I have some goslings from Ideal, my ducklings are from Cackle. I'm considering ordering more and I'm still trying to decide where to order from (Cackle, Metzer or Ideal). Did you get the sneezing figured out?
(by the way, I love you avatar--I've got two Siberians)
Hi popsicle!
Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I've had my hands FULL (of duckling and chicks...) the last few weeks.
You may have already ordered your birds but just to keep you updated, the rest of my ducks are doing good, so far.
(I have 9 left from the order. I had one Black Swedish DOA on the first order, and one die shortly after arrival on the second order.)
The first order of ducks; 2 Snowy Mallards, 2 Khaki Campbells, and one Blue Swedish, are thriving....and HUGE! All except for one of the KC which is just a bit smaller and lost her down in the first week. She then grew it back and she started to grow bigger once I started giving them all the brewers yeast tabs (niacin).
The other 4 (second order) are Blue and Black Swedish and they are a week younger than the rest.
I had one VERY small Black Swedish arrive in that order, the one who was sneezing.
I then noticed some of the others from the same order sneezing. No watery eyes or nostrils, and their poo seemed normal...not too watery. But still sneezing.
Anyway, I let that go on for several days until I noticed one of the others from the
first order sneezing who had not been previously (they were not sharing a brooder but they
were/
are sharing the same room). At that point I decided to say, "Forget this! "I don't need my whole flock sick!" and started them all on antibiotics.
Now, I know using antibiotics for an "unknown" ailment is not always recommended, because if it is a viral infection, it wont help anyway and we all know the overuse of antibiotics is bad. But, I went for it....I did a week of Duramycin-10 at 0.4 grams per gallon. As I mentioned, I ALSO was adding brewers yeast to their food in addition to electrolytes, vitamins and probiotics (Sav-A-Chick) to their water. AND ALWAYS I offer fresh, un-medicated water in addition to everything else.
Now they have all stopped sneezing and are happy and growing! So, whether it was just some sort of allergy, or dust ( I use TSC litter), or a cold, or vitamin deficiency, or they did actually have a lung infection....unfortunately, I will never know for sure. And using the Duramycin-10 was an absolute LAST resort for us, especially since the package doesn't say anything about ducks, never mind
week old ducklings. I probably just got incredibly lucky with this (or, I didn't need the luck to begin with because they were never really sick?)
Anyway....Thanks for asking! Did you place your order? Who did you go with? What did you get?
Best,
Idas Chickens
P.S- We are pretty sure our dog is a Samoyed mix of some type, maybe some Malamute in her too. She's almost 11 years old! She's the greatest dog we've had yet! Love her to bits!!
P.P.S- If you have not ordered your chicks yet, I have read wonderful things about Metzer waterfowl, although, I have no personal experience with them. We are however, happy with the customer service at Ideal, and their shipping rates are great! And as of now, knock on wood, all the duckies (and packing peanut roos) seem to be doing well, even if they needed a little extra care to start.
And lastly, my Snowy Mallards from Ideal are the SWEETEST ducks ever! Very friendly and social...much more than the other ducks. They are the only ones that come up to us when we approach while all the others still run away! Its good we have a "
No livestock in the house!" rule, otherwise, I could see these little gals hanging out in the living room with us watching movies!
Sorry about this long post everyone. When I was just starting out, I scoured the internet for as much information and other peoples personal experiences as possible! So, hope this all helps!
So after that experience with their wonderful customer service, I will defiantly be ordering from them again in the future.
