DUCKS GONE SHY AND NOT EATING AS MUCH...

[FLENG2008]

hi all

we have 3 ducks (black indies) all approx 1 year old

normally they will fight over the food and finish it soon after we have given it to them but recently they have not been to keen to their food

we are feeding them layered pellets and they usually run to whoever is feeding them and do whatever to get some

last few days they havent been bothered, when we get the food out they dont attempt to eat any, they dont come anywhere near us or the food and overnight they will only eat and drink a tiny amount to what they normally have

normally we get the food out at night time and 2 of them will jump and fly up the ramp to get the food the other duck will always wait to be lifted in the house

but now they all have gone abit shy and will want chasing around to put them away at night

they seem to be digging alot in this wet weather so im not sure if there eating enough in the day to keep them full but they just dont seem to be themselfs

i havent seen them in the paddeling pool for a few weeks now, they seem to just dip there head in for a wash or have a splash around in the puddles, again im not sure whether the weather has effected this

any tips advice most appreciated

 

[Amiga]

Have you recently opened a new bag of food, or has it been really damp? I would suspect the food's gone off.

 

[FLENG2008]

no the foods not damp and its not a new bag
we buy decent quality food from the local farm

 

[Amiga]

I have had some good quality feed go bad, myself.

Some of their behavior indicates that they are hungry, so not eating the pelleted feed just seems like there may be something has gone off that you cannot detect.

I wonder if you could try some green peas (I buy frozen, and thaw it) to see how they do with treats. Or some chopped lettuce.

How about their bedding? You wrote that it's been wet weather. That points to some possible fungus, mold, mildew kinds of things, which might put their appetite off. Has the bedding been changed recently?

 

[FLENG2008]

i will try the peas tomorrow see how they get on with that
the bedding has just been changed few days back, the bedding before was abit dirty and damp i think i left it for a about 2 weeks, normally i do it every 4-5 days, maybe it could be something to do with that but they look healthy

i forgot to mention, they stayed in the house all day today, its the first time ever. normally they come straight out

 

[Amiga]

Sometimes moldy stuff can get ahead of us... since the bedding was recently changed, that's good. You may need to adjust cleanout schedules if the weather stays so damp. And I know, having had a cold for a couple of weeks now, it can be a challenge to get extra duck chores done, much less the usual room service.

 

[FLENG2008]

Alright so they came out today eventually

they nibble some peas but still not really touched them, they have eaten some food overnight but not much

 

[Amiga]

There are a number of viruses and bacterial infections that can affect ducks, as well as internal parasites such as gapeworms. Is there a university with an agriculture / poultry department that you can contact to get an idea of possibilities?

 

[FLENG2008]

i suppose i could try that,sounds like abit of a long shot

i think i would be better of ringing the farm i bought them from, they have 2 big lakes full of ducks and have always been helpful to us

thanks anyway for your advice