Help! I've lost 2 ducklings in 2 days

[buggymuffin]

We decided to become more self sufficient and bought some ducklings to raise for eggs. We bought 6 ducklings in early May, 3 Khaki Campbells & 3 Cayugas, all female. They have been doing great, and a week ago at 7 weeks old we moved them outside. I am in SW New Hampshire and the days have been warm with the nights staying well above 60. They are kept in a small room in our attached barn at night and spend the day in a fenced yard. They seemed to be doing great. Two days ago one of the cayugas wasn't as active, spent more time sitting and not running around with the group foraging. Yesterday morning she was dead. The others seemed fine. Yesterday afternoon, one of the other cayugas was trailing the pack, but otherwise seemed fine, no sitting, etc. just slower. This morning she was gone as well. What is going on? I thought by now we were out of the woods with most illnesses.

It was really hot and humid last Thursday and Friday (in the 90's with high humidity), but they seemed to do fine. Saturday and Sunday were much cooler (in the 80's Saturday and 70's yesterday). I don't know if that might have affected them. The only other thing that changed was that we mixed some layer feed in with their unmedicated starter feed a couple days ago. We noticed yesterday that the bag said it shouldn't be feed to them before 18 weeks old, so we took it away and went back to strait starter. I don't know if this was disease or something else, and whether I need to be concerned about the rest of the flock. What should I do?

 

[Amiga]

What else can you tell us about the setup?

Water?

Shade?

Other animals?

Type of vegetation?

The only way to be sure is a necropsy, which some colleges will do for state residents.

It could be toxicity, or disease, or injury, so please give some mundane details about where they go, etc. The new feed could have mold in it, for example.

 

[Oregon Blues]

Not enough information.

Layer feed won't hurt them unless it is moldy.

Are your ducklings getting enough niacin? Although that usually shows up as crippling, not death.

Any cats in the neighborhood? Any injuries on the ducklings? Do they have some deep shade and some cool water to dip their heads in?

Ducks don't do heat well, but it doesn't sound hot enough to cause them problems, as long as they can get into some shade and cool off.

 

[kristen2678]

I'm not that far from you and have ducks of the same age. When they are not in the pond, they scramble for shade only sitting in the sun for short periods of time. Do they have shade? What is their water situation?

 

[QuackedUp]

It almost sounds like a virus of some sort.

 

[QuackedUp]

I am so sorry!

 

[buggymuffin]

Well, we lost the last Cayuga on the way to the vet yesterday. We took her to UNH this morning for an autopsy, so hopefully we will know by next week what happened. We did find out that the hatchery they came from is the source of a nationwide salmonella outbreak from live chicks, ducklings, etc. The cases started in March and were still occurring in late May. I don't know if they can carry it that long and then get sick or not, but we will find out. So far the Khakis seem fine. We are keeping them on the medicated feed for now, just in case.

As for the questions about environment, they have a 30 x 30 ft fenced yard to play in, just grass and the typical dandilions and other weeds. We keep it mowed when needed, which isn't often. They have an umbrella for shade, but may now have to provide more since the neighbor lost a tree in a thunderstorm Saturday afternoon. Prior, the yard was probably about 50% shaded by trees after mid morning. They have a kiddie pool to swim in which we empty nightly. They have a waterer for drinking water and get fresh water and food everyday. They spend the night in a 12x13 ft room in the old barn attached to our house (the house is 150 years old and I am assuming the barn is too). It appears that the room may have been used for poultry as there are 3 1ft2 doors at floor level on the outer walls. We thought they may have been used for cleaning stalls at first, but they are awefully small for that and the horse stalls are in a different room.

I will update when I know more. Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[kristen2678]

That's too bad. It seems like their set up is great. It has to be something they came to you with. Bummer.

I'm just over the border in Maine. I have a few ducks too many at the moment. We are going to attempt voice sexing them next week. Once we figure out our ratio I'll know if I have some to re-home. If you are interested in replacing the ones you lost once you figure out what's going on, let me know. They are 6 week old penciled runners from Holderread.

 

[QuackedUp]

Oh I am so sorry to hear!

That's nuts - about the place you got them from! I hope everyone is okay from here on out!!!

I would like to hear what the necropsy shows...

 

[buggymuffin]

Okay, so I got an e-mail with a preliminary report from the University this afternoon. They are saying cause of death was Haemoprotozoan infection, a parasitic disease spread by mosquitoes, with a secondary bacterial infection. Luckily, the parasite can be treated with antibiotics so we are keeping the khakis on the medicated feed and trying to get a hold of a vet that can recommend the right antibiotics to make sure they aren't at risk too. By next week I should know what the bacterial infection was and if there were any other issues.

Our main focus right now is to do everything we can do eradicate the mosquito population in our yard or at least repel them. They are monsters around here. We bought geraniums to hang around the ducks' yard. We are looking at spraying EcoSmart Mosquito & Tick Control around the entire property. Has anyone ever used this? The main active ingredients are 2-Phenethyl Propionate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate along with Peppermint Oil, Rosemary oil, Eugenol, and Thyme & Sesame oil. The only thing I am really concerned about is the sodium lauryl sulfate as the others are organic in nature. Does anyone know if it will harm my babies? Or for that matter are any of the plants they use in this toxic to ducks? I would rather not spray anything, cause I don't want them sick again, but mosquitoes are horrid 24/7 hear and they already got the others sick so they are definitely carrying disease.