HELP!! My ducks are dying unexpectedly... .

[1MrsMagoo]

I am with Amiga and KuntryGirl: Something toxic, but possibly not feed...it could be environmental.

What about your bedding? I had some moldy straw kill two geese and sicken a third earlier this year. The straw didn't look or smell funny when I put it in the coop. I always wear gloves and what I didn't know was that their was a fine powdery substance on some of the straw, which I found as I was putting clean straw in the "hospital cage" for goose #3. I promptly removed all the bedding and sprayed the coops and hospital cage with Oxine, let them dry and put in fresh bedding (our horse's good hay), the illness stopped.

The offending bale of straw was new from the store. What didn't occur to me at the time was that our entire area was suffering from the worst drought in years, which can cause tons of different molds and fungi to form on plants where they aren't normally found. When your birds inhale these they very quickly begin developing neurological symptoms, such as shaking and walking as if they were drunk and sudden death.

Good luck. I would begin eliminating and replacing the food, then the bedding and cleaning the premises. Do one at a time, so you have some idea what is causing this and can avoid a repeat in the future.

 

[Amiga]

Good point, 1MrsMagoo. We had a near miss with straw last year and I switched to pine shavings, after several bales of straw from a reputable source had that fine white powder inside.

 

[JonnaMomma]

Thanks everyone! I will switch the food out immediately and see if I cant get the old food tested. I will also pen them for a few days in case ther is something in the yard I haven't seen. I have caught them sneaking off the a neighbors old corn patch...if the corn was treated in the past could that be what all this is?? They usually dont go that far but I've never checked that area for anything harmful either. My goose (Plumper) is getting his honk back and the foaming stopped. My birds are my babies and the best therapy! I'll do anything to make sure they are ok. I have yet to hear back from the vets either.

 

[Amiga]

How dry has it been out your way? Drought makes aflatoxin more likely in corn.

 

[JonnaMomma]

Good point! The straw I use is from broken bales the neighbors had. They have been out all summer and it's super dusty when I haul it. Maybe thats why it stopped when I sprayed the coop but started again as soon as the top layer was dug through again. My birds get into the alfalfa bales but that is still really fresh and kept inside the barn.

 

[zooweemama]

So much good advice. Corn is a crop that is deeply infested with molds. It has one of the highest (if not the highest) level of mold of the most common foods. Scratch grains consist primarily of corn (with some other stuff mixed in) and nearly all the feeds you feed also contain high levels of corn as well. Then there is the bedding. We had a horrible rain storm last week. After it we bought some fresh bales of pine shavings. I cracked one open and it was wet. WET. I was a little upset about that. I didn't smell anything off but I could see some black flecks in the bedding. We marched it back to the feed store. Since the feed stores or often open- sometimes things get wet from blowing rain and our humidity changing with temps didn't help. So bedding is def another to watch. We have had the same issue with hay- we finally stopped using hay altogether.

I hope the advice the others have offered will help. I am so sorry you are losing your precious duckies. Please keep us updated!

 

[kuntrygirl]

I am with Amiga and KuntryGirl: Something toxic, but possibly not feed...it could be environmental.

What about your bedding? I had some moldy straw kill two geese and sicken a third earlier this year. The straw didn't look or smell funny when I put it in the coop. I always wear gloves and what I didn't know was that their was a fine powdery substance on some of the straw, which I found as I was putting clean straw in the "hospital cage" for goose #3. I promptly removed all the bedding and sprayed the coops and hospital cage with Oxine, let them dry and put in fresh bedding (our horse's good hay), the illness stopped.

The offending bale of straw was new from the store. What didn't occur to me at the time was that our entire area was suffering from the worst drought in years, which can cause tons of different molds and fungi to form on plants where they aren't normally found. When your birds inhale these they very quickly begin developing neurological symptoms, such as shaking and walking as if they were drunk and sudden death.

Good luck. I would begin eliminating and replacing the food, then the bedding and cleaning the premises. Do one at a time, so you have some idea what is causing this and can avoid a repeat in the future.

Great info and suggestion.

 

[JonnaMomma]

Worst drought in a long time. Im going to fence in a large area for them this weekend. I hate confining them but not as bad as loosing them!

 

[Amiga]

I understand. During nor'easters the ducks stay in, sometimes for a day or two. But aside from crankiness, they deal with it okay.