Please help!! My 10 day old ducklings are dying, and I don't know why!!

[annie222223]

I hatched a few ducklings from an incubator 10 days ago. One died a few days ago, I suspect due to coldness. They were all doing fine until yesterday, I took them out to get some sun (in a cardboard box) for just 10 minutes while I clean their brooder. They had water and food and loved it. Then when I brought them back in, a few hours later, two of them had pasty butt and one's neck began twitching from side to side. I fixed the pasty butt by running their butts under warm water a few times throughout the night. The other did not have pasty but but kept twisting his neck. The next day (today), they seemed better and all were pooing normally, eating and drinking water normally, but one kept uncontrollably walking backwards at times and chirping, then going back to the others. aAt the end of the day around 10pm, the duck that was weirdly walking backwards at time just dropped dead right in front of my eyes. I am very hung up about that and I have no idea why since he was eating and drinking normally. It's a few hours later and the one with the neck problems is having more severely twisting movements and will occasionally spasm, legs spread out, and fall on his back. It doesn't move much now although it tries to drink water and eat (but has difficulty due to his neck). Just now, the second duck with pasty butt originally just starting randomly walking backwards and chirping weirdly (much like the one that just died did yesterday). I am getting really concerned as I have no idea why this may be happening and I currently have one duck that has no issues at all. I am very scared and don't want any more to die. The temperature in my house is 27 degrees celsius and there is a heating lamp as well.

 

[nchls school]

Hopefully someone else will disagree with me; I do hope so. Ten minutes or a few hours in the sun?? Your post says both. My guess if neurological damage caused by too much exposure to direct sunlight. I'm sorry. I pray you don't lose all the ducklings.

 

[annie222223]

Hopefully someone else will disagree with me; I do hope so. Ten minutes or a few hours in the sun?? Your post says both. My guess if neurological damage caused by too much exposure to direct sunlight. I'm sorry. I pray you don't lose all the ducklings.

Just 10 minutes! I meant that they got pasty butt a few hours later. Today the one with the neck problems is still alive, although he has weird spasms where he legs and wings go rigid and spread apart while he shakes. Also he shakes his head a lot to each side and it’s really scary. I feel so bad because he must be in pain or uncomfort and I have no idea why this is happening!