Sudden duckling death

[Babyquail]

This was quite a while ago, but I hatched my first duckling and was given a duckling that hatched the day after him- hatched by a chicken. I had this electorate baby stuff on a dropper that she recommended to me, and was giving this to both ducklings as they both had odd hatching (My boy was an assist hatch and was stuck in the egg for 50+ hours, and the other had some gross feathers where she didn’t have the proper humidity under a chicken, and the chicken pecked her a bit) The new one was a bit lethargic, meanwhile mine was a bundle of energy she was always sleeping and he would nip her and she wouldn’t even do much. Mine was eating and drinking fine, and she would drink but not eat much, I thought I had fixed it by making her a water-food paste that she ate. On her 4th day of life I was gone for 8 hours , and when I came back she was dead. No warning, and my first ever dead hatchling, I took it hard which is why it’s taken me so long to ask about it. She was laying on top of her food, tilted to one side with her upwards facing eye open and her other only half closed. Never did know what happened to her, she looked for all the world she was sleeping when I came in, but didn’t get up. My other poor baby was upset for days, but is now 8 months old and the sweetest boy ever. Any ideas for what happened to the poor little thing? Sorry for the long story

 

[HollowOfWisps]

If the chicken pecked her my guess is internal bleeding. A single chicken peck to a duckling can be lethal.

 

[ruthhope]

This was quite a while ago, but I hatched my first duckling and was given a duckling that hatched the day after him- hatched by a chicken. I had this electorate baby stuff on a dropper that she recommended to me, and was giving this to both ducklings as they both had odd hatching (My boy was an assist hatch and was stuck in the egg for 50+ hours, and the other had some gross feathers where she didn’t have the proper humidity under a chicken, and the chicken pecked her a bit) The new one was a bit lethargic, meanwhile mine was a bundle of energy she was always sleeping and he would nip her and she wouldn’t even do much. Mine was eating and drinking fine, and she would drink but not eat much, I thought I had fixed it by making her a water-food paste that she ate. On her 4th day of life I was gone for 8 hours , and when I came back she was dead. No warning, and my first ever dead hatchling, I took it hard which is why it’s taken me so long to ask about it. She was laying on top of her food, tilted to one side with her upwards facing eye open and her other only half closed. Never did know what happened to her, she looked for all the world she was sleeping when I came in, but didn’t get up. My other poor baby was upset for days, but is now 8 months old and the sweetest boy ever. Any ideas for what happened to the poor little thing? Sorry for the long story

Sorry for your loss, @Babyquail. I feel your pain. I would be in tears at the loss of a little fluffie.

I agree that internal bleeding from being pecked by the hen or from the difficult hatch is a likely cause of the little one's death.

I am so glad that the one you hatched is doing well.

 

[Babyquail]

Sorry for your loss, @Babyquail. I feel your pain. I would be in tears at the loss of a little fluffie.

I agree that internal bleeding from being pecked by the hen or from the difficult hatch is a likely cause of the little one's death.

I am so glad that the one you hatched is doing well.

Yeah, I had been told that the chicken might have tried to help her out of the egg and hurt her- I asked because she had a dent and was missing a few head feathers and it was sticky, and it never went away. Could it still be internal bleeding even though she died 3 days later?

 

[ruthhope]

Yeah, I had been told that the chicken might have tried to help her out of the egg and hurt her- I asked because she had a dent and was missing a few head feathers and it was sticky, and it never went away. Could it still be internal bleeding even though she died 3 days later?

Yes, I think so

 

[Isadora]

It could have been an internal injury but sometimes ducklings pass away for reasons unknown.
It's a sad part of raising chicks and other babies.