Ducks won't eat or drink please help

[davekrista]

I posted this in the duck section but it probably should go here. I have 4 13 wk old pekin ducks. I take care of them during the week and my husband does on the weekend when he is home. We live in MA so its been pretty cold with LOTS of snow. They have been in their insulated coop/home all winter.

My husband just told me they haven't eaten or drank anything all weekend. He said anytime he went out their bowls were still full..... There are some feathers but not many... Any ideas? I'm getting worried at this point. I even moved their food and water bowls closer to where they are with the hopes they are just being lazy.

Please help

 

[dawg53]

I dont know much about ducks. I guess they are kinda like chickens. You stated that they were in their insulated coop/home all winter, are they overcrowded? Overcrowding causes chickens to pick/peck at each other causing feather loss, I suppose that happens to ducks too. This causes stress and can cause them not to eat or drink. I also recommend you pick them up and visually inspect them for lice/mites. They can cause them to weaken quickly, become anemic and die...they need to eat and drink to keep their strength up. You can add plain yogurt or buttermilk (probiotics) to the feed. Hope this helps. Are they at the age to establish a pecking order? This could be an issue as well, but they should be eating normally. Finally, is there a drake trying establish dominance by trying to mate, causing feather loss? Then one that would worry me the most is the possibility of lice/mites, then overcrowding. I'd follow up on them first. Good luck.