cracked feet

[sayyadina]

I noticed today when I was cleaning my brooder that some of my ducklings have some cracks in their heels and toes. They're all very active & nothing else is amiss. They're all 6 days old, runners & welsh harlequins.

The brooder is pretty dry. It has a hardware cloth floor with non-slip rug padding over the top and wood pellets under the hardware cloth.

I'm feeding Blue Seal Chick n Game Bird Starter Grower crumbles, with some rolled oats mixed in. They have 2 waterers with vitamins & electrolytes. I've been giving them some dandelion greens each day.

What am I doing wrong?

 

[animalloverabh]

awwww poor things!! im sorry but i cant help here as i dont know bout craked feet.....
sorry i cant help

 

[tia]

I hope you get some help. I feed my ducklings duck and goose starter. I know you are not supposed to give them medicated chick starter. When mine were older the legs and feet peeled because they were growing so fast, which is normal - but yours are too young for that I think. What kind of wood pellets are those? I know you shouldn't use cedar. That is about all I know - which probably isn't much help. I think someone will come along soon and offer some advice. Hope you figure it out.

 

[sayyadina]

Thanks. The wood pellets are Woody Pet, which I think are made from pine. However, since they're under the hardware cloth floor, the ducklings can't get to them.

I haven't yet started giving them swimming water, since I wasn't sure if they were old enough yet or how to do it. Could it be that they just need a bath?

The dandelions they've been getting are from our lawn, and we don't use any pesticides anywhere.

I've been cleaning the pads and their waterers twice a day and refilling their food as needed.

 

[animalloverabh]

thats it! try giving them a bath!
use warm water in sink/bath but just but the water up to there bellies, but d
let them in it for only 5 mins so they dong get tied our,put your hand in there so if they need to clim out they clime n your hand. if that doent work i dont no what will sorry

 

[sayyadina]

They really liked their first bath! They were in shock when I first put them in, but soon they were zooming & splashing around!

I put some towels down on top of the hardware cloth and then put one of the no-skid pads on top of that.

I took a closer look at them tonight, and its only the welsh harlequins and the 3 runners with yellow down that have the cracked feet. The 2 goslings and the darker runners don't have any cracks at all. Weird.