Recent content by wnhunter

  1. W

    Help! Ducklings dying suddenly

    We've got another batch, ordered a couple months ago, scheduled to arrive next week. Chicks, too. I suppose our best course of action is to change things up and feed only dry feed, though I do wonder if actually fermenting it (versus just wetting and partially souring it) would be a good...
  2. W

    Help! Ducklings dying suddenly

    Thank you all for the thoughts and advice. Tuesday evening I ran into town for some Epsom salts. Rather than dosing the remaining lame ducks individually, we decided to clean out their water fount and partially refill it with the Epsom salt water. I understand that it can be hard on the...
  3. W

    Help! Ducklings dying suddenly

    I looked them up, and the heat lamps are not coated. The brooder is in an uninsulated detached garage. It's open topped, but I cover it as needed depending on ambient temperatures and duckling behavior. And again, they don't show signs of overheating or chilling. Some of them are dying right...
  4. W

    Help! Ducklings dying suddenly

    The heat lamps came from a local farm/feed store. Nothing on the box indicates that they are Teflon coated, though I don't know if that would necessarily be in print. I should mention, too, that I have adult birds (chickens, ducks, Muscovies, geese, turkeys), so there is of course some...
  5. W

    Help! Ducklings dying suddenly

    I'm a bit perplexed by the comments suggesting the ducklings are crowded. I'll grant that more space wouldn't hurt, but I think it'd be a stretch to say that they're cramped at this age/size. I've made mistakes in the past and had too many in too small a space, with obvious results such as...
  6. W

    Help! Ducklings dying suddenly

    The brooder is approximately 4' x 6', plenty of space for 60 2-week-old ducklings (and more than plenty for the 35 or so left now). The feed isn't sour, or at least doesn't smell it. In any case, as I said before, we've done this in the past without issue, so I can't believe that feed or heat...
  7. W

    Help! Ducklings dying suddenly

    The ones in the box that don't get out on their own I take to the waterer, though for the most part they aren't terribly interested. The waterer I use is plenty large for all the ducklings, and is refilled with fresh water as needed (before it goes dry). The feed is not fed as a soupy mix, but...
  8. W

    Help! Ducklings dying suddenly

    I am new to the forum, but not to poultry. Two weeks ago we received our first batch of ducklings for the year, 60 Grimaud Hybrid Pekins. After a couple losses the first day, and accounting for extras sent in the shipment, we had 60 vibrant ducklings growing wonderfully. On Sunday morning...
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