Duck quit laying. .. what's wrong??

[eaglegreen]

I have three ducks: a Swedish Blue (who will NOT shut up!); a Rouen, and a black Indian Runner. The first two lay eggs routinely. The Indian Runner did as well, then, began laying eggs with very fragile shells, which were often broken before I got to them. Now, she has quit altogether. What's wrong? They all get 16% layer crumbles/mash/pellets--and beg for me to put their feed in water so they can slurp it up. They get a tub of fresh water beside that, twice a day (I feed twice a day), and they have a 50 gal. stock tank swimming pool which I change a couple times a week. (When I drain it, I use the water on my corn patch!) Anyway, why did my Black Indian Runner quit laying while the other 2 continue? And, for how many years do ducks lay?? AND, one more, does anyone know how to shut up a duck that has an opinion about EVERYTHING?? Any help appreciated. This is my first attempt at raising ducks. I got them at Tractor Supply and was told I was getting Pekin's. Not one turned out to be one!

 

[Amiga]

Sounds like you have a nice group.

Regarding the Runner - some ducks just need much more calcium. It does not matter what the books say. I give Romy, a Buff, and Sechs, a Runner, an extra 100 mg of calcium daily. The flock gets 50 to 80 extra mg of calcium per duck about five days a week added to the water in their food. And I feed a high quality layer ration. Some ducks just need more.

The way I give extra is I dissolve calcium citrate pills in water. That's it. The ones I buy are 250 mg each, so I just do the arithmetic. There is a bit of guessing, too, because I know that Romy and Sechs don't eat all the calcium in their treats. So I add about twice what I want them to have into a tiny bowl of thawed peas, and reckon that they are getting about the level I want them to have.

At this point I would be concerned she may be at risk of becoming egg bound, so I would watch out for that. Tail down or pumping up and down, walking differently, far-away look in the eye, not as active are all signs of egg binding. Increased calcium and time in a lukewarm tub can help.

For folks who want to be extremely precise that may not be satisfactory - one could obtain calcium gluconate liquid, or a prescription of Neocalglucan and wrestle with the duck trying to safely dose them with the liquid.

My ducks make a lot of noise if something is not quite right in their environment. They may miss me, they may be concerned about the presence of another animal, they may be hungry or just bored. Other reasons may be too warm, too cold, or something else.

 

[needlessjunk]

Amiga has the best advice for runners and calcium. For my flock I always have out oyster shell and my Cayuga is always eating it. The rest aren't really interested.

As for talking. If mine are out of food they will let me know and aren't shy. My Cayuga is very opinionated and if we are in the yard she will run up sounding off. That is just her and is nothing new. I did notice that when my ducks were teenagers they were all loud and would good off all the time. Now it isn't very often.

 

[eaglegreen]

Hello??!! Anybody out there?? I'm calling for help. . . .

 

[caesargirl]

Hello??!! Anybody out there?? I'm calling for help. . . .

What do u need??

 

[eaglegreen]

Welll, look at the entry just above the one you just responded to. . . . OH me, I just realized I don't quite know how this forum thing works. I checked the box to receive reply's, and hadn't received any, till Ijust now looked and there are several!! Go to the start of the thread and you'll see what I'm concerned about. Thank you for asking. I appreciate all the help. My "gabby" duck is getting obnoxious!! She yapps about EVERYTHING-o-too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, not fresh enough water in her tank, not enough water in her tank, she wants me to talk to her, she can't find her two pals--the other two ducks, the other two ducks aren't out swimming/eating/'playing' in mud with her. . . .on and on. I know for Roosters there is now a small velcro/elastic collar for roosters to moderate the volume of their crow. I'm strongly considering making one for Dot!!
Thanks for info about calcium. I have just started feeding them a lot of snails, maybe that will help with calcium. If they are large, I smoosh them, so the ducks can swallow them. They LOVE them! Especially Lena, the one who's laying off laying. Her egg looks like a miniature bowling ball, and is blue. If she gets the notion to lay while she's out puttering about the yard, it rolls down the hill to the fence. The other two have really strong white shells.

 

[needlessjunk]

Welll, look at the entry just above the one you just responded to. . . . OH me, I just realized I don't quite know how this forum thing works. I checked the box to receive reply's, and hadn't received any, till Ijust now looked and there are several!!  Go to the start of the thread and you'll see what I'm concerned about. Thank you for asking. I appreciate all the help. My "gabby" duck is getting obnoxious!! She yapps about EVERYTHING-o-too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, not fresh enough water in her tank, not enough water in her tank, she wants me to talk to her, she can't find her two pals--the other two ducks, the other two ducks aren't out swimming/eating/'playing' in mud with her. . . .on and on.  I know for Roosters there is now a small velcro/elastic collar for roosters to moderate the volume of their crow. I'm strongly considering making one for Dot!!
      Thanks for info about calcium. I have just started feeding them a lot of snails, maybe that will help with calcium. If they are large, I smoosh them, so the ducks can swallow them. They LOVE them! Especially Lena, the one who's laying off laying. Her egg looks like a miniature bowling ball, and is blue. If she gets the notion to lay while she's out puttering about the yard, it rolls down the hill to the fence.  The other two have really strong white shells.

Snails are not going to cut it for calcium. They need oyster shell and if one is already having problem you will need to do even more like Amiga said. It sounds like you just have a loud duck. I'm sorry but some ducks are loud that just goes with having poultry.

 

[eaglegreen]

Dear Amiga, Caesargirl, needless junk-- Thank you, so much for all your suggestions and help. One way, I've found, to find out how much I don't know that I don't know, is to take on a project like raising ducks! I read several articles, even a book, but have not found the help which I've found here on this site. Being a "new egg" at this, it really helps to have guidance from you who have way more experience and knowledge than I. Thank you again, very much. I'm getting oyster shell today, and also trying the calcium citrate.
Gratefully,
EGGreen

 

[caesargirl]

It's funny, if you Google a duck question, darn near every answer leads to BYC...!