What’s wrong with my baby Muscovy ducks?

[AmericanamamaNC]

We had 3 little Muscovies since they were a day old. Everything was fine until a few days ago. All 3 were up and playing in the morning when my husband checked on them. I went out about dinner time and Ezra was all laid out and had died. No possibility of predators. Sprinkles, the smallest had foamy eye so we brought her inside and put fresh water out for them to wash up in. No eye problems since. We think Sprinkles is a girl and Taffy a boy as “he’s” noticeably bigger than Sprinkles. Forward to today. Sprinkles seems to have trouble walking, falls over, head is droopy off to the side. Got them both to eat some mealworms, more feed than they have been and drank plenty. Thought all was going well. I’d been to the coop this morning, again after lunch and then went out late afternoon and thought a Sprinkles was dead as she was laying on her side and not moving. Me getting the cage open woke her up. Brought both inside and laid them on my chest, nuzzled under my chin for several hours. We suspected maybe they are stressed as they are in a cage inside the chicken coop with nine, 21 week hens who are laying and noisy. They settled right down and went to sleep. After a few hours, I put out fresh water and fed them mealworms and feed (We add brewers yeast to our feed too) Taffy acts completely fine, runs around in the box I have them in now. Sprinkles acts like she’s trying to rally around but I am so scared I’ll lose her overnight. Any help greatly appreciated. We are completely attached to these sweet babies and can’t stand losing another one.

 

[Isaac 0]

Welcome to BYC.

Very sorry for your loss. I realize it's the last thing you're thinking of when it happens, but if you do lose another one, the best thing to do would be to wrap the duckling up, and set her in the fridge. This will preserve her body until she can be sent off your state veterinary lab. Most states only charge a minimal fee, and most of the time, you can get confirmation on what actually happened.

Could you post a video of the ducklings? To upload a video here, you'll need to upload it to a video platform like Yotube or Vimeo, then copy/paste the link here. Could you post a few pictures of you're setup? What are you feeding them?

 

[AngelaY]

How old are the ducklings? The chickens might have been trying to incorporate them in the pecking order and killed Ezra as a result. Another idea, do you have smoke in your area? There's lots of wild fire smoke where I live and I put my little flock in the basement because so many other people were posting about the smoke killing their birds... either way I'd definitely keep those two in the house.

 

[AmericanamamaNC]

Thank you for your kindness. We have a nice size shed we made into our coop for our chickens. My husband added a window for ventilation and I’m kind of obsessive about keeping it clean as I have allergies and want to be able to go in there without sneezing and wheezing. The folks at our local feed and grain suggested we keep the ducklings in a cage inside the coop so all the birds could get used to each other but in a safe way where the hens can’t get to the ducklings. We are using the cage we kept the chicks in when they were little and it sits upon a bench inside the shed so it isn’t on the ground. The chickens are outside most of the day in a large fenced run but have access to the inside of the coop to lay eggs, eat, drink, roost etc. We still have a red bulb heat lamp in the corner near the duckies cage but have it far enough away that it doesn’t get too hot. We’re in NC and temps have been pretty hot so we had switched to just a normal bulb for light in the coop, but resume using the heat bulb on several rainy days with lower temps. I use pine shavings for bedding and I’m diligent about removing any soiled or wet areas so they don’t get cold or sick. They have been eating Bartlett Milling Game Bird feed and I bought some brewers yeast to add in after we lost one duckling, thinking maybe they were missing some nutrients. Today the girl at feed and grain suggested I give them some mealworms which they seemed to enjoy and ended up eating more of their feed today too. We have a water bottle next to their food owl and I clean and replace the water once or twice a day. I also provide a bowl of water that is a little deeper several times a day for them to clean their faces etc. I have them inside the house with us tonight in a box and they are snuggled up together and are sleeping currently. I’m scared to go to bed for fear Sprinkles won’t survive. Am I missing something? I didn’t anticipate any problems since we’ve done so well with our chickens.

 

[AmericanamamaNC]

How old are the ducklings? The chickens might have been trying to incorporate them in the pecking order and killed Ezra as a result. Another idea, do you have smoke in your area? There's lots of wild fire smoke where I live and I put my little flock in the basement because so many other people were posting about the smoke killing their birds... either way I'd definitely keep those two in the house.

