*~*Runner Duck Club*~*

[Frindizzle]

Some ducks develop spots on their bills - I think I recall someone writing it can be hormonal.

My runners have mood-ring bills. Sometimes the highlights of their black bills are green (and they tend to be more grumpy). Sometimes they are blue (and they seem more mellow). The highlights change color over time. So Zehn may have green highlights, then a month later, blue.

That's neat.

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

My 5 1/2 month old Runners. Jace and Jae Jae.
Jae Jae our female.
Jace our Drake

Oh yay! They are looking so good Thanks for the updated pictures!

Like Amiga said, the spots are normal. My fawn and white (orange bill) females went through the same thing... right now one of their beaks is mostly green and the other has brown spots. It keeps changing, fades slightly then comes back, and so on. It's how I tell the difference between the two though, the color and concentration of spots.

Amiga, that's pretty amazing that you've been able to correlate the changes with mood! I'm going to see if I can notice a trend with my ducks! (Man, I wish I had a signal like that... then my hormonal mood swings wouldn't surprise me so bad and anyone around me could be forewarned

!!!)

I do not believe drakes get these spots (mine haven't yet). So Jace's bill will stay orange.

 

[FairyChicken]

I have a question and would love some help please!
As you know, I have two Runner ducklings, who are already getting full-fledged adult feathers! Exciting! But today, I noticed my larger of the two, Athena, seems a bit flat? It was slight at the most, since it appears only I noticed, and Artemis was her usual bubbly, messy self, so in contrast, Athena seemed like she was extremely tired. They both have eaten today, but Artemis is always piggy and eats everything you throw at her, so naturally, I have to distract her with something while I give Athena her food, and even then, she never eats as much. But today, she would sort of pick at some peas I had, but then when she stuck her face in the water and look as if she were about to eat it, she'd just drop it. This is PEAS we're talking about - she, they, both love peas!
Later on, when they were in their clam having a swim, Artemis was going crazy, playing and being generally silly, and Athena didn't even seem like she felt like bathing. She would look like she was 'forcing' herself just to do it once or twice. So I took her aside in the pond, and managed to get her to eat some baby crumble and have her swallow it when she took a drink, but other than that, she's just seemed a bit flat. Could she have eaten something poisonous in the garden? Should I put some sugar or electrolytes in her water, I'm just not sure what to think about it. I'd rather overthink than underthink, if you get what I mean. They both come inside at night still, so I'll monitor her to see if she perks up, but I don't want this to be a sort of 'leave her overnight and wake up and she's sicker' deal - or worse, dead! I mean, she still follows me around and Artemis too, but I just feel like she feels a bit off. It might blow over - she might poop out whatever is the problem, but I'd like to take whatever precautions possible.
Thanks! - You can probably tell, first time duck owner!

 

[Amiga]

I have a question and would love some help please!
As you know, I have two Runner ducklings, who are already getting full-fledged adult feathers! Exciting! But today, I noticed my larger of the two, Athena, seems a bit flat? It was slight at the most, since it appears only I noticed, and Artemis was her usual bubbly, messy self, so in contrast, Athena seemed like she was extremely tired. They both have eaten today, but Artemis is always piggy and eats everything you throw at her, so naturally, I have to distract her with something while I give Athena her food, and even then, she never eats as much. But today, she would sort of pick at some peas I had, but then when she stuck her face in the water and look as if she were about to eat it, she'd just drop it. This is PEAS we're talking about - she, they, both love peas!
Later on, when they were in their clam having a swim, Artemis was going crazy, playing and being generally silly, and Athena didn't even seem like she felt like bathing. She would look like she was 'forcing' herself just to do it once or twice. So I took her aside in the pond, and managed to get her to eat some baby crumble and have her swallow it when she took a drink, but other than that, she's just seemed a bit flat. Could she have eaten something poisonous in the garden? Should I put some sugar or electrolytes in her water, I'm just not sure what to think about it. I'd rather overthink than underthink, if you get what I mean. They both come inside at night still, so I'll monitor her to see if she perks up, but I don't want this to be a sort of 'leave her overnight and wake up and she's sicker' deal - or worse, dead! I mean, she still follows me around and Artemis too, but I just feel like she feels a bit off. It might blow over - she might poop out whatever is the problem, but I'd like to take whatever precautions possible. 
Thanks! - You can probably tell, first time duck owner!

