heart issue, or what but you can see his body going up and down fairly rapidly. Not sure what I should do for him because he was the first to hatch and my favorite one. I would hate for something to happen to him.

 

[phate008]

I am also finding that he seems a little lethargic. His movements are very slow paced. The other couple like to play in the water and are very active. He kind of just plops down and keeps his movement limited.

 

[phate008]

I should add an update. I took him to an emergency vet that has bird vets on staff. They listened to him and hear a crackling in his lungs. They believe its possible a respiratory infection or pneumonia. He spent 2 days alone in the brooder before the others hatched. He may have inhaled a little bit of water or was more susceptible to an infection being alone without the company of his siblings to keep him warm.

I did have a heat pad beneath the box and a heat lamp over. It was reading about 89-92 degrees. He was crying one night because he got a little wet from walking in his water bowl. I dried him off. The past couple days he has been less active. His siblings are nutty and always playing or foraging. He has been taking it easy and then we noticed the breathing issue today. The vet gave us antibiotics to give him every 12 hours. We are hoping that clears it up. He at first suggested to possibly do a xray, but he didnt like the idea of sedating this baby while he was lethargic.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You can keep the baby from being stepped on by making him a little brooder inside your brooder where he can still stay warm but safe while he recuperating. Just put his food and water in with him.

 

[phate008]

You can keep the baby from being stepped on by making him a little brooder inside your brooder where he can still stay warm but safe while he recuperating. Just put his food and water in with him.

Thanks, that's a good idea. I feel bad for him because the others are a little pushy and like to cuddle but he's not in the mood. This was originally a 1 week baby sitting job for a couple eggs and now I'm trying to save this little guys life.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hopefully, your TLC and meds will get the lil one up and running very soon. keep us updated.

 

[bhaugh]

Upper respiratory in ducklings is hard to cure. I, myself, have had poor outcomes. Mine were runners at the time. I found the bedding makes a big difference and I now only use wood pellets. I lost two ducklings from that hatch which was my own doing and I was so mad at myself for it.
Make your duckling as comfortable as possible but look at what your using for bedding and keep it dry. Moisture doesn't always go away even when you think it does.

 

[phate008]

Upper respiratory in ducklings is hard to cure. I, myself, have had poor outcomes. Mine were runners at the time. I found the bedding makes a big difference and I now only use wood pellets. I lost two ducklings from that hatch which was my own doing and I was so mad at myself for it.
Make your duckling as comfortable as possible but look at what your using for bedding and keep it dry. Moisture doesn't always go away even when you think it does.

So originally he was alone in a fairly large cardboard box. I was going to use pine shavings but I decided to line with paper towels and small towels.

As soon as the other 2 hatched it became a free for all. They would go back and forth between food and water and everything was getting wet. I threw out that box because they destroyed it. I took a new box and taped a garbage bag to the bottom to protect the cardboard from absorbing moisture. Now I am lining it with a couple layers of paper towels and changing when things look wet. If there were more I can imagine how unmanagable it can get, but 3 ducklings I can control.

Do you think this method works? It's a lot work, but I think it's easier to control the moisture like this.

I took him to a vet because I really don't want this guy to die. With the ones you lost to upper respiratory illness; were they treated with antibiotics? My sick guy will be a week old tomorrow. I'm also trying to get him to drink some water with sav-a-chick electrolytes, but he seems to have a fear of the water bowl. It makes me wonder if he accidentally inhaled some water while getting a drink.

 

[bhaugh]

Are you planning on keeping them? If so I'd buy something different. I use a rabbit pen, plastic on the bottom and wire to hold them in. I got mine used on CL. I then put in the wood pellets made for animals. The ducklings must be able to dip their heads in the water to clean their nares. I take a glad container and cut a hole in the side only enough for them to dip their head and clean their nares. Otherwise they make an absolute mess of things. It keeps moisture down and slows growth of fungus.
No I didn't treat my ducklings at the vet. No duck vets near me. Your duckling has a chance but the reason I mentioned housing is that you don't the others to fall I'll. I'll look for a pic of my set up and post it.

 

[phate008]

Are you planning on keeping them? If so I'd buy something different. I use a rabbit pen, plastic on the bottom and wire to hold them in. I got mine used on CL. I then put in the wood pellets made for animals. The ducklings must be able to dip their heads in the water to clean their nares. I take a glad container and cut a hole in the side only enough for them to dip their head and clean their nares. Otherwise they make an absolute mess of things. It keeps moisture down and slows growth of fungus.
No I didn't treat my ducklings at the vet. No duck vets near me. Your duckling has a chance but the reason I mentioned housing is that you don't the others to fall I'll. I'll look for a pic of my set up and post it.

I was actually pet sitting these starting on day of hatch. Owner had to leave town on emergency but this was their first attempt at getting ducks for pets. They left me a rabbit cage lined with pine shavings. I was just worried about the heat retention and not being able to get the heat lamp close enough. The heat lamp they gave was one of the lamps that provides warmth but gives off no light. When I raised my chicks I used the red light heat lamp, and did pine shavings in a box. In hindsight it doesn't feel like the best option for getting rid of excess moisture. I still have the cage in my car so I may set that up for them. Wood pellets sound nice as well. I saw them burying their heads in the shavings and I was worried they were going to eat them. Larger pellets for sure would alleviate that fear. The owner saw the actual fear that I had about losing this guy and they offered to give him to me. I may take them up on that provided it could cohabitate with my chickens.