Are Pekins that hard to keep???

[whiteybird]

Wondering if I'm the only one out there who can't seem to keep pekin ducks alive...

First 3 ducks were a little of a learning curve from our chickens...one got sick, other two got eaten.

Fixed all the mistakes I thought I made, but now my one female just died today and the one male isn't doing well either. male had had a broken leg heal incorrectly so he's lame, but he isn't in very good shape either (light weight, not eating heartily).

Is it because I bought them from TSC? Are they poor quality birds?

I'm thinking I should put down the male since he's all alone now and not in good shape...I'm not home until october, so he'll be alone until then, and I doubt there's anyone locally who is willing to deal with such a high maintenance bird who doesn't even lay eggs. Not sure if I'm up for more ducks after two failed attempts.

Anyone else have issues with pekins?

 

[Amykins]

Giant pekes often have leg issues because they grow so big so quickly, and are so heavy that it puts a strain on their legs. What killed your hen? And how did your drake get his leg broken? To be honest, the fact that you've lost so many ducks straight out the gate isn't exactly encouraging, you know?

 

[megan13]

I'm no expert on ducks but I'm wondering if possibly they are lacking something in their diets. Maybe they need more calcium to keep their bones strong? I'm not sure what you are feeding them. If it's not something specific you for ducks I'd switch. And I'd look at the bag to make sure it has everything they need.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

Wondering if I'm the only one out there who can't seem to keep pekin ducks alive...

First 3 ducks were a little of a learning curve from our chickens...one got sick, other two got eaten.

Fixed all the mistakes I thought I made, but now my one female just died today and the one male isn't doing well either. male had had a broken leg heal incorrectly so he's lame, but he isn't in very good shape either (light weight, not eating heartily).

Is it because I bought them from TSC? Are they poor quality birds?

I'm thinking I should put down the male since he's all alone now and not in good shape...I'm not home until october, so he'll be alone until then, and I doubt there's anyone locally who is willing to deal with such a high maintenance bird who doesn't even lay eggs. Not sure if I'm up for more ducks after two failed attempts.

Anyone else have issues with pekins?

There are many people who have Pekins that frequent BYC and have great success with them. I've also seen posts from many people who bought their ducks, Pekin and otherwise, from TSC and had no problems with them. That of course doesn't mean your TSC gets their ducks from the same hatcheries, but TSC doesn't have anything to do with your ducks getting eaten.

I read a few of your previous posts and gathered that you are away from home quite a bit? It's difficult to adequately care for ducks if that's the case. They need a proper diet on a regular schedule, safe shelter, and to be scoped out for injuries every day. That doesn't mean you need to examine each one every day, but you (or a caretaker who knows ducks) need to observe how they're walking and how they're acting in general so you know if there's a problem.

I think your best option is to look for a rescue organization for your remaining drake. I'll help you do that if you need the help. I wouldn't buy any other ducks from TSC if I were you.

 

[whiteybird]

I know there are tons of people with pekins on here, just wasn't sure if they were harder to keep than chickens, who seem to know to run and hide when they see shadows in the sky, can put themselves to bed at night, and just seem to be healthier.

The past two summers I've been away from home for the summer and my bf's mother has taken care of our house while we're gone. She loves the chickens and ducks, knows a lot about them, and takes as good care of them as she can while she works mon-fri ~50 hours/week. She gives them fresh water every day for nare cleaning/drinking, checks food containers and waterers, and looks for malaise that she can diagnose a few minutes in the morning and night each day. She's home on weekends and goes out more frequently to check on everyone but during the week its harder for her to spend a lot of time caring for special needs.

The chickens and ducks have separate runs; ducks' run is 10'x4'x4', wood pallet ends and 2x4 frame connecting them, hardware cloth for security. I made the mistake of thinking the ducks wouldn't sleep right next to the pallet so I didn't hardware cloth over the slits between the boards (stupid, I know) so something must have grabbed the male through there and broke it's leg. He would remain standing up in one place every time Susan would go out to feed/water/check on them, so she didn't immediately realize anything was wrong. He sat on his leg so the knee joint healed on an angle. I've since hardware clothed over every tiny opening so NOTHING can get in or reach in.

