What is wrong?

sydneysindey25

In the Brooder
Apr 24, 2018
11
16
26
Hi there!!! I'm new to raising ducklings. I bought a pair of baby ducklings last month and one died after a heavy injury in one of his legs since he jumped off from a certain height. Just because the other one was alone, I bought another pair . The former was happy to have company but within two days both the latter died . I really don't know what the reason was because before their death, the place under their eyes turned yellow making the ducklings weak. Now since one of the duckling I bought first was alone again, I bought another pair two days ago. They were healthy when they came home but today I'm really shocked to find one among the new ones to be weak...not really weak, but he is not active like he was the day before. He quaks a little , runs and even drinks some water but is not actives like yesterday. What might be the problem ?
 
Young ducklings are very susceptible to stress & if they get stressed it can kill them, if not caught quickly. Theres a lot of ways they can get stressed when very young. It would help to figure out the problem if you describe more details about how you are keeping them. Ducklings, like chicks, need to be kept quite warm for the 1st week especially. Do you have a heat lamp set up for them? Are they inside or out? When you found the dead ones, what was their condition? It's also tempting to give them a large pan of water to play in, b/c they love it so much; but they can get soaked & chilled very quickly & die. I never leave ducks under 2 weeks old unattended with water that they can get into for that reason. Also, smaller ducklings can be smothered & suffocated by larger ones, so it's good to keep a close eye on them for a few days, if there's an obvious size difference. Those are some of the most common reasons baby ducks don't make it, in my experience. However, there's lots of other less common reasons, such as poisoning, nutrient deficiencies, bullying, predators, etc, so knowing more details of their housing & living situation would help a lot.
 
Young ducklings are very susceptible to stress & if they get stressed it can kill them, if not caught quickly. Theres a lot of ways they can get stressed when very young. It would help to figure out the problem if you describe more details about how you are keeping them. Ducklings, like chicks, need to be kept quite warm for the 1st week especially. Do you have a heat lamp set up for them? Are they inside or out? When you found the dead ones, what was their condition? It's also tempting to give them a large pan of water to play in, b/c they love it so much; but they can get soaked & chilled very quickly & die. I never leave ducks under 2 weeks old unattended with water that they can get into for that reason. Also, smaller ducklings can be smothered & suffocated by larger ones, so it's good to keep a close eye on them for a few days, if there's an obvious size difference. Those are some of the most common reasons baby ducks don't make it, in my experience. However, there's lots of other less common reasons, such as poisoning, nutrient deficiencies, bullying, predators, etc, so knowing more details of their housing & living situation would help a lot.

HI!! WHAT KIND OF STRESS ARE THEY SUSCEPTIBLE TO? MY DUCKLINGS ARE AROUND FIVE WEEKS OLD. NO, I DONT HAVE HEAT LAMPS. THEY ARE KEPT OUT IN AN OPEN AREA(TO BE PRECISE, ITS MY BACKYARD). A LITTLE OF MY BACK AREA HAS GOT CEