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Thanks for the information! I talked to another breeder here by me and he has everything I need and who to contact! Of course he suggested waiting till we got our Turkey problem fixed! Some of them bless there hearts look like their heads are going to explode! We have them on antibotics but it doesn't seem to be helping. They are far away from my waterfowl though so I dont worry about them.
next question: What would be the difference between an aviary like I have (for wood ducks, teals, NA american birds) and once for Sea Ducks! I see in my future.. next year another aviary for things like Eiders and Herlequins.
Suggestions are places to research?
sounds like your turkeys have mycoplasma gallepsum (chronic respiratory disease) very common this time of year, especially in turkeys. It is VERY contagious and never goes away, it will be carried by them forever once they have it, and they will continue to spread it to other birds, even when they show no more signs of it, it is also passed from mother to egg. Dont know how susceptible waterfowl is to it though, never heard of them with it, mainly upland birds and chickens, but still a good idea to keep them away.
MG is one of the diseases the NPIP can test for, not required for certification, but is required for shipping into a number of states. Signs of it are swollen head especially around the eyes. Crusty, eyes, snotty nose, sneezing, head shaking, etc. No meds will fix it, it just has to run it's course, usually 2-3 weeks, then they will, LOOK fine, but like I said, still be carriers of it. If you want to be sure if that's it, they can test for it. No I wouldnt have them test either while they were sick though, LOL
Hopefully that's not the problem.
now for the waterfowl part.
The main difference in a sea duck over puddle duck aviary is water water water! More surface area of water is best, these birds spend most of their life on the water, not much for walking. Eiders are huge and somewhat clumsy on land, still get around fine, but they are more flyers and swimmer than walkers. Also depth of the ponds, where 12 inches is good for puddle ducks, a all sea duck pen should be no less than 3 foot in pond depth. I would suggest 3 foot deep and as much surface area as possible , still with plenty of nesting areas though, aside from merganser, old squaw and harlequins, all the others are ground nesters.
Water quality is essential too. Running, flowing water is preferred to standing water. Green or brown muddy water is a major no no with these. They will get sick, or over preen their breast to the point of being bald in the chest area. They are use to living on open ocean where there is always fresh, clean water.
As for feed, I usually dont suggest Mazuri as it's just over priced Purina is all, but they do make a sea duck diet, which would be beneficial to them, along with the mandatory catfish food too.
Pen ground should be very clean too, do not allow poop to build up. When cleaning the enclosure, be sure to spray everything down with bleach, especially the pond walls when draining it. Sand and rocks are good aesthetic things to keep in the pens. I used rock piles around the ponds and sand about 10 foot out all around each pond. This helps keep the ponds cleaner, as the sand and rock help clean their feet as the walk back and forth. Also looks good, and simulates their natural coastal environments. Drift wood and logs go a long way too, and gives them stuff to play around and perch on.
All this being said, now you can understand why all true sea ducks are over a grand per pair!! Oh yeah, be prepared for that too LOL, old squaw $1500, king eider $3000, harlequins $3000- $5000, red breasted merganser $800 (the cheapest) common eider $800- $1000, steller and spectacled eider, if you can find them $4000+, Scoters are all in the $1500 range. Arnold Schouten in Washington state is the best keep in North America of all these. Sea ducks are his main focus, he is actually the one responsible for them being in captivity. A few others have them, but they are all from his offspring, so I would go straight to the main source for them, no one in this world knows more about them that he does.
Good luck with them, let me know if you need any contact info on them
Thanks for the information! I talked to another breeder here by me and he has everything I need and who to contact! Of course he suggested waiting till we got our Turkey problem fixed! Some of them bless there hearts look like their heads are going to explode! We have them on antibotics but it doesn't seem to be helping. They are far away from my waterfowl though so I dont worry about them.
next question: What would be the difference between an aviary like I have (for wood ducks, teals, NA american birds) and once for Sea Ducks! I see in my future.. next year another aviary for things like Eiders and Herlequins.
Suggestions are places to research?
sounds like your turkeys have mycoplasma gallepsum (chronic respiratory disease) very common this time of year, especially in turkeys. It is VERY contagious and never goes away, it will be carried by them forever once they have it, and they will continue to spread it to other birds, even when they show no more signs of it, it is also passed from mother to egg. Dont know how susceptible waterfowl is to it though, never heard of them with it, mainly upland birds and chickens, but still a good idea to keep them away.
MG is one of the diseases the NPIP can test for, not required for certification, but is required for shipping into a number of states. Signs of it are swollen head especially around the eyes. Crusty, eyes, snotty nose, sneezing, head shaking, etc. No meds will fix it, it just has to run it's course, usually 2-3 weeks, then they will, LOOK fine, but like I said, still be carriers of it. If you want to be sure if that's it, they can test for it. No I wouldnt have them test either while they were sick though, LOL
Hopefully that's not the problem.
now for the waterfowl part.
The main difference in a sea duck over puddle duck aviary is water water water! More surface area of water is best, these birds spend most of their life on the water, not much for walking. Eiders are huge and somewhat clumsy on land, still get around fine, but they are more flyers and swimmer than walkers. Also depth of the ponds, where 12 inches is good for puddle ducks, a all sea duck pen should be no less than 3 foot in pond depth. I would suggest 3 foot deep and as much surface area as possible , still with plenty of nesting areas though, aside from merganser, old squaw and harlequins, all the others are ground nesters.
Water quality is essential too. Running, flowing water is preferred to standing water. Green or brown muddy water is a major no no with these. They will get sick, or over preen their breast to the point of being bald in the chest area. They are use to living on open ocean where there is always fresh, clean water.
As for feed, I usually dont suggest Mazuri as it's just over priced Purina is all, but they do make a sea duck diet, which would be beneficial to them, along with the mandatory catfish food too.
Pen ground should be very clean too, do not allow poop to build up. When cleaning the enclosure, be sure to spray everything down with bleach, especially the pond walls when draining it. Sand and rocks are good aesthetic things to keep in the pens. I used rock piles around the ponds and sand about 10 foot out all around each pond. This helps keep the ponds cleaner, as the sand and rock help clean their feet as the walk back and forth. Also looks good, and simulates their natural coastal environments. Drift wood and logs go a long way too, and gives them stuff to play around and perch on.
All this being said, now you can understand why all true sea ducks are over a grand per pair!! Oh yeah, be prepared for that too LOL, old squaw $1500, king eider $3000, harlequins $3000- $5000, red breasted merganser $800 (the cheapest) common eider $800- $1000, steller and spectacled eider, if you can find them $4000+, Scoters are all in the $1500 range. Arnold Schouten in Washington state is the best keep in North America of all these. Sea ducks are his main focus, he is actually the one responsible for them being in captivity. A few others have them, but they are all from his offspring, so I would go straight to the main source for them, no one in this world knows more about them that he does.
Good luck with them, let me know if you need any contact info on them