I've been feeding them laying hen pellets, usually layena but other brands too. Gave them something formulated for growing birds when they were young but can't remember what exactly, along with vitamins.

The chickens have been fine except for a couple that seem to have crappy reproductive systems (one internal layer died, one with egg peritonitis or the like that's still going strong). Also TSC birds.

It's been extremely wet in the Sarasota/Tampa area lately, maybe all that rain has upped the disease factor?

 

[whiteybird]

ps thanks for all your responses!

 

[Amykins]

You say a couple of things that are a bit alarming to me. First off, you say that when your drake sustained an injury, it just healed funny. Did you ever take him to a vet to be looked at? To leave a bird with the pain of a leg injury, especially one as heavy as a pekin, is extremely cruel.

Secondly, you say you feed them Layena. That's okay for adults, but you can't remember what they were given as babies. If it wasn't specifically formulated for ducks, then they would have needed niacin supplemented into their diet, and if they did not get that then that could have resulted in serious developmental issues including leg problems and other skeletal maladies.

Thirdly, I know you say your mom is experienced, but she's only there for a few minutes each day and couldn't even recognize that there was a problem when your drake broke his leg in the first place. An experienced owner would have noticed right away, or at the very least, been out there with them to inspect each one closely and would connect the dots when he didn't run away from her as she approached. She's only there to do you a favor, and if she works with special needs kids then it's not fair to put the welfare of your birds onto her.

And finally, the rains really shouldn't be a factor as far as disease goes if you're cleaning their pens with any regularity. Same goes with their water and feed bowls. But again, if one of them DOES catch something, it's up to you to notice the signs, which can be subtle in ducks up until the point where they're too far gone. But above all else, they need to be treated with prescription antibiotics once it does get to that point. ACV and terramycin will only go so far.

As Jade already mentioned, ducks (and even chickens, but ducks especially) require a LOT of attention. If you can't be there to look after them yourself then it's best to find new homes for them.

 

[megan13]

I would say that if you are not going to be home all summer you probably shouldn't have animals. Maybe there's a way to work it out that you can take the birds with you or they can spend the summer with someone else. In my opinion having someone show up and give them food and water is not enough. They need more care then that. Maybe there's a kid near you who's parents won't let them have chickens or ducks but would love to care for them over the summer when school is out. I'm not saying you shouldn't have them because it's your right to own animals, but maybe there's a better way to handle the summer and your flock will be healthier and happier when you get back.

 

[Pyxis]

I'm going to agree with everyone else and say that since you can't be home to take care of them, it's probably best that you don't have them for now. Pekins really aren't that much harder to care for than other breeds, so it's not just the one breed you're going to have problems with. The first kind of duck I ever raised from a duckling to adulthood were pekins, and even with no experience raising ducklings I was able to do it with no legs problems or injuries, and once they were adults, they were no harder to care for than my two adult ducks. It's important that they get more than just a few minutes' care each day, or things happen like your pekin drake breaking a leg and it going unnoticed until he's lame. An experienced duck owner would have noticed it right away, or even an inexperienced one that spent more than a few minutes looking at him. It sounds like your mom is doing the best she can, but she doesn't have the time to dedicate to taking care of these animals, and it's not fair to ask her to give more of her time because it sounds like she just doesn't have it.

I think for now the best thing to do is to give the drake to a new home that can take care of him properly, or give him to an animal sanctuary. He is going to very lonely and depressed with no other ducks to hang out with. I've seen ducks pine themselves to death when they are alone. It wouldn't be fair to any other duck if you got another one to keep him company, because at this point it sounds like you just don't have the adequate time or ability to properly care for them, especially in the summer when you cannot be home to take care of them at all.

 

[Going Quackers]

You've had a rough go. I'd see if a rescue can take the remaining drake as i do know if they can avoid infection broken bones will heal. My one scovie drake broke his foot because of my Pekin drake ....

I do NOT find Pekin as hardy as my Muscovy, and while i may kill my drake(i kid.. sorta lol) i haven't had any loses but they've been fiddly to deal with... mine are a good strain too just an observation as someone who owns loads of ducks but mostly one breed...

I do agree if your away a lot i would likely skip ducks they are more high maintenance than chickens, healthier overall but do have more fussy crud that needs to be tended too(water, mess etc)