My wild duckling has a watery eye and keeps sneezing. Is it sick?

It is likely to be due to a respiratory tract infection like viral rinotracheitis (herpes virus), or more commonly duck virus hepatitis. Duck virus hepatitis is a highly fatal contagious disease of young ducklings, 1-28 days of age. Ducklings are most susceptible at the younger ages and gradually become more resistant as they grow older. The disease is rarely seen in ducklings over 4 weeks of age. To prevent this disease, keep age groups isolated and vaccinate breeder ducks with an attenuated live virus duck hepatitis vaccine (to produce maternally immune ducklings). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation (where you can post pictures ) if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Contact your veterinary clinic. They can provide information regarding any local wildlife rehabilitators. The duckling can be care for until it recovers. This will give it the best chance at eventual release back into the wild.

Ducks can be very messy, so daily cleaning of the eye may help keep it clearer, however if at-home remedies haven't helped, having a vet take a look for any injury to the eye itself and any infection is best. They can recommend or prescribe additional treatments as needed depending on the cause.

If you've got them on any bedding such as pine shavings, it may be kicking up some dust and causing them to sneeze. Dust and pollen may also cause some minor sneezing in young birds. If they are otherwise eating and healthy, you may want to try a substrate change to see if the sneezing reduces. If they do start to have any discharge, or are not eating or drinking properly, then having them checked out from a vet for more serious illness is best.

Ducks should be fed more than just corn as feeding only one type of food can lead to nutritional imbalance and diseases with symptoms similar to what you are seeing. Ducks and chickens can be housed together, however they do have differing needs and males of one species may harm or harass the other which could lead to injury and illness. It would be best to have separate housing for each species as well as feed a balanced diet tailored to each as their nutritional needs can vary some. If you have a duck that is acting ill it is best to seek the care of a veterinarian near you as well as keep the duck away from the rest of your flock to avoid spread of illness as well as picking on the sick duck by any flock members.

It's possible Daisy may be ill or have a deformity that is causing her to be unstable. The other ducklings may be avoiding her or picking on her because of this. If she is unable to stand upright on her own or is otherwise acting ill it is best to bring her into your veterinarian for care and to check for an underlying problem. Making sure she is not being picked on and making sure she has access to food and water until you can get to the vet may help.

Thanks for reaching out about your gosling. The medication depends on the diagnosis (bacterial, fungal, aspiration, other). A veterinary visit is recommended to assist with an assessment and diagnostic/treatment plan. Providing supplemental heat to prevent getting cold and additional stress might help but is not a treatment. Monitor activity and appetite. Good luck.