The duckies are in a cage that is protected from the chickens. I wounding dare set them loose with the chickens until they are much bigger. We are in NC so not near the fires. Keeping them inside tonight for sure. They are chirping right now and seem ok, snuggling. The little one in the left is Sprinkles who we suspect is a girl as she is smaller

 

[AngelaY]

Oh they're so cute! Their names suit them very well. that is a very significant size difference but I'm not sure if that has much to do with their gender though, my Male duck was actually smaller than my female was when they were babies. They were different breeds though...

And while it's better to keep eyes on them, sleep is important too, it's harder to trouble shoot possible problems if you're tired out of your mind... do you have someone there who would be willing to take shifts with you?
(also I didn't mean to imply that you just threw them in with the chickens, I'm sorry if it sounded like I was, ...)

 

[AmericanamamaNC]

Oh they're so cute! Their names suit them very well. that is a very significant size difference but I'm not sure if that has much to do with their gender though, my Male duck was actually smaller than my female was when they were babies. They were different breeds though...

And while it's better to keep eyes on them, sleep is important too, it's harder to trouble shoot possible problems if you're tired out of your mind... do you have someone there who would be willing to take shifts with you?
(also I didn't mean to imply that you just threw them in with the chickens, I'm sorry if it sounded like I was, ...)

I didn’t think you meant that. I’ve heard of some people doing that. Had we got them at the exact same time, maybe. But it’s like I’d like when your “baby” is 3 when your second child comes along. That “baby” still seemed so little until compared to the new baby. Same with our chickens vs the ducks. The chickens seem like giant prehistoric creatures compared to our tiny, fuzzy ducklings. I’be put the ducklings in a box for tonight that I will keep in our room. Hubby got into something he was terribly allergic to while mowing our fields and is knocked out on antihistamines tonight lol. I figure I’ll just have a little throw back to when my kids were babies and get up every hour or two to peel in the box and make sure Sprinkles is ok. I’ll update in the morning. They both ate well and drank lots just a little bit ago so I’m hoping that helps. Seems like they’re settling down for a rest. They are snuggled up and other than an occasional chirp from Taffy, pretty quiet. Thanks so much for all your help. I appreciate you taking the time to reply to my post.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

Keep us posted of how the ducklings do.

 

[AmericanamamaNC]

We’ve brought them in the house and they seem to be doing better. I ground up mealworms, oats and pumpkin seeds and added those as well as brewers yeast to their feed to make sure they’re getting enough protein and added niacin. I think Sprinkles had a niacin deficit based on what I’ve read and how she acted. Her legs are getting stronger each day and she is much more stable when she walks, but not quite as good as Taffy. Because they are inside now, I can confirm they are eating and drinking well as I put them in a towel lined laundry basket to feed them several times a day. They are drinking lots each time and I put a pinch of probiotic and electrolyte stuff in their water, once every other day. When I think they’re done eating, I rinse the water bowl and fill with clean water so they can clear everything out. My only concern is their poops are still watery but I’m seeing some firmer bits each day so I think I’m on the right track. They chirp loudly when they want my attention or if they are separated, like when I’m drying one off after eating/drinking (they are super messy and flung food and water everywhere! Lol) and they can’t see each other for a minute. We wondered if they were missing Ezra as they were used to a duck pile of 3. We bought a small, very soft stuffed animal and put it in their box but it seemed to scare them so we removed it. Just reintroduced and they’re snuggling it.

Today, my husband is going to get a big, clear Rubbermaid tub to move them to so they can see out. Also, I will probably introduce their water and food at one end and pine chip bedding at the other end hoping they can eat on demand but I will be in the house with them and can monitor their consumption, unlike when they were in a cage in the coop. They made such a mess in there it was hard to tell how much they had eaten/drank because they slopped it into the pine chips. Definitely a learning curve that is much different from the chickens. They are very affectionate and I believe they have imprinted with me as I can talk to them and they’ll calm down and they want me to hold them and they nuzzle up under my neck. I’m loving having “babies” to look after. My baby just turned 18 this summer so it’s been awhile

 

[AngelaY]

Awww, they're ADORABLE! I love them. I'm so glad that sprinkles got better!