The first few weeks of a duck’s life are of the utmost importance.
If these birds aren’t housed in the correct environment, if the temperature of their environment is not correct, if the birds aren’t safe, and if the bird doesn’t have access to the correct food and drink then this can spell disaster for the bird.
But what if all the conditions are correct but the baby duck is not eating or drinking? This article looks into it
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Baby duck not eating or drinking:
If a baby duck is not eating or drinking then there is likely something wrong with the food and drink that is being offered or there is something wrong with the baby duck.
Something wrong with the food:
All animals love to eat and drink, including ducklings, but if a baby duck is not eating or drinking then there may be something wrong with the bird’s food or drink.
The food may be difficult to swallow and thus the bird is struggling to eat the food, or would rather not try to eat the food at all. The bird may also not be eating or drinking because the bird does not like the food and drink that you’re offering.
What to do:
If your bird finds food difficult to swallow, then the bird’s food may simply be too hard. You can help correct this by soaking the bird’s food in some water or milk to soften it up and make it easier to swallow.
You can also grind the bird’s food up and add water or milk to make it easier to swallow.
You can also offer the bird foods that are easy to swallow like warmed plain yogurt, egg yolk, or scrambled eggs until the bird can eat its feed. These foods will fill and hydrate the bird.
If the bird simply doesn’t like the food being offered then you can offer the bird other foods like egg yolk or you can make a soup made up of the bird’s feed crushed up and mixed in with some egg yolk.
Something wrong with the duck:
The feed and drink may not be the problem but there may be something going on with the duck that would make it not want to eat food or drink water.
One reason why the bird may not be eating or drinking may be that the bird that you’re trying to feed is simply too young.
If the bird isn’t too young then the bird may not have any energy to eat or the bird may have pasty vent.
What to do:
Birds that have just hatched from their eggs will feed on their yolks for the first 24 hours of life and won’t feed on or drink anything else.
If the bird isn’t eating or drinking during the first hours of life then you can let the bird be. It will most likely want to eat and drink after these first 24 hours
Your bird may not have the energy to eat or drink and may need assistance to do so.
If the bird doesn’t have the energy to eat or drink then you can dip the bird’s beak into a small bowl of sugar water, the bird will taste then drink the sugar water which will boost its energy for a little while and the bird will then gain the energy to eat.
Pasty vent can lead to a blockage of the bird’s vent which causes the bird to not want to eat or drink.
If you suspect that the bird has pasty vent then you should have a look at the bird’s vent. If there is dried-up poop around the vent then use a warm wet rag to gently wipe off the poop or take the bird to see a vet if the pasty vent is severe.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other duck related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: What Can I Give My Duck For A Cough?, Duckling Is Coughing After Eating, Duckling Is Sneezing, How To Calm A Duck, Why Do Ducks Leave A Pond?