DO NOT SLEEP WITH DUCKLINGS

[lovelyducklings]

You're a lovely, sweet person. Just for another long story I hope will be some small amount of comfort...

I'm not new to this. I was investigating nesting material since all of them have pros and cons, so I was trying to find an "all pros" thing since we are intensely interested in the eggs our ducks produce because we incubate them to hatch ducklings.

I found some nesting pads that had mostly stellar reviews after I did much research. The "bad" reviews were mostly the ducks/chickens just didn't like them and avoided them. I figured they were worth a try, so I bought some. Our ducks loved them, so I Ioved them. The ducks liked to snuggle down in them, they kept the eggs very nice and clean, all was well, and I sang the praises of these nesting pads here and elsewhere.

We lost our top show duck, which will be two weeks ago this coming Sunday, because she ate so much of the nesting material. I asked both the state vet and our avian vet (which I know we're very blessed to have a real avian vet) what in the world could have caused a duck that had good duck feed, water, grit, daily treats, several hours of daily foraging to decide to eat all that nesting material. The state vet just said, "Who knows, I've seen it before," and our wonderful avian vet said he's seen it before as well, and that there's really no way to predict things like. He said the same thing could have happened with chips/shavings if she'd decided to eat them. I have tortured myself ever since then since this was a choice I made.

One other thing I want you to know even though it's not likely. There's no way for you to know that having him/her in the bed with you caused this. Please don't try that again, but you're not going to know unless you get a necropsy done to see if it suffocated or something. I don't recommend doing that since you can't change it, but I'm glad I had one done. Had I not had a necropsy done on our duck, I would have thought oviduct eversion was was killed her because of the symptoms. The minute I saw the email from the state vet about wanting nesting pad samples, all nest pads came out from the coops, and they're of course never going back in, but I would have been way off-base with my own "diagnosis" if I hadn't taken her in.

I really want to, I just don't have the money and I buried marbles at 1am this morning. I tried to save him with cpr but everytime I blew through his nose all I could hear was water. when I sprung up quickly to check on him, he was next to me and laying straight. I always wake up everytime he moves or peeps, and the one time I dont, it costs his life. I had also turned off the heat lamp because it was Getting too hot in my room and I thought he'd over heat, and when I did it looked as if he couldn't see and had a hard time finding me, but I just shook it off. I think that's another big reason why he suffocated. he was still warm even after I placed him in a small box, so it wasn't that long ago that he had passed. marbles has slept with me everyday since he's hatched, and he's never come close to suffocating.. I feel so guilty and even when I just think of him I can't help but cry. I've always slept with him because he was the only duck and alone, so I spent all my time cuddling with him. I just hope this empty feeling goes away. and at around 3am after he had passed, I was wide awake and decided to check on my two other smaller ducklings and one has a piece of straw loged all the way down his throat, I had to pull it out. then later I checked on him again and he did it once more, could this kill him? I'm most likely going to change their bedding but I don't know what yet.

 

[lovelyducklings]

I know, hun...the day I lose Milkshake, I noticed her head sorta going from one side to another, and I just sorta wrote it off as a quirk. I should have known better. Of all people, I should have recognized the signs. By time she started seizing, it was too late. It's been six months and I still ask myself if she could have been saved if only I'd gotten her to the vet sooner. 

It's clear you loved your duckie, and ignorance sucks for first-time owners. A lot. Heck, most of us have horror stories to share about the steep learning curve! Some mistakes are more egregious than others. All you did was love your baby bird and tried to get closer to him. I'm just so, so sorry that it ended in tragedy. Are the other ducklets doing ok?

just a few hours after marbles died, I checked on the others and one had a piece of straw lodged down his throat, this happened twice within a few hours. I really don't want to lose him too.

 

[lovelyducklings]

You are so right, and I wasn't trying to take attention away from her pain. She's still so torn up over this, as I would be, that I thought I should share a story that showed that all of us make mistakes we don't intend and can't predict. I'm kind of wishing now I could go back and delete my last post in this thread.

no no, hearing you're stories are helping me learn. so sorry for your loses

 

[Amykins]

just a few hours after marbles died, I checked on the others and one had a piece of straw lodged down his throat, this happened twice within a few hours. I really don't want to lose him too.

Have you tried pine shavings, maybe? It's softer, and the ducklings will try to eat it too, but it won't be quite so hard on them if they do. How old are they? Are they big enough to swallow grit?

 

[lovelyducklings]

Have you tried pine shavings, maybe? It's softer, and the ducklings will try to eat it too, but it won't be quite so hard on them if they do. How old are they? Are they big enough to swallow grit?

they are 6 days old and are eating grit just fine, I just don't get why he'd eat the entire piece of straw, it went very far down

 

[Amykins]

they are 6 days old and are eating grit just fine, I just don't get why he'd eat the entire piece of straw, it went very far down

They're still very young and just don't know anything yet. For now, remove all the straw and lay down some old towels or washcloths for them. That's what I used for brooder bedding, since you only have 2 it probably won't be so bad. If you don't want to deal with that however, I like hamster bedding, the pine shavings kind. It's soft on tiny webbed feets and easy to spot-clean. Can anyone else weigh in on suitable brooder bedding?

 

[JadeComputerGal]

they are 6 days old and are eating grit just fine, I just don't get why he'd eat the entire piece of straw, it went very far down

If you're having trouble with them, you want to switch whatever they're eating. Try towels as @Amykins suggested. Use something that's not looped if you can. Really just anything they wouldn't normally eat. Cloth isn't the best, but it's still easy to pick up and wash out if you're having trouble with ducklings eating the substrate. We use pellets in the brooders.

 

[Amiga]

My ducklings tried eating shavings, so we stuck with old towels. Storey's Guide says don't let them get at anything long and stringy - they could get impacted.

 

[KhakiKristi]

This is so sad!! Marbles was a little sweetie, I feel your pain. I lost one of my ducklings too a few months ago cause I'm new at ducks and didn't see it coming. We let them out of the brooder to play in the bathroom on the floor. They had fun splashing around in water and later cuddled together on the rug but I think they got chilled. One developed respiratory problems after that and passed away. When I found her the other 3 ducks were cuddled up so close she was kind of flattened into a corner. It was a tragedy we probably could have prevented if I had put them right back in the brooder to dry off so it was a hard lesson to learn. So many of us have made mistakes and I feel sorry for everyone who has lost their baby duckies. We also used wood pellets for bedding after trying the shavings first. The pellets absorbed moisture much better and smells better too. And the ducks didn't eat it like they did the shavings.

 

[chickmomma03]

How are you doing today? Just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you and hoping you're able to find peace <3