Three pekins in three different homes died within three days of eachother

[mabelineandliz]

I am participating in a school project where we must raise a duckling to imprint on us. My teacher has been doing it for several years and has only had one duck die in all that time, from a dog attack. This year we have had three die, all of them were pekins, the rest of the ducks were different breeds. We assume they were from the same clutch since they were purchased at the same time from the same store. They were right around the 3 week mark, and two of them were completely healthy, the other was having trouble gaining weight but at the time of the death she was putting on more weight so that could be unrelated. One of the other ones seemed to have been having seizures the day before, the other two did not. In all three cases they went down hill and were gone within 1 hour of seeming "off." My biology teacher expects its a metabolic genetic disorder, although we've both researched and cant find one that matches the symptoms and timeline. Let me reiterate that they lived in separate houses, all had heat, food and sufficient water, and none of the other breeds that were purchased at that time have had any issues. I'd like to know if anyone has had similar experiences.

-edit: I was corrected by my teacher, they actually died within an hour of seeming ill.

 

[Ducks4us]

Its true some ducklings simply cannot thrive alone.
I dont understand why the teacher has an experiment to see if the duckling will imprint on you? What can that teach? Just curious.
Just because they havent died before doesnt mean it wasnt really stressful and hard on the ducklings.
I think thats sad. Is it something you choose to participate in?
I cant imagine a teacher being able to 'make' every one take home a duckling......

 

[adlynch]

Ducks imprint by instinct, not choice. Ducks are social and should always be with at least 1 other duck. I'm sure this is not the reason they did not make it, but for future experiments PLEASE get at least 2 ducks per household.

 

[adlynch]

Clearly you took my post the wrong way. Fully aware that it is not your choice, but your teachers choice. I was only hoping you could educate your teacher about ducks. It could have been that the ducklings were just stressed over the whole situation. Good luck, and hopefully someone else will have the answer you are looking for...

 

[TLWR]

Without doing a necroscopy on the three that died, you likely won't know what the issue was.


Like the others, I'm more interested in the project itself. I agree with the others it isn't a good idea, but I'm curious if there is an opt out for any reason. I'm allergic to birds. My chicks/ducklings are brooded outside. If I did it inside, I'd be miserable. And what about those that aren't allowed pets in their house/apartments.

 

[TLWR]

Where were the ducklings obtained? Feed store? If so, they usually get them from a hatchery, so not likely the pekins are of the same clutch.
If from a local person, then it could be an issue with the genetics of their pekins.

Everybody here could throw out a different suggestion, but without a necropsy, that's all they are, guesses.

 

[mabelineandliz]

Ducks imprint by instinct, not choice. Ducks are social and should always be with at least 1 other duck. I'm sure this is not the reason they did not make it, but for future experiments PLEASE get at least 2 ducks per household.

I understand that is a common debate but again this is a school project. Like you said that is probably not why they died, I doubt it's the reason any duck has ever died. The point of the experiment was to imprint on a human not another duck. I don't have control over what my teacher has decided so chastising me on whether or not you feel this is the correct way to raise a duck does not help the situation. If it makes you feel better I will be taking someone else's duck after the experiment and it will live with mine. However, I'm here to figure out what happened to my classmates' ducks, not to start a debate.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Ducks imprint by instinct, not choice. Ducks are social and should always be with at least 1 other duck. I'm sure this is not the reason they did not make it, but for future experiments PLEASE get at least 2 ducks per household.

I agree 100%.

 

[mabelineandliz]

As I've already said I am not here to debate about whether or not raising a duck alone is "cruel." There are way worse fates for a duckling at a feed store. Everyone who took one home was educated MONTHS in advance on the care needed to keep them healthy.

This reaction is the exact reason I was apprehensive about going here for help, I have 4 replies on this post that only serve to attack and start an argument.

I have read multiple articles on how "evil" it is to raise a duck on its own, and all were quite biased and showed no evidence to prove their case.

If anyone really wants to discuss this with me and provide me with conclusive evidence on this issue, then you are free to message me privately, but it is not helpful to my classmates who want a reason as to why their ducklings died.

The bottom line is three of my classmates are heartbroken and they want some explanation, or even a speculation. Whatever your opinion is, they all certainly cared deeply for their ducklings and gave them the best possible care.

If no one has any helpful information to the situation at hand, I'll take this as a lesson learned and politely take my post down and never post here again.

 

[mabelineandliz]

Clearly you took my post the wrong way. Fully aware that it is not your choice, but your teachers choice. I was only hoping you could educate your teacher about ducks. It could have been that the ducklings were just stressed over the whole situation. Good luck, and hopefully someone else will have the answer you are looking for...

Thank you for your concern, however it's not exactly my place to tell my teacher how the ducks should be kept, and it's still technically a matter of opinion since it's not truly possible to ask an animal if it is "happy," and it's another debate if even such a term is applicable to non-humans.