A little help, to try to prevent this next year. Please.(Sad post)

[Unruffled]

This summer I hatched(staggered hatch) just 12 duckling eggs. The first duckling that I hatched(I named them Penguin), died mysteriously at 8 days old. They were fine 1 day and then the next they were weak and lethargic. I tried to get some nutridrench with some electrolytes into them, but even when I DID get their bill open and get a drop in there, it just ran right back out. They couldn’t even swallow. They just slept until they didn’t wake up. It was a matter of hours.

Then 5 weeks later ( this past week or so) I had 3 ducklings, that all hatched together, succumb to the same symptoms within days of each other. All the other ducklings have come up between just fine. But I was wondering if anyone had any ideas as to what it might have been?

They are raised on Purina Duck feed pellets( I mix with water until the ducklings are big enough to handle the pellets)
They always have plenty of fresh clean water
And they get grit at 1 week

 

[cheezenkwackers]

So sorry! Are they indoors? What is your brooder like? Do they have warm and cool areas? Could it be disease that is accidentally brought in from the older ducks? Younger ducklings are much more susceptible than older ones.

 

[Unruffled]

So sorry! Are they indoors? What is your brooder like? Do they have warm and cool areas? Could it be disease that is accidentally brought in from the older ducks? Younger ducklings are much more susceptible than older ones.

Sorry I’m just now replying. But thank you for responding to my post. They had actually just been put outdoors that week, in a very small pen with ample shelter, set a little off away from the adult birds, surrounded by electric wire( to keep my two goats from collapsing their pen for their food, which also kept the adult birds, since they free range, away from them). They had shade and some sun. None of my other birds were then or have since been sick in any way. But I will say this, those three little ducklings hatched from three eggs that I found abandoned and cold and when I candled them the activity inside was almost nonexistant, but I put them in the incubator anyway. I just wonder if maybe they developed like some kind of heart defects or something? I don’t know.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Sorry I’m just now replying. But thank you for responding to my post. They had actually just been put outdoors that week, in a very small pen with ample shelter, set a little off away from the adult birds, surrounded by electric wire( to keep my two goats from collapsing their pen for their food, which also kept the adult birds, since they free range, away from them). They had shade and some sun. None of my other birds were then or have since been sick in any way. But I will say this, those three little ducklings hatched from three eggs that I found abandoned and cold and when I candled them the activity inside was almost nonexistant, but I put them in the incubator anyway. I just wonder if maybe they developed like some kind of heart defects or something? I don’t know.

It is possible they carried some disease. I recently set some chicken eggs for a friend. A week in, it was clear their was a bad egg as the smell was aweful. I removed it. The egg nearest to the bad one was a quitter but the rest made it to lockdown. 12 of the 18 hatched normally. One hatched covered in brown goo and was very week. I had to put him down. 6 didn’t even pip. I hatch at school and it was meet the teacher night. One of my parents was an exotic vet who often works for the zoo. He said all my eggs probably were infected with bacteria (clostridium maybe?) and I was fortunate to get twelve. I tell you that long story because it is possible yours were infected before hatch and it had nothing to do with you. If you want to try again you might want to get eggs from a better source.