Baby ducklings random death

[JuanG]

To whom ever is reading this,i have recently had 2 baby ducklings i bought them Dumor puoltry,as one of the employees from where i bought the ducklings suggested they eat that. Hot them shavings and a heat lamp i have constant water and food for them. I live in texas the weather is ridiculously changing throughout the day,so i have to constantly be turning on the lamp or off depending on heat. Last night before i fell asleep i went to go check on them,turn on their light and make sure they habe plenty of water,well this morning i woke up to one already dead,the other one was aslo to weak to walk or move around.i got scared he would also die so i held him in my hand for at least 30 min to comfort him. About 10 mins in and he starts streaching oit his small feet and his neck and head just start going back on him as if he is going into shock or something. He died in my hand mins after. Someone please help know what happened

 

[buff goose guy]

Did u feed them regular feed or start and grow/ what specifically did u feed them

 

[JuanG]

That's what it's called "Dumor poultry feed" it looks like tiny pebbles,what has me wondering what happened is they they were perfectly fine the night before peeping around this morning they woke up totally different. And died :/

 

[DancingWthDucks]

I'm so so sorry for your losses

What type of shavings did you use? Cedar wood shaving give off toxic fumes which could of been the cause.....

On the bag of feed, does it say the ingredients? If it was medicated, than although it has the right dose for a chick, a duckling eats a lot more, which could cause an overdose.

Also, where abouts in the brooder did you find the bodies? We're they underneath the heat lamp?

 

[JuanG]

It was the same shavings the store from where I bought the ducklings had and the food was made to help keep a good digestive system and that was the only feed the store was giving the ducklings so I assumed it was okay.my ducklings were away from the lamp when I found them,it wasn't even hot,more of a morning freshness so I know the heat didn't kill them

 

[Ducks4us]

What were the temps? Did you have a thermometer in there?
Flock raiser or all flock is recommended for ducklings becuase they need xtra niacin. Just chick feed doesnt have enough. And they need brewers yeast or nutritional yeast added.
But since you said the temps were changing and you keep turning the heat on and off and both died close to same time- i think it could have to do with the heat.
Also had they run out of water over night?

 

[Ducks4us]

And how old were they?

 

[DancingWthDucks]

What were the temps? Did you have a thermometer in there?
Flock raiser or all flock is recommended for ducklings becuase they need xtra niacin. Just chick feed doesnt have enough. And they need brewers yeast or nutritional yeast added.
But since you said the temps were changing and you keep turning the heat on and off and both died close to same time- i think it could have to do with the heat.
Also had they run out of water over night?

Yes, I also think it could be to do with the heat.... The fact that they both died away from the heat lamp makes be suspect this.

In future use the 'mama heat plate' or a ecoglow chick plate- a bit more pricey, but will last a lot longer, reduced fire risk, a lot more natural and also the ducklings can regulate their tempreture easily.

Here's a link:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/956958/mama-heating-pad-in-the-brooder-picture-heavy-update

 

[JuanG]

I made sure they had plenty of water before I left them last night,and well the temperature changes during the night,it gets pretty chilly so it had to be on,this is my first time raising ducklings so any info and tips really help me alot! Idk if the food that I got them might also be the issue. Where can I find brewers yeast?

 

[TLWR]

How old were they when you purchased them?
How old were they when they died?
How is your brooder set up and what are you using for the brooder?
Do you have a thermometer under your lamp to know what the hottest part of your brooder is? If so, what was the temp under the light?


What dumor poultry are you feeding - them make a lot of varieties.