I received my duckling order from holderreads at the end of April. Our ducklings are about 4 weeks old now. We received 14 and lost 2 immediately. I would assume from the stress of shipping. 2 weeks ago we had one of the emory penciled runners start acting weak and having difficultly moving around. Almost stiff like. I know that sounds like symptions of botulism. The bird began the sypmtoms in the morning and perished by the evening. Whole body became very rigid and also had a crackling sound when he breathed. This morning we have another penciled runner exhibiting the same symptoms. We brought him into the house and put him into a rubber made tote with his own food and water. We have been hand dipping his beak into the water with electrolytes but he will be gone within a few hours. He has also stiffened up and now also has the crackly breathing. I am baffled as to what this could be from? I am feeding purina duck grower. All 10 of the other babies seem active and healthy. I would say the runners look a bit on the slender side but that also seems to be their breed. They birds are all eating voraciously and drinking. If this is a botulism toxin, I don't know where it could be coming from. They are penned into my coop on shaving and a portable dog pen going around them. They have heat lamp, food and water. Not sure what I'm doing wrong here. My other ducks and chickens are in the same coop. They are simply separated from each other with this gate. As a whole, my daughter and I are devastated and feel so helpless on what to do. I did purchase a new bag of duck grower today in case of possible contamination. Please Please Please and Thankyou for any help.
-Jaime
-Jaime
