Sickly ducklings

[Ducktown]

Pond is not natural, it's artificial made out of swimming pool. It will need complete renovation, possibly this winter. We don't have snapping turtles in Europe, well, we have Red-eared slider turtles that are invasive species, but they should not be a threat. I also doubt they would find the pond.

They want to walk into the house. They go zombie style, they walk very slowly and completely synchronized - not the following mode when they follow me, but the army marching way. So funny! I really need to start placing them into their duck house. It's still cold outside during the night (+13°C) and the small ducks are not in their best shape yet, so I'm afraid to leave them outside. I guess they should be OK, but I'll rather wait for the temperature to reach at least 15°C. During the day it's hot. Forecast says we'll be baking at 34°C. They hardly leave the pond now.

They have bonded instantly, I could hardly believed that. I was afraid my duck will be too spoiled and bonded with me, because it was over 3 weeks old, when she got company of ducklings. She bonded right away.

 

[Miss Lydia]

They sound adorable and very typical of Runners mine do everything as one they are a hoot.

Good idea to wait until feathering is complete before leaving them in their duck house over night shouldn't take too long.

Your pond from here sure looks like a natural pond

 

[Ducktown]

They gave me hard time last night. I tried to get them to leave the pond until like 11PM. Finally they decided they would like to go to sleep, but I couldn't get them into the fence to catch them and place them into their box. I decided to just take them into their house (I need to finish the doors) instead, but it ended up at least as hard. It seems any material is slippery for them because I've raised the coop too much. Anyway... They were OK in the morning, they all happily jumped out and marched into the pond.
Tonight, we are having T-storms and they needed to go in earlier. I prepared them a new entrance which is good enough for them to go in and out. I stacked a pile of straw in front of the doors. They were able to get in, but they were stupid enough to run out into the rain again. Then they looked miserable and searched for some shitty cover. I had to catch my duckling and place her inside. She and one of the black ducklings was smart enough to stay inside. After that I just lured the remaining two inside with food tray. They immediately laid down comfortably. Hopefully they figured it out for the next time,...

Temperatures will go up to 35°C during the day and 20°C during the night. I think there's no risk of any chill - they are in not so warm water inside the pond practically whole day and they don't complain at all. They are starting to get hot though! Pond is exposed to sun and they don't want to search the deep shade 2 meters away, they rather go into half shade with better view over the pond.

The grain consumption went up considerably. I have a feeling they don't get as much food from the pond as they did the first couple of days. Hopefully the rain will wake up the slugs.

One other thing I have noticed about the small black aggressive duckling. He doesn't drink when he eats. He just eats as much as he physically can and only then goes towards the water to splash the food down. All other ducklings eat normally and I'm sure in the end, they eat a lot more than this duckling that almost suffocates every time he eats.

The white duckling is now the one that comes towards me every time and the large black duckling (I suspect he's a drake) is usually right behind her. My duckling is a bit less interested in me now, she waits inside the pond, I have hard time calling her now, even with treats or food tray. She thinks she's the boss.

 

[Miss Lydia]

You are learning their personalities and they are learning yours. lol
Would have loved to see your efforts on video.

Ducks do herd very well so if you have to tread into the water to get behind them and get them locked up that may be one solution. Have any wadding boots?

 

[Ducktown]

The white duckling which became the largest and the most hungry of the three additional ducklings passed away tonight. It seems she had found a slug that was too large for her and she suffocated. I have seen her opening her bill, but since they all do that often, I thought she will just get it down the throat that way. She hid herself into some plants and when I looked a minute or so later, she was gone. She was the best..

 

[Miss Lydia]

I am so sorry to hear this. I have heard of this before and the slime they can produce also. Such heart break.

 

[Ducktown]

I'm not sure what caused the ducklings to appear sick again, but I guess it can be stress because they miss the white duckling that passed last evening. She had high rank and was second largest with great appetite which made her follow me and lead other ducks anywhere I wanted. I have had more problems now.

Ducklings were not nearly as much in the water as they used to be. Only a few hours max. compared to 7 hours or more. They were laying in the shade hardly moving. Every now and then, they came and protested if they didn't have any food left in the tray. They usually didn't because anything they leave inside gets eaten by crows. They were walking slowly tonight and I have noticed the small duckling is having difficulty walking and especially - running. His feet are moving outwards, almost carton-like running. I have had a feeling that in the evening, the problem faded out a bit and they even followed me around for a while. I brought them nicely chopped slugs and snails and took them to a grass patch full of grasshoppers and compost pile covered with grass clippings that is filled with pill bugs. They ate hundreds, so they still have appetite.

When it was time to go into their house, they didn't object, but the large duckling made a walk around the coop, just as she was checking if the white duck was still around somewhere. I hope they make it. They were really depressed tonight and had none of the energy I've seen before. Sadly, I can't check the legs of the small duckling, he doesn't trust me and if I merely touch him, he becomes suspicious for the next couple of days. I'll need to work on him some more.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Heat will cause them to lay around more are you very hot. Mine have been laying in the shade a lot today. They have their morning romps looking for bugs etc then when the sun is straight up and it's hot they lay low.

I hope they soon get over the loss it's hard on them to experience things like this. They really don't like change. Now another will have to step up and be the leader. If you can find Nutritional yeast or Brewers yeast you might add some to their feed it's a really good source of niacin and it can be a def in some ducklings and cause leg trouble.

1 Tab per cup of feed is the rec dose.

 

[Ducktown]

They should get enough in all the critters they eat. Besides, they are in their 5th week, isn't the niacin deficiency a problem in their early development, when they are like one or two weeks old?
My duckling is still the boss, she's nicely feathering up too. The white one was not as frightened as other two ducklings and it often didn't wait for the large duck to lead the way, instead she went for her treats and foraging, bringing all the other ducklings with her.

I was also thinking it might be heat related. It was 34°C again and It sure could cause them to become heat stressed. Morning temperature was also relatively high, 24°C.
I would expect them to hit the water during the heat though. It will cool off a bit in a few days. Down to 30°C

 

[Brews]

Are they different breeds?