New Ducklings!!

[FoodFreedomNow]

Oh, no!! I just found this thread and saw the adorable photos...

If there were no signs of illness or injury, I'd suspect something possibly neurological since they were crested. Did you notice anything unusual about their behavior recently?

Could they have ingested something toxic or been exposed to toxins? Even stagnant water, like pond water?

My condolences on your loss. At least wherever they are, they're still together.

 

[chkva]

Sad news about my duckies... I woke up this morning to both my babies dead. I’m not sure how or why but if anyone has any ideas, please let me know. I’m devastated. Here’s some pictures of them growing up until this point.
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Sorry for the spam of pictures.

Where did you find them passed away? Were they locked up at night? Any markings on them that would indicate a predator? Were they getting niacin supplement? Were they acting funny in the days leading up to their passing away?

It's so hard to know exactly what happened, but I'm sure if you narrow down some things, you can get a close to definite answer to what happened.

 

[DuckyDonna]

As soon as I saw the crests I was thinking that may have something to do with it but lets get @casportpony on this, she's good at everything!

 

[thumper650]

So sad! I hope you'll find the fortitude to try again.

 

[mbphotos09]

That's so sad!
Any signs of a predator attack? Blood? Feathers?
No idea what kind of sickness can cause a sudden death of two ducks at the same time.
@casportpony - any idea?

Oh, no!! I just found this thread and saw the adorable photos...

If there were no signs of illness or injury, I'd suspect something possibly neurological since they were crested. Did you notice anything unusual about their behavior recently?

Could they have ingested something toxic or been exposed to toxins? Even stagnant water, like pond water?

My condolences on your loss. At least wherever they are, they're still together.

Where did you find them passed away? Were they locked up at night? Any markings on them that would indicate a predator? Were they getting niacin supplement? Were they acting funny in the days leading up to their passing away?

It's so hard to know exactly what happened, but I'm sure if you narrow down some things, you can get a close to definite answer to what happened.

Sorry I just saw all of these, I’ve been out of town for a couple days! Thank you all for the replies.
To answer your questions... The night before both their deaths, my lighter colored one had 2 puncture wounds on her head by her crest. I made a post on the Emergency forum about it and ended up cleaning the wounds and putting both of them in a pen in my garage for the night.

They were never allowed to be with my chickens alone and were always supervised if they were free-ranging so I am guessing her wounds were from her getting hung on some exposed chicken wire that I hadn’t covered yet. (Which makes me feel really guilty )
They were eating, drinking, cleaning themselves, and being chatty the night before they passed. The injured one was a little quieter than normal but that’s it.

They were fed niacin supplements.
All food and water was always clean and new. Bedding was clean. The only thing different that I did was switch their food because the Feed Store didn’t have their normal un-medicated feed. And they didn’t eat much of it because I put it in their pen the night before everything. I checked on them at about midnight (they seemed fine) and by the time I got to them at 8 the next morning, they were both gone. I’m so confused, I have no ideas!

 

[mbphotos09]

Oh no that is horrible! That makes me so sad for you.

I get two ducklings on the 31st and I'm impatiently waiting for the call that they've hatched! I have been already waiting 2 weeks and it's seriously driving me up the wall!

Very cute ducklings! Pics like this are the reason why I called the farm to hatch me some!

I'm sorry for your losses! I saw this thread and started to read the comments then saw they passed

So sad! I hope you'll find the fortitude to try again.

Thank you all so much for the condolences and hugs! I really appreciate it.
I do plan on trying again. I had the most fun I’ve ever had raising those ducks. I loved it even more than raising chickens I think (just don’t tell my chickens that ). I think I am going to eventually purchase some ducklings from somewhere that has healthy animals and good reviews. My babies were just from our local feed store so maybe they were never healthy... I don’t know. But if anyone has some good places to purchase fowl from, please let me know!

 

[DuckyDonna]

You did the best you could with the little ducks. It's curious to me that one had the little puncture marks that you took care of but the other didn't yet they both died. Maybe the puncture had nothing to do with it.

I know there are some that will disagree but I believe next time I'd stay away from crested ducks. They are crested because their little skulls did not close all the way and can be very prone to neurological problems. In addition, if they are girls, it will be very dangerous when they get mated because the males will grab onto the crest to hold them down.

I hope you find a few little ones soon to try again!

 

[mbphotos09]

You did the best you could with the little ducks. It's curious to me that one had the little puncture marks that you took care of but the other didn't yet they both died. Maybe the puncture had nothing to do with it.

I know there are some that will disagree but I believe next time I'd stay away from crested ducks. They are crested because their little skulls did not close all the way and can be very prone to neurological problems. In addition, if they are girls, it will be very dangerous when they get mated because the males will grab onto the crest to hold them down.

I hope you find a few little ones soon to try again!

Thank you for the thoughtful answer

It is strange to me too but I agree with you on the crests. After doing some more research, I won’t be getting crested again... Even though they’re such cute little nuggets.
I hope to get some more babies later this summer to try again!