What is up with my baby ducks????

[xfilesnumber1fan]

I have also been told only non medicated feed because ducks eat so much more than chicks so the ducks get way to much medication

 

[taras.farm]

Apple cider vin...is good. Can hwlp to keep all in nice condition and digestion great. Good advice.
As for meds...If your really worried about them getting too much(and I've never had issues) Cut it with something else...The feed will be eaten...duckies eat lots more than laying chicks! That is unless you have only one...which isn't recommended...Always have 2 +
QUACK!

 

[DuckLady]

Any updates?

 

[chicks rule]

Quote:
Well the one is hanging in there, waiting on some buddies to hatch so he'll have friends of his own. I did go and get a feed pan for him to play in, after he eats I let him play in the water for a bit, thinking that maybe after they were eating they weren't getting their bills cleaned out or something? Other than that so far so good with this one

 

[MDC]

You can go to www.duckhealth.com to see if their symptoms match anything listed there. Ducks are very susceptible to botulism and west nile, they can also get something called duck viral enteritis.

Actually, it might be this first one...

From the above mentioned website:

Duck Virus hepatitis
Duck virus hepatitis is a highly fatal contagious disease of young ducklings, 1-28 days of age. Ducklings are most susceptible at the younger ages and gradually become more resistant as they grow older. The disease is rarely seen in ducklings over 4 weeks of age. The onset of the disease is very rapid, it spreads quickly through the flock and may cause up to 90% mortality. Sick ducklings develop spasmodic contractions of their legs and die within an hour in a typical "arched-backward" position. The liver is enlarged and shows hemorrhagic spots. To prevent this disease, keep age groups isolated and vaccinate breeder ducks with an attenuated live virus duck hepatitis vaccine (to produce maternally immune ducklings).

Duck Plague (Duck Virus Enteritis)
Duck virus enteritis is an acute, contagious, highly fatal disease of waterfowl caused by a herpes virus. This disease is most likely to affect mature ducks, but is also seen in young ducks. Affected birds show sluggishness, ruffled feathers, greenish-yellow diarrhea that is sometime blood-stained. Dead birds often have blood-stained feathers around the vent and blood dripping from the nostrils. Hemorrhages may be found in tissues throughout the body. Eruptive lesions of the mucous lining of the esophagus and intestine are characteristic signs of the disease. Necrotic plaques may be observed in the cloaca. Regular immunization of breeder ducks with an attenuated live duck virus enteritis vaccine provides adequate protection.

Are the two feeds you've bought from the same manufacturer? It could be something in the feed (remember all the nasty grain we've bought from China in recent years?!?)

If it is a niacin deficiency, there should be symptoms long before death. "Ducks and turkeys with a niacin deficiency show a severe bowing of the legs and an enlargement of the hock joint." Quote from the Merck Veterinary Manual.

I have never personally seen a case of niacin deficiency but then again my birds usually get more than just a commercial ration in their diet.​