Baby ducks sick and lethargic

[Nattymoon123]

I have 5 duckings all about 2-3 weeks old and one of them passed out from over heating or something like that. But they two of the five seem lethargic, don’t want to walk and bloated hard tummies and not chirping. I don’t know if I need to flush them out with charcoal water or what I don’t want my ducklings to die.

 

[ruthhope]

@Nattymoon123 , sorry you have problems with your ducklings. I need a little more information to understand what is going on

Where are your ducklings? What type of duck? What type of brooder? What is the bedding? What are your ducklings eating?
You say one passed out from overheating, do you have a thermometer in the brooder monitoring the temperature? How hot is it? Can the ducklings move away from the heat if they get too hot?

 

[Miss Lydia]

@Nattymoon123

 

[Nattymoon123]

@Nattymoon123 , sorry you have problems with your ducklings. I need a little more information to understand what is going on

Where are your ducklings? What type of duck? What type of brooder? What is the bedding? What are your ducklings eating?
You say one passed out from overheating, do you have a thermometer in the brooder monitoring the temperature? How hot is it? Can the ducklings move away from the heat if they get too hot?

Had them in a plastic like Tupperware at first bc it was a spur of the moment get more ducks thing and then I put them in a cage that had some ventilation inside the house. I am pretty sure they only passed out bc I used the Tupperware . I have a mallard, 3 hybrid ducks, and a pekin. I have flake shavings and I am feeding the ducks non medicated crumbles. It has gotten chilly in the past two days but I do keep the lamp on them and they can get out of the heat. I do not have a thermometer I didn’t have one with my last three and they were fine. I lost one baby last night (my pekin) and I had two that were doing the same thing but they seem to be better today and I have one aacting a little weird today and he wasn’t yesterday.

 

[BelovedBirds]

Had them in a plastic like Tupperware at first bc it was a spur of the moment get more ducks thing and then I put them in a cage that had some ventilation inside the house. I am pretty sure they only passed out bc I used the Tupperware . I have a mallard, 3 hybrid ducks, and a pekin. I have flake shavings and I am feeding the ducks non medicated crumbles. It has gotten chilly in the past two days but I do keep the lamp on them and they can get out of the heat. I do not have a thermometer I didn’t have one with my last three and they were fine. I lost one baby last night (my pekin) and I had two that were doing the same thing but they seem to be better today and I have one aacting a little weird today and he wasn’t yesterday.

Since they are on chick crumbles, are you supplementing the food with niacin? If using chick crumb it needs to be supplemented 1 tbsp nutritious yeast to one cup of feed.
Pekins especially need a lot of niacin as they can end up with leg issues. If you haven't supplemented with niacin yet,
Are any of your ducklings pigeon toed or bow legged? If you arent sure, a picture of them would be helpful. Niacin deficiencies can cause decreased activity, they could stop eating, their legs become weak and grow pigeon toed.

Also do you give your ducklings treats? As too many treats can cause them to miss out on nutrients in their feed, and they should have chick grit available if they eat anything other than their feed.

I would get a thermometer asap so you can make sure they are the right temperature.

I'm really sorry to hear you lost one, sorry for your loss

 

[ruthhope]

Since they are on chick crumbles, are you supplementing the food with niacin? If using chick crumb it needs to be supplemented 1 tbsp nutritious yeast to one cup of feed.
Pekins especially need a lot of niacin as they can end up with leg issues. If you haven't supplemented with niacin yet,
Are any of your ducklings pigeon toed or bow legged? If you arent sure, a picture of them would be helpful. Niacin deficiencies can cause decreased activity, they could stop eating, their legs become weak and grow pigeon toed.

Also do you give your ducklings treats? As too many treats can cause them to miss out on nutrients in their feed, and they should have chick grit available if they eat anything other than their feed.

I would get a thermometer asap so you can make sure they are the right temperature.

I'm really sorry to hear you lost one, sorry for your loss

I agree ^ ^ ^ ^ with BelovedPoultry

I am so sad that you lost your little pekin. I hope the other 4 do well

Large plastic tubs [Tupperware like things] make great brooders if you can control the temperature, which needs a thermometer. I have an indoor outdoor max/min temperature gauge. When I unexpectedly has a two day old rescue, I was able to put the room gauge into a plastic tub to monitor the temperature in there. It has a good size digital readout, and its immune to damage from little ducky feet and bills. The set up with the outdoor sensor and indoor thermometer and readout wasn't expensive from Home Depot, but I have since bought a replacement indoor thermometer and readout directly from the company on line -- cheaper than Home Depot.