Ducklings need food with water 24/7 their first 8 weeks. Sounds like you are doing something different than that. She may not be getting enough to eat.

It is possible she has eaten something toxic. There are flushes, but it is critical that we know she has been getting enough to eat.

Another possibility is infection and that would need antibiotics. Those are available at feed stores.

Can you get her to a vet?

 

[FairyChicken]

Hi Amiga!

I'm extremely insistent on there being water everywhere they go - they have two in their pen that are filled up all the time, and when they go outside they have another water dish as well as a clam to swim in. I've been feeding them baby pellets and peas as treats, and they like to go out in the garden and forage everyday - our chickens wander freely in it, and have never eaten anything toxic, but I don't know about ducks. We don't have any accessible vegetable gardens growing the things that were listed as toxic to ducks. So the only way I could see her not getting enough water is if she simply refuses to drink, but I haven't noticed any real difference in her drinking, only her eating and general mood, and that's only been today. I just convinced her to have about a handful of baby crumble with a couple drinks, and she obliged, but again, Artemis had twice that amount or more!

What sort of infection could she have? They've been predominantly house ducks, and even when they go into the garden we're never more than 4 steps from them. Could it just be her tendency to be quieter than Artemis? I've heard that's not unusual for Runner Ducks, its just been since this afternoon that she seemed, well, sleepier and not wanting to really join in. I brought her into my room and she had a sleep on my bed next to me - all her poos look normal and she isn't breathing unusually. She is easier to catch, which was another worry, since she's the jumpy one who prefers slow movement. Should I separate her and Artemis for tonight, or would she be better off together? I can't tell if I'm overreacting, or if there's something actually off with her - if ducks eat food they don't agree with, do they usually flush it out?

Edit - they have a constant supply of food, it's just when I give them treats like peas, I had to distract Artemis so Athena got some.

 

[Amiga]

I think it's reasonable to get antsy about ducklings - they can hide illness for a long time. At the same time, this could just be an off phase.

Ducks do not just flush toxins automatically, though things do move pretty quickly through them. A safe thing to do would be to add a teaspoon of food grade activated charcoal powder (available at many drugstores, or health food stores or supplement stores…) to a quart of water for her to sip from overnight.

You mention her always having water. Is there food always out nearby?

 

[FairyChicken]

We already have some of that charcoal powder, I just went and looked, so I'll add that! Yep, there's always a dish of duckling pellets/crumble there for them, and I clean it out and refill it a few times a day so its not old and its always full. They get peas too, but they are just hand fed a couple times a day. They also like the chicken seed if our hens haven't eaten it all - but the guy at the feed store said that was fine for ducks and they wouldn't eat if if they didn't like it. I've been watching her for the last hour, an she's still drinking. I'm hoping it's just an off day for her. She did just put her self to bed as I typed this, while Artemis is still at the water and feed, so maybe she just needs to rest? I don't know if resting is a sign of self-healing, or a larger problem?

 

[Kissia]

Thank you all for the information about spots on the bills. I was a little worried until I read everything you guys posted!! You guys are a really great source of information for new owners!!

 

[fowlman01]

It is not unusual for female ducks of many breeds to have dark specks on their bills. They many times will also have dark marks on their feet and legs.

Walt

 

[tabby15]

I am looking for some advice on my runners. I have four females and one male. Until end of July I was getting 2-3 eggs a day, sometimes 4. Towards end of August they slowed though still getting 2 a day. Then in September they were all moulting - though some finished earlier than others. However I am now only getting one egg a day, sometimes not even that.
I feed them on layer pellets and wheat mixed. I upped the proportion of layer pellets but no change. They have plenty of grit, oyster shell and water.
Any ideas? I don't really understand how one can be laying I.e. Getting everything she needs, and the others not.

Edit - the ducks are between 18 months and 30 months