Our male duck ate a glass marble will he pass it ok.

by Letitia
(Glen Easton, WV)

This is Daisy

My son was playing with marbles in our back yard and our male duck, that we have had for a year and a half swallowed the marble. Will Daisy be able to pass it ok?

Comments for
Our male duck ate a glass marble will he pass it ok.

Click here to add your own comments

May 26, 2010

My Pet Duck Swollowed a Marble
by: Countryfarm Lifestyles

Dear Letitia

I am very pleased to hear that Daisy passed his marble and that he will be alright.

I didn't mean to scare, but so often we leave things around the farmyard that we never think will be a danger to our animals. Of course, one doesn't leave marbles around as a habit, but nails drop when we are fixing fences, we look for it, can't find it, give up and leave it.

We forget that our animals are a lot closer to the ground, see things hidden in the grass better than we do, and before we know it, it's been swollowed.

For everyone out there, remember, that if your duck has swollowed any metal object, it will need attention quickly. The crop will need to be slit and the object removed before it goes down further.

May 26, 2010

Daisy is going to be ok
by: Letitia

It was 24 hrs exactly and Daisy passed the marble. Its not as shinny as it once was, but it passed. I started getting scared when I read what you wrote, but it will be a lesson learned.

May 26, 2010

My Pet Duck Swollowed a Marble
by: Countryfarm Lifestyles

First of all, I noticed that your male duck is called Daisy. So poor duck not only has a shiny marble in its gut, but it also has an identity crisis!

Ducks love to eat shiny things, and this is a problem, because they will often eat metal ring pulls from soda cans, nails, metal wire and even string and the like, and end up very sick and can die from metal poisoning and/or impaction.

However, with the marble, it is smooth, fairly small, and made of glass, not toxic metal so it should be all right. However, there are no guarantees because once it has passed from the crop there is very little you can do, and it could still become impacted.

You will need to keep an eye on him to make sure that he is still eating and is lively. If he looks lethargic or is sitting down with his feathers all puffed out, then you will need to have him seen to by a vet. But I hate to say, that if this becomes the case, the foreign matter will be either in his esophagus or gizzard and by then it will be too late to do much for your Daisy at all.

Please let us know how you get on!

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Homesteading Today Questions