*~*Runner Duck Club*~*

[TracyLovesDucks]

Sick ducks? We have a flock of 5 fawn runners and 6 black runners. They were all born on July 1st so will be 5 weeks old tomorrow.

The 2 smallest ducks are both black and they appear to be sick. Here are some of the symptoms: listless; don't come to the feeder and eat when the rest of the flock does (they often just lay down off to the side); will sit in your lap and fall asleep (the others will fight to get down); sometimes will lay 4-8' away from the flock; don't show much interest in foraging; not very alert like the others.

I think that they are eating and drinking OK-they have water around the clock, shade, feed when in their pen and sometimes outside (they spend a lot of time outdoors); clean shavings to lie down on. We are feeding a non-medicated multi-flock food-consistency is small (crumble mix).

Do ducks establish a pecking order and could these 2 be the bottom? Any other ideas? Thanks!

I would be surprised if the other ducklings are not picking on them given their condition. Usually ducklings will pick on the sick ones. I was going to recommend separating them from the others if possible, so they can be left alone... but maybe it's not a problem. If you do separate them, you can feed them mash (just add water to their feed), and it will make it easier for them to eat. You could still feed mash, but the others might make a total mess out of it... they may go wild over it and chaos could ensue

-If they are getting greens/leaves/grass, are you also supplying grit?

-What is their bedding made of?

-Do they get enough niacin in their diet?

It's very hard to say what is going on, but it sounds like some kind of poisoning or toxicity thing to me. Again, that's a guess so give it some consideration and maybe do some research on it.

 

[L0rraine]

Is Saxony a runner duck pattern? I have three runner ducks that came in as 'surprise me' from Holderread this spring. Two are obviously black... I can figure that out. 8)

I was assuming the third was fawn and white, but really it is mostly fawn with Saxony markings on the head. Thought it was a saxony (which I had also ordered) for a long time, actually, took a couple weeks to start standing like a runner. Here are two pictures of her (still in her juvenile feathers).




She is SOOO pretty. I can't help much with the color - only that I had a Saxony pair (that I loved!) from Holderreads, but they were both a little darker and more mallard like than the normal Saxony colors I was used to seeing. Yours looks truer. I thought Dave Holderread was done with the Saxonys, but glad to hear there are some still around as I liked the coloring. An eagle got my drake, which was one of the saddest losses I ever had to deal with. And I found Miss Mary, his mate, passed away curled up by her pool several years later. They were my first and favorite Runners.

 

[GardinerFarms]

Conditions are about the same with the "odd duck". We put him-her with the other smallest duck (both black) for last night and let them sleep together. They seemed to get along well together. We added Save-a-chick electrolytes to their water last night-it has lots of stuff in it including niacin. Bedding is cedar shavings. Everyone went outside today-hot day, lots of swimming in the pool and foraging on grass. I saw him-her get into the pool today and swim a bit-ducked his head under and washed. They have gravel they have to cross over to get to the lawn-will that suffice for grit? They have their feed available all day as well as some chopped up cucumber which they seem to relish.

The "odd duck" still stays off by him-herself and doesn't show interest in the feed. Sits/lays 5 or 6' away from the flock. Won't "fight" for food like the cuke pieces, but will eat if hand fed them (not the crumbles though) Still willing to sit in your lap if we had time-not so the others as they wiggle to get down! We did get some cuke and bread bits into him-her last night. Tried some broken up Cheerios this am but that didn't seem to work. Will segregate again tonite with a small friend and see how it goes.

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

Conditions are about the same with the "odd duck". We put him-her with the other smallest duck (both black) for last night and let them sleep together. They seemed to get along well together. We added Save-a-chick electrolytes to their water last night-it has lots of stuff in it including niacin. Bedding is cedar shavings. Everyone went outside today-hot day, lots of swimming in the pool and foraging on grass. I saw him-her get into the pool today and swim a bit-ducked his head under and washed. They have gravel they have to cross over to get to the lawn-will that suffice for grit? They have their feed available all day as well as some chopped up cucumber which they seem to relish.

