3 out of 4 baby ducklings died

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

don’t buy from tractor supply, they keep their ducklings and chicks in horrible condition and my friend had 2 ducklings die (one looked completely healthy) because they could never get healthy again after she got them. there is a petition for them to change their brooders but so far they won’t do anything because they don’t care about the dying animals.

I bought a duckling from TSC. COMPLETELY healthy, being fed all-flock pellets (also for ducks) and after two days, he couldn't lift his head or move his neck and started walking funny. He passed away that night.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I bought a duckling from TSC. COMPLETELY healthy, being fed all-flock pellets (also for ducks) and after two days, he couldn't lift his head or move his neck and started walking funny. He passed away that night.

I had advised she use some poultry vitamins in their water, because she had told me Monday morning she noticed the balance issues on Sunday. She didn't start putting them outside until Monday.

Ugh. I'm on here all the time trying to learn, help, and address chicken issues. This is bothering me to know end to not know why her ducks died!

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

She said she had concerns about their conditions when they bought them.

Yeah, TSC doesn't keep any chicks or ducklings in very good conditions.

I do not have pictures. She said when they escaped inside the house she temporarily put them in a storage tub before moving them to the cage which is bigger. She said they had access to grass through the floor.

Do you know how long they were in the tub and did they have access to the grass in the tub or the cage?

She also couldn't tell me the brand name, so a part of me does wonder if she's just using chick starter. I have no idea how much of a difference that makes for ducks but I do know they extra of a few vitamins compared to chickens?

Chick feed is not good for ducklings.

To be honest, my gut is telling me they got their feathers wet playing in the water and were chilled. She wasn't using a heat lamp when they were outside, but it was colder on Monday than it was yesterday so I don't know how long those type of temp fluctuations take to kill a duck...

Definitely a huge possibility.

Probably a bit of everything mentioned. Except maybe poisoning.

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

I had advised she use some poultry vitamins in their water, because she had told me Monday morning she noticed the balance issues on Sunday. She didn't start putting them outside until Monday.

Ugh. I'm on here all the time trying to learn, help, and address chicken issues. This is bothering me to know end to not know why her ducks died!

My duckling that passed away also had balance issues! He walked all funny and when he slept, he slept sort of standing, but kind of crouched and he was rocking back and forth.

 

[citymeetscountry]

I’m sorry for your friend’s loss. I don’t know what caused it, but the fact she had them outside so young seems very concerning.

Re: chicks/ducks from TSC. We bought 6 chicks last year and only lost 1 (within the first few days he and so far we’ve had our 6 ducks for almost 5 weeks with no real problems (other than I wasn’t giving them enough niacin initially), so I think it varies by location.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

- Do you know how long they were in the tub and did they have access to the grass in the tub or the cage?
They were in the tub I think only until she could put them into the dog kennel. I was simply trying to reference the tub to indicate the size of the dog kennel (larger than the tub)

Chick feed is not good for ducklings.
She said it was for ducks, because I've probed her quite a bit on the feed, told her about vitamin deficiencies, etc. This was just me wondering if perhaps the feed wasn't actually for ducks. I'll try to probe some more. She's probably sick of me lmao

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I’m sorry for your friend’s loss. I don’t know what caused it, but the fact she had them outside so young seems very concerning.

Re: chicks/ducks from TSC. We bought 6 chicks last year and only lost 1 (within the first few days he and so far we’ve had our 6 ducks for almost 5 weeks with no real problems (other than I wasn’t giving them enough niacin initially), so I think it varies by location.

She said the guy at TSC said the ducks are shipped overnight at 2 days old, and her ducks had been at TSC for 24 hours, so approximately four days old. In my opinion, that's a better shipping standard than you get from ordering straight from a hatchery! However, as mentioned earlier, she was worried about the conditions they were kept in. She was upset there was no heat lamp, concerned the radiant heater was too tall, and the water troughs were too shallow. I'm only repeating what she's told me lol, I stay away from these stores during chick days! I can't resist babies.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

Chick feed is not good for ducklings.

For reference, what is a good feed for ducklings?

 

[Tonyroo]

She sounds very unprepared and TSC is partly to blame knowing how they are for new arrivals. They treat them like commodity rather than living creatures.

 

[JustAChickenLoverOverHere]

For reference, what is a good feed for ducklings?

This is the one I bought, and this is one specifically for ducklings. Both work good.