Four week old meat duck doesn't look like I think she should, please help!

[PeetaPuffGemi]

I just got my first ducklings four weeks ago. I got an Indian runner, a white crested, and a black Swedish. I don't plan on eating any of them, they are just my little buddies, but my black Swedish is significantly smaller than the other two. She gets cold very easily, she gets pushed around, and she doesn't eat as well. She does eat though. She does poop, and it looks normal, nothing odd about it, just like the other two, but I was reading about parasites and intestinal problems, and now I'm worried about her. I let them run in our back yard on a regular basis, along with the chicks, but our yard stays pretty bird free, especially this time of year, and I'm always out with them. Because I don't plan on eating her, I haven't fed her any special meat duck food, and I was thinking that might have something to do with it, but I'm not sure, and I already had one chicken die of sudden death, I don't want to lose my little baby. I'll try to include some pictures of her and the other two, for reference.

 

[PearlTheDuck]

Hello. what bag of food are you giving them? They need food of 22% protein 0-2 weeks of age, And have you looked on them for mites? And for being cold easily, how do you know she's cold? Do they have a heat lamp?

 

[PeetaPuffGemi]

Hi! I had been giving them the food that I bought from Metzer farms. Up until this evening, they had a heat lamp, and they don't have one know because it broke (but don't worry, they were taking a bath in another room!), but they do have a heated pad under their box, and the room they are in is warmer than everywhere else in the house, we plan on getting them a new lamp tomorrow morning, but the stores are closed, so we have to wait. I think that she gets cold easily because she seems to shiver and she cries too, and when I put her inside after being outside, she huddles underneath the heat lamp. I hadn't thought to look for mites. What should I look for? They haven't seemed especially itchy.

 

[PearlTheDuck]

Hi! I had been giving them the food that I bought from Metzer farms. Up until this evening, they had a heat lamp, and they don't have one know because it broke (but don't worry, they were taking a bath in another room!), but they do have a heated pad under their box, and the room they are in is warmer than everywhere else in the house, we plan on getting them a new lamp tomorrow morning, but the stores are closed, so we have to wait. I think that she gets cold easily because she seems to shiver and she cries too, and when I put her inside after being outside, she huddles underneath the heat lamp. I hadn't thought to look for mites. What should I look for? They haven't seemed especially itchy.

I've had a lamp brake and my ducks had to go overnight without any heat and they were fine, so don't worry about that. For mites look especially under the wings and near their vent, if they do have mites you might see little white eggs or the bugs themselves, another sign is when you hold them you feel itchy. About her shivering, make sure when you get the heat lamp you have it at the right height, if the others are fine then it's not the height, it could be stress making her shiver and her being small could just be the breed

 

[PearlTheDuck]

I've had a lamp brake and my ducks had to go overnight without any heat and they were fine, so don't worry about that. For mites look especially under the wings and near their vent, if they do have mites you might see little white eggs or the bugs themselves, another sign is when you hold them you feel itchy. About her shivering, make sure when you get the heat lamp you have it at the right height, if the others are fine then it's not the height, it could be stress making her shiver and her being small could just be the breed

Also, they have wood shavings in their container?

 

[PearlTheDuck]

How are the ducklings doing?

 

[PeetaPuffGemi]

They are doing fantastic! Thanks for asking. My Swedish has been gaining more weight, and we have been giving her special attention during feeding, to ensure she is eating properly. We think that she was just being bullied out of food. There was definitely some aggression between her and my runner, but we feed them separately now.

 

[PearlTheDuck]

They are doing fantastic! Thanks for asking. My Swedish has been gaining more weight, and we have been giving her special attention during feeding, to ensure she is eating properly. We think that she was just being bullied out of food. There was definitely some aggression between her and my runner, but we feed them separately now.

I'm thrilled she's doing better! And I agree she was probably being bullied out of food. Just continue to feed them separately. Best of luck to y'all