The "odd duck" still stays off by him-herself and doesn't show interest in the feed. Sits/lays 5 or 6' away from the flock. Won't "fight" for food like the cuke pieces, but will eat if hand fed them (not the crumbles though) Still willing to sit in your lap if we had time-not so the others as they wiggle to get down! We did get some cuke and bread bits into him-her last night. Tried some broken up Cheerios this am but that didn't seem to work. Will segregate again tonite with a small friend and see how it goes.

You might want to research cedar. I've heard many times that it can give off fumes that are harmful to ducks, especially ducklings. Those of us who use wood chips usually stick to pine, never cedar that I know of.

If you're up for it, you might want to take a little extra special care of him. If he's not eating, I'd recommend separating him and a buddy from the others and making a mash of his food (just a little bit of feed and a little bit of water, so it becomes kind of soupy). He might find it easier to eat and more enjoyable. It could help him regain some energy.

 

[Amiga]

I read somewhere about the cedar, also.

I would say about the same as TracyLovesDucks.

 

[GardinerFarms]

Conditions are about the same with the "odd duck". We put him-her with the other smallest duck (both black) for last night and let them sleep together. They seemed to get along well together. We added Save-a-chick electrolytes to their water last night-it has lots of stuff in it including niacin. Bedding is cedar shavings. Everyone went outside today-hot day, lots of swimming in the pool and foraging on grass. I saw him-her get into the pool today and swim a bit-ducked his head under and washed. They have gravel they have to cross over to get to the lawn-will that suffice for grit? They have their feed available all day as well as some chopped up cucumber which they seem to relish.

The "odd duck" still stays off by him-herself and doesn't show interest in the feed. Sits/lays 5 or 6' away from the flock. Won't "fight" for food like the cuke pieces, but will eat if hand fed them (not the crumbles though) Still willing to sit in your lap if we had time-not so the others as they wiggle to get down! We did get some cuke and bread bits into him-her last night. Tried some broken up Cheerios this am but that didn't seem to work. Will segregate again tonite with a small friend and see how it goes.

Thanks everyone, looks like the worst is over! I kept the little duck by herself last night, even the other small one wanted to go back with the flock and not stay with her. Kept a light on for warmth. She eagerly ate some tomato and cuke bits this morning with a little multi-flock mix on top (a light coating). I made sure that she had eaten well and then let her return to the flock outdoors. She showed much more vigor today fighting for handouts and wolfed down some cuke bits tonite, ate some crumbles out of hand and drank some water. Thanks again for all of the advice.

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

That's great! Hopefully he continues to progress. What's the word on cedar?

 

[Jen1979]

Hello all

We are extremely new to duck keeping and we just got some Runner Ducklings a week ago. They are almost 4 weeks old now.

I'd like to follow along on this thread because I'm sure I'll pick up lots of tips along the way! As well as seeing all your lovely duck photos!

I don't have many good photos of our ducklings yet, but I will try and get some in the next day or so 3 of them are yellow (at the moment, I assume they'll be turning white) and one is a chocolate brown type colour with white on the chest. We're not sure of sex yet, although the chocolate coloured one I'm sure is just starting to make a quacking noise while the others are still peeping. One other "might" be quacking but it's difficult figuring out who's doing what when they're all so close together!

 

[kss1113]

Hello all! I bought 1 day old Blue Indian Runner Ducks on April 30th. Now that we are into August, I see that I have 8 drakes and only 2 hens. I assume that this is not a good mix and unless I want to keep them separate, I will need to sell a few. So my question is, do I keep 8 drakes and get rid of the hens or do I keep 2 hens and a drake and get rid of the other 7? If I get rid of the 2 hens, will the drakes get along fine?

One other question, what price should I ask for the ducks that I decide to sell?

Thanks,
Kathy

 

[GardinerFarms]

That's great! Hopefully he continues to progress. What's the word on cedar?

Not a problem-a friend of ours just down the road has used it for years without any issues. It is northern white cedar, not the red cedar which repels moths and is used to line chests, boxes, etc.
Had another great day today-outside all day. Ate, drank, swam, and maybe was happy!