What an eggcellent place I've come across!

[Brittny]

Hello from Northern Indiana! I'm a very new very excited mommy to two adorable Khaki Campbell ducklings (fingers crossed that they both are girls) and 10 chickens:
4 Silkies, 2 Bantams, 1 Rhode Island Red (Pullet), 1 ISA Brown(Pullet), 1 Black Australorp and 1 Black Sex Link!! Only two are pullets so I'm super excited to find out what sex the rest are!! This is my 1st go at having a backyard flock. I've done quite a bit of web surfing for info and tips which led me here!!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

Awww....your babies are just adorable! Your ducklings will need water soon so they can clean out their nostrils. Very important with ducks and ducklings. But they will make a huge mess of the brooder for the chicken chicks. So pretty soon you will need to separate the ducklings from the chicken chicks. Chicken chicks contract Coccidiosis from all the wet bedding quite easily.

But they all sure are cutie pies!! Make yourself at home here and if you have any questions, feel free to ask around the forums.

Welcome to our flock!

 

[gander007]

Alright

great to have you joining the BYC flock

You cant go wrong with Kaki Campbell ducks

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Brittny]

[COLOR=333333]Hello there and welcome to BYC! [/COLOR][COLOR=333333] [/COLOR]

Awww....your babies are just adorable! Your ducklings will need water soon so they can clean out their nostrils. Very important with ducks and ducklings. But they will make a huge mess of the brooder for the chicken chicks. So pretty soon you will need to separate the ducklings from the chicken chicks. Chicken chicks contract Coccidiosis from all the wet bedding quite easily. 

But they all sure are cutie pies!! Make yourself at home here and if you have any questions, feel free to ask around the forums. 

Welcome to our flock!

They do have a plastic dish in there with water and the ducks are always sitting in it and splashing around lol you are right they make a big mess of it! I had no idea that it could be harmful to the chicken if the bedding gets wet, how will i know if they have that? I change out the bedding every other day or so. When should i separate them?

 

[TwoCrows]

Quote: Coccidiosis is a protozoa present in all intestinal tracts of all birds. When they poop, they shed these protozoa and eggs in the poop. In wet conditions in the brooder, these things proliferate at biblical proportions and are responsible for so many chicken chick deaths. As a chick ages, their immune systems learn to deal with these tiny livestock and adults are rarely effected unless they somehow become overwhelmed with these protozoa. But a chicks immune system is not yet developed enough to over come these things, and it is very common for chicks between the ages of 2 weeks to 8 weeks to die from this ailment. So it is very very important to keep the brooder as dry as possible. Chicks pick at everything, especially wet stuff. So you would probably do best to get the ducklings out as soon as possible. I raise all babies on wire...the chicks poop falls through the wire to the floor beneath. It is healthy to come into contact with a small amount of poop so they can develop immunity, so wire is perfect...just enough, never too much. But too much poop and they take in too many of these protozoa before their bodies grow immunity.

Chicks with Cocci will withdraw and stop eating and drinking water. They will have diarrhea and many times it will have blood present in the poop. Eventually the bird sits in the corner fluffed up and stops eating. They either starve to death or die from ulcerated intestines.

BUT....if you are using medicated feed, the chances for contracting Cocci are far less. The medication in medicated feed is Amprolium. Amprolium basically is a thiamine blocker. And these protozoa need thiamine to reproduce. So the medicated feed keeps the Cocci's under control. There is not enough Amprolium in medicated feed to treat an outbreak, but it helps to prevent one. If you do use medicated feed, never use any meds like Corid at the same time as you can overdose them with it. You would then need to get your chicks on non medicated feed to use the Corid.

So bottom line, keep your brooder very dry and as clean as possible, shavings out of the waterers as well, and your babies should develop immunity in a couple of months to Cocci and as along as you keep your facilities clean and keep your birds healthy, Cocci should never be a problem as chicks or adults.

All ground contains Cocci as well. Birds become immune to their environment. So when ever you add new birds to new grounds, they become susceptible to many things, including Coccidiosis.

 

[Brittny]

Thank you so much! Im gonna get everything all switched around 1st thing in the morning, hopefully they're all OK.

 

[drumstick diva]

The ducklings look good enough to eat - I meant that in a nice way - I wouldn't eat them they are dolls

 

[TwoCrows]

Thank you so much! Im gonna get everything all switched around 1st thing in the morning, hopefully they're all OK.

I am sure they are all fine. They sure are all cute! Have you thought of any names for them yet? LOL

Enjoy your new babies!

 

[Brittny]

The ducklings look good enough to eat  - I meant that in a nice way -  I wouldn't eat them  they are dolls

hehe I hope they have tasty eggs