Two sick Khaki Campbell ducks! Help?

Two of our Khaki Campbell ducks have not been acting like themselves the past few days. They are less alert than usual, slow-moving, and, although they still stay close to the rest of the flock (being prey animals), they waddle around with their eyes closed.

These two ducks are newer to their environment and the rest of the flock, and smaller as well, so I'm worried it may be related to their surroundings. The ducks have a nice little pen out in the grass, under some birch trees, a kiddie pool to swim in (water changed daily, but they also drink from it), and a half-insulated duck house with good ventilation to sleep in (cleaned out about every 10 days). They eat duck grower pellets, peas once a day (about 3 cups between all of them, but these two do not eat as many as the rest), and always have water available. We have added some Epsom salts to their water as well, since noticing the unusual behaviour.

The two ducks are also older (they are about a year old, while the others are only 3 months), and although the lady we purchased them from said they both lay eggs, we were only finding one egg a day, and then they stopped completely after about a week. There are also more loose feathers around than usual, so could this all be just related to molting?

I think it's also worth mentioning that we lost a duck just over a month ago, before we had these two. It was the smallest of the original flock, but the symptoms were much worse and more sudden (walking around like a drunk, very weak quacking noises, shaking legs, etc.). She also grew up in the environment and was younger than these two, so it may be completely unrelated.

Does anyone have any idea what could be wrong, or advice on how to treat it?

First of all, do not put epsom salt in their drinking water! That is only for soaking feet in to treat things like bumblefoot. It should never be consumed by ducks since it is a laxative.

Ok, so this could be alot of things. If you're finding a lot of feathers and those two are looking rough, it's possibly related to moulting. But it's also probably the stress of moving to a new home and being with new ducks in addition to the moult. Some ducks go through like a depressed state when they moult, one of my ducks is this way. Her behavior changes and she loses alot of weight during a moult. Ducks will also stop laying when they go through a moult or a stressful time (like moving to a new home). It could be weeks or months before they lay again.

How do they get along with your younger ducks? Do they get picked on at all? Do you have multiple feeding stations available in case someone is being bullied? They need to have another option of where to eat if someone is keeping them from getting to the food. So, I guess just watch them all carefully and see if they are being picked on or kept away from the food at all. If so, you might want to separate them for awhile so they can get some food into them and perk up a bit.

They could also be sick with something of course, so hard to know exactly what is going on. But make sure they are getting plenty to eat (including their favorite treats) and vitamins in their water should help as well. If possible, a vet visit might be best so you can figure out exactly what is wrong.

Thanks for the reply!
I was thinking it could be the stress, since they've also been picked on by the others a bit (especially the largest drake). However, we got them a few weeks ago, and they seemed to have adjusted pretty well, despite being at the bottom of the pecking order. We have had two feeding pans, but have expanded to three. They are placed close enough together so that the ducks will feel comfortable not being too far apart.
There have been more feathers than usual laying about, but I'm not sure if it's a large enough amount to mean a molt (or maybe they just start slowly?). This is our first year with ducks, so we've never experienced one before and I'm not sure what all the signs are.
We separated the two sick ducks yesterday, and while one is looking better, the other seems slightly worse.
We will continue to keep an eye on them and pick up some bird vitamins/antibiotics for their water from the feed store.

Moults do kind of start slowly, then one day you will walk into their house and think a duck exploded because there are SO many feathers. Still not sure if that's what's going on with your girls, I feel more like it has to do with them being bullied/stressed by the other ducks and not being allowed to eat as much as they need. It's good you have them separated now. Just be sure to give them all the treats they want to get them eating as much as possible right now and see if they perk up some more, along with those vitamins. I'm hoping that's all this is and they just need a little time to recuperate and gain strength again to be in with the others. So hard to know exactly what's going on with ducks I can't see myself, you know?

Glad to hear one is looking a little better, but a little worried about the other one. Can you post pics of them at all?

Oh, and welcome to BYC! ^-^

Feather loss, walking around like a drunk, listlessness, all point to toxicity. Botulism can cause these symptoms.

Are they getting into anything dead or rotten? Is there a fetid puddle of water? Has it been hot and dry?

Lots of fresh water around the clock, and I would put a tablespoon of food grade activated charcoal per gallon of water in their drinking water at night.

Sadly, our Mabel passed away a couple nights ago... All the ducks were snuggling together in the coop and didn't want to come out in the morning without her.
However, Jasmine is much better, almost back to her usual self.

NurseIggy said:

Sadly, our Mabel passed away a couple nights ago... All the ducks were snuggling together in the coop and didn't want to come out in the morning without her.
However, Jasmine is much better, almost back to her usual self.

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Very sorry for your loss.

Oh no, so sorry about Mabel.

Glad to hear Jasmine is better, though! Maybe they did get into something and only Jasmine was able to make it through.