Thank you all for your posts. It is nice to know y'all understand. I cleaned everything really good and will be making sure the others have cold water (it usually is cold but I didn't know that was a necessity). They live in our side yard and there aren't any plants other than a couple sunflowers... I could barely handle finding her so my husband buried her for me. He did try to look at her & see what he thought but all he said is it did look like she went peacefully (he has always raised chickens & he compared her to them). I will probably be alert to every little thing with the others for awhile.. They don't really even seem to know one of their own is gone.. This is my first time raising ducks so I wasn't sure how they handle that sort of thing.. Anyways we had done some research on their food and found the best stuff we could at the feed store and also added a vitamin mineral mix to their water.. I sometimes give them treats like tomatoes & lettuce and recently had been giving them mulberries - I always do research before giving them a treat but could it have been one of those things?? The mulberries keep coming to mind bc Danni duck really liked them and was usually front of the line begging for more...I am hesitant to give them any more treats for now..
What is the ACV good for? Is it something you give them regularly or only if something is going on? If so, how much should I give and do I add it to their water?
in excessive heat... colder water is better for ducks than hot water.. so we make sure their wading pools are in the shade.. if they end up in hot water it raises the body temperature a bit too much especially in shallow pans of water with ducklings.. then again I'm in Texas where the water in a tub in full noonday sun can get hot enough to kill fish and to cook ramen (no joking either.. we've done both.. even though the fish were "cooked" accidently)
mulberries can have a laxative effect if large amounts are consumed.. make sure there's no pesticide on them though since the pesticide would be more of an issue than anything else..
Some claim that ACV helps with digestion.. others use it for keeping the "slime" out of the waterers.. with the mother it's claimed to have more of the health benefits that you would associate with raw and fermented foods.. other people claim it's all hogwash.. lol.. but there have been lots of articles done on it and several threads here on BYC.. i use it mainly for chicks that I get shipped in that arrive with pasty butt since it seems to help clear that up a lot faster than not using it.. I'll also add it to the feed when we ferment a new batch... most people don't bother to measure the ACV.. they add a "glug" to the water.. or several if it's a large pan.. depending on how they are feeding some people add it every time they change out the water.. others only use it if there is a specific ailment that they think it will help with. I even know of a few people who swallow a tablespoon of straight ACV with the mother every day themselves for the health benefits and swear by it..
