Duck impacted? Winter molting! Please help!

[bsides2007]

I have 8 ducks of various breeds, all between 6 and 8 months old. I've noticed recently that one of my cayugas seems not to be eating much. a few days ago she had a giant frozen mass of poo stuck to her butt two days in a row (which I removed) and haven't seen since. They were only stuck to feathers, not her cloaca. I have noticed some dark, tarry poos lately but couldn't figure out who it was coming from. I have also noticed some very thin poo that is otherwise normal in color and texture. The poo that was stuck to her butt was also normal looking but I am still worried...I have seen many of my ducks eating the straw in their coop and run. I have also noticed many of the ducks aren't eating as much and it worries me because it's so cold here (only 8 degrees F). Lastly, two of my ducks are going through a weird molt right now and have stopped laying. I feel so bad for them because it's freezing out and their feathers look terrible. They have a run and coop full of straw, grit to eat, and I've been supplementing their food and water with nutrient dense things like ACV, probiotics, warm oats, etc. ...would there be any reason for the ducks eating less? The still move around, but not much because it's so cold. When they do, they seem to interact with each other, try to swim, and "dunk" their heads like they are in water, and chatter. The Khaki that is molting seems a bit more sleepy that usual but I figured it was because she is trying harder to keep warm. Any ideas/suggestions?? Thank you!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'd take all but water for dunking heads away for now so they can't get completely wet and get hypothermic.

Mine are laying around more and not eating as much either. I think they are trying to conserve energy and warmth. There was a thread about this a couple weeks ago many members were noticing this about their ducks.

I have also been giving them whole corn/mealworms and dog kibble in the afternoons to keep them over night.

Hopefully once the temps moderate they will move around more and eat more too.

For extra protein for feather growth cat kibble or dog kibble are good choices [small size] also Dried meal worms.

 

[bsides2007]

I'd take all but water for dunking heads away for now so they can't get completely wet and get hypothermic.

Mine are laying around more and not eating as much either. I think they are trying to conserve energy and warmth. There was a thread about this a couple weeks ago many members were noticing this about their ducks.

I have also been giving them whole corn/mealworms and dog kibble in the afternoons to keep them over night.

Hopefully once the temps moderate they will move around more and eat more too.

For extra protein for feather growth cat kibble or dog kibble are good choices [small size] also Dried meal worms.

I'm glad you mentioned the other threads, that makes me feel a little better. I have also been giving my ducks kibble and meal worms and I feed them before I put them up for the night. I don't supply them with swimming water right now, but they do occasionally try to swim in their big water dish. I hope it's just the cold weather, but it has me worried when I see a few of them not eating as much. I am new to ducks, so this is my first winter with them and every little thing is making me worry :/ Thanks for your reply!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Mine would climb into their heated water buckets so I cover half with a piece of scrap wood screwed down on each side to keep them from using as a hot tub. I have 4 heated buckets for my 40 birds. All of them half covered.

They can give us much to worry about but just keep close eye on them hopefully it's just the cold.

Are they eating kibble and mealworms good?

 

[bsides2007]

Mine would climb into their heated water buckets so I cover half with a piece of scrap wood screwed down on each side to keep them from using as a hot tub. I have 4 heated buckets for my 40 birds. All of them half covered.

They can give us much to worry about but just keep close eye on them hopefully it's just the cold.

Are they eating kibble and mealworms good?

They actually didn't seem very interested in the meal worms this morning...they would just pick them up and drop them again. They did eat kibble but not with much gusto. I'm going out now to watch them for a while and "serve" them dinner, so I'll report back!

 

[Miss Lydia]

That's what I do go out through the day and observe everyone making sure everyone is looking okay, mine had quite a bit of feed left over today. They usually clean their bowls out.

 

[bsides2007]

That's what I do go out through the day and observe everyone making sure everyone is looking okay, mine had quite a bit of feed left over today. They usually clean their bowls out.

That's what I'm noticing...feed leftover. Which seems unusual because of the cold temps. Last night I noticed a few things though...They like their dishes in a certain spot...never mind if it's easy to get to or not...I think they are also quite afraid of me right now because I had to do some rounding up the other day to try to get the frozen poop off of my one hen's little butt...I also don't think they like my snowpants...picky little things. I did observe all of them eating, but they didn't seem to eat too much. They were all drinking water. Maybe I should try getting multiple food dishes instead of one big one? I really hope they get over the fact that I have to catch/hold them. No matter how much I do it they always freak out.

Thanks Miss Lydia!!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Oh yes anything out of norm sets mine off to hats clothes shoes. They really are creatures of habit.

We're @2* this morning most of mine decided not to bother coming out when I opened the coops pop door. I don't blame them.

Oh and yes mine hate for me to have to catch them I just finished up clipping the wings on my Muscovy females and boy was that fun[NOT] I put out multiple feeders but I have 42 birds.

Keep me updated and hopefully once this awful frigid weather begins to become more normal our birds will be back to normal too eating drinking and running around.

 

[3bird]

Good luck! We have seven silver Appleyard ducks, and it's been quite chilly here (we have not seen double digits F in well over a week, and nights are falling to -10 F and colder). Our ducks have been eating less of their regular food ever since this cold snap started. We started offering some cracked corn, which they plow through, and we also feed them a soup twice a day (warm water with a mix of peas, carrots, raisins, green beans, oats, etc.). It took a while to get them into the soup, but now most of them eat it with gusto. They remain absolute fiends for meal worms, which they get as a garnish in their soup and then at the end of morning chores and about 20 minutes before we lock them in for the night. We have a similar water set-up as Miss Lydia (actually I think we copied her design pretty much exactly ;-)), and they do all get pretty wet first thing in the morning when we let them out of the duckhouse. We're a little worried about one of our ducks who gets really wet, but we're just watching closely.

...speaking of watching, we have wi-fi cameras in our run and duckhose, and those have given us a great deal of comfort during these cold temps. We also have a wireless thermometer in the duckhouse that shows us temp and humidity. We're probably a little over the top in terms of being protective duck parents, but it sure does make us sleep better when we can check on them whenever we want. ;-)

Keep us posted!

 

[3bird]

I have also been giving them whole corn/mealworms and dog kibble in the afternoons to keep them over night.

Is there a particular kind of kibble you suggest or a variety of which to steer clear? We'd like to give that a try.