One of my hens died last night. She was not killed by an animal.
I've had 15 ducks for about a year.
They are a few different breeds but were mostly raised together and they all get along.
We've been getting one egg a day from pretty much all nine females, but they lay wherever they want so I don't know which is laid by which duck, and who missed a day or two or whatever.
The past couple weeks, one hen, a fawn runner duck, started to keep to herself a lot. She slept a little bit away from the others in the barn, and during the day she often foraged alone (they have free reign of our 3 acres).
I think she had some diarrhea, and she started moving much more slowly, but was still wandering around the yard.
Her feathers all looked fine, and she seemed a fine weight. I've never had a sick duck before though, so I'm not even sure what to look for.
Last night she died while sleeping in the barn.
None of the other ducks seem sick in any way.
Any thoughts on what caused this one to die, and if it may effect the other ducks? Anything different I should be doing to make sure the other ducks don't get sick too?
Also, do I need to be worries about the eggs we're getting? Are they all healthy and edible as long as they look normal and we wash them?
Thank you for any help.
I've had 15 ducks for about a year.
They are a few different breeds but were mostly raised together and they all get along.
We've been getting one egg a day from pretty much all nine females, but they lay wherever they want so I don't know which is laid by which duck, and who missed a day or two or whatever.
The past couple weeks, one hen, a fawn runner duck, started to keep to herself a lot. She slept a little bit away from the others in the barn, and during the day she often foraged alone (they have free reign of our 3 acres).
I think she had some diarrhea, and she started moving much more slowly, but was still wandering around the yard.
Her feathers all looked fine, and she seemed a fine weight. I've never had a sick duck before though, so I'm not even sure what to look for.
Last night she died while sleeping in the barn.
None of the other ducks seem sick in any way.
Any thoughts on what caused this one to die, and if it may effect the other ducks? Anything different I should be doing to make sure the other ducks don't get sick too?
Also, do I need to be worries about the eggs we're getting? Are they all healthy and edible as long as they look normal and we wash them?
Thank you for any help.
