ducks ate grape jelly

[lazydaisy]

my son gave my two ducks some grape jelly. one of them is now acting like something is wrong with it. the other is fine. Is grape jelly harmful to ducks? don't know if it is caused by the jelly or if something else has happened to it.

 

[mnferalkitty]

The jelly shouldn't hurt the ducks. Sometimes ducks eat fermented fruit from trees etc, and get goofy. Did the duck get into anything like that?

 

[lazydaisy]

no, we don't have ;any fruit trees or anything like that around. they had been down by the road, which they do quite often, but they don't normally go on the road. I hope she hadn't and got hit. she was up by the house when we finally found her. which is a bit of a uphill walk. she did walk slowly to the pen, but very slowly. I hope no animal got a hold of her. we do have about everything there is. I will have to check closer, but didn't see any bite marks. Hate to keep them penned up all the time, but fencing our yard would be out of the question. it's large and would be too expensive. Hopefully she'll be ok.

 

[lazydaisy]

we wondered if she was on a huge suger high from the jelly. I hope it's something simple like that and she'll be ok.

 

[Amiga]

Jelly is not such a good thing for ducks, too sweet. But she may have had either a sugar high, or possibly a yeast flare-up that made her feel woozy. I could be wrong, but yeast are part of intestinal flora, and too much sugar causes their population to increase greatly. Also, some ducks are more affected by nutritional imbalances and toxins than others.

 

[lazydaisy]

It was really wierd, we really don't know what happened, but one morning my husband and me was out and a fox came out of the woods withing 10' foot of me and went after the ducks. luckily I was right there. Now I wonder if it had gotten her and dropped her if it got scared away. something has been getting into the pen and have killed most of my baby red golden pheasants. we had completely covered the cage with chicken wire and there hasn't been any dug places around the pen either. we cannot figure out how anything would have gotten in. a couple times it looked like whatever had pulled them through the pen from the outside. it would have to have really small paws though and be able to climb since one spot was almost eye level. I thought my ducks bill was broken for a couple of days and was worried whether she could eat or not, but went out and she looked fine after a couple days. now she is perfectly fine, thank goodness. back to her old self. we also have hawks around and wondered if one had maybe got her and dropped her. I guess it will be a mystery! I know I'll never give them jelly again just in case that was it.

 

[Marwan]

Im sorry to hear about your preadator problem. a fox killed my female leghorn when she was young and no word of a lie they are terrified of my ducks. my two rouens have chased foxes off. i dont have a problem. cats give them a wide birth and dogs are inquisitve but ever a dog as big as my neighbours rottwiler knows better and stays well away. they are the sweetest of things but are terried of nothing. except brooms and rain. when it rains they run like mad looking for somewhere to hide. and as for the jelly i had it when my ducks were just 2 weeks old they got a hold of my m&ms chocolates and ate them all. one was a bit hyper then the sugar rush faded and he seemed weak. i always have to put stuff in draws now because if i leave it out there gonna eat it or at least try. just keep an eye on it and check it for bite. if nothing she should be fine very soon

 

[lazydaisy]

ohhh, I'm glad that the chocolate didn't have a bad effect on them like on dogs and cats. My husband said he could shoot the fox and coons but I don't think that's right. I hate to kill any animal unless they are dangerous or sick. I think it is probably against the law anyway. I just have to figure out how to deter them away from my birds. I'm really bumbed though about the baby pheasants. these were my first ones I had ever hatched and raised. I wish I lived where I could have a dog loose outside. that would chase any critters away from our yard. but we live by a very busy road, even though we live out of town. I really can't believe that whatever can get into the pen. I thought for sure it would be preditor safe. I don't know what else to do to keep whatever is getting in out.

 

[Marwan]

well i have a solution for you. i got this from one of my people who work at my college and this is something really simple that will deter any fox or racoon. basically when you go to the toilet for a pee use a bucket. then spread it on the perimiter of your garden and of there cage. i know it sounds obsurd but it really works. the human scent dteres them because they smell its the teroroty of a larger preadator. give it a try and let me know.

 

[Missy60]

If you are using chicken wire there have been several reported cases of predators pulling them through the wire so that is definitely possible. Welded 1/2 inch wire is much safer and recommended for a predator proof pen.