CPR on a drowned duck.

[aryellec]

I just want to share a story with a bit of advice fir ducks. A couple of years ago my dad and i went out to his polebarn real late so he could show me his new ducks. When we got out there they were all in the pool and the water was a little deep(big no no), my dad shooed them all out and found one was in the bottom not moving. His beak was gray, he was not breath, and tho he was still limp he looked very lifeless. He was very cold too. Now ive done cpr on humans, but never on a duck. So i had to do a fast search. I came to a page that said 5 quick breaths(not too strong onky enough to watch the chest rise and fall! Its very important not to be too strong) and follow with 10 compressions(fingers only! You dont want to crush them) just enough to watch the chest go in. So i decided to give it a try. My mouth went over the entire beak and stopped just before the breath holes. I started the 5 breaths and watched water spray out of the holes. I started the cpr. Within 10 minutes the bird was breathing. It was very short and shallow, and the bird still could not move. I took it inside and wrapped in a blanket amd continued doing basic first aid. By two hours the duck could lift its head but still not move water was still coming out of the nose and with its best effort it still couldnt quack. So i put it in a box with a towel and called it a night(praying for the best but knowing i needed to sleep). The next morning i woke to quaking. I looked in the box and it was walking around trying to get out and quacking like crazy. So #1 dont let the water be taller than their legs when theyre young. They can get too crowded and get trapped underwater. #2 CPR is very easy on a duck, you just habe to be gentle and always hold the head and body. My dad was going to bury it when he found it. We were positive it was dead. So #4 take that chance! happy thursday everyone!!

 

[DuckGirl77]

Thanks for sharing your story! Very interesting, encouraging, and good to know.

 

[aryellec]

You are absolutley welcome!

 

[Donna R Raybon]

Ducks raised by momma duck have feathers oiled an waterproofed by her oil gland as she huddles to warm ducklings. That oiling adds to their buoyancy.

Without momma duck the babies are several weeks old before their own oil gland starts pro

ducing. So these babies are not waterproofed, prone to chilling, and drowning.

Ducklings need a waterer deep enough to get head into up past bill/eyes, but not so deep they could turn upside down and drown. Once they start to feather out and you notice water beading and rolling off their backs, they can swim.

You can take plastic wading pool and cut down a doorway about a foot wide so water is shallow and ducklings can get in and out OK. As they get older you can move them up to kiddie pool that has several bricks around pool edge on inside and outside so ducks can clamber in/out.

Until they are a few weeks old I use a waterer made from a glass bowl with holes cut in plastic lid. You can vary depth by adding large marbles, too.

 

[lomine]

Just to clarify a few things. A mother duck actively preens her ducklings with oil from her gland to make their feathers waterproof. It doesn't just rub off her onto them. Also, ducklings can swim from the start. Actually, putting them in swimming water early promotes the development of their oil glands and speeds up feather growth. There is no need to wait until they are feathering out to give them swimming water. You just have to be careful. Do not leave them alone, remove them when it looks like they are getting tired, dry them off as much as possible, and put them back somewhere warm. Plus there aren't many things cuter than watching tiny ducklings swim.

Great story @aryellec Glad you stuck with it and saved the little one.

 

[aryellec]

I acrually made sure that i was correct on this before i posted it. Babies should be able to get their bills and eyes wet, but not their bodies until theyre at least a few weeks old. That is to prevent tiring out. And if you have too many ducklings abke to get into water that is a foot or more deep, once tired like every othed animal they will use others to stay afloat which causes babies to become trapped under water and drown.

 

[lomine]

I am speaking about supervised swimming. I had mine swimming at 3 days old in my bathroom sink and they were fine. I agree that you need to provide water they can clean their nares in but not big or deep enough for them to drown in.

 

[aryellec]

I see. No these guys or gals werent supervused. They had a small cow trough like one that people use for dogs a foot of water. They were a few weeks old, but even at that age coming from a feed store they should not have been given that much water at all. My dad was not informed. Obviously there was no rock to climb out, so when the sides are tall and theyre cramped in their only option once tired is to try to shove their way to the side to get out, or to use ither ducklings to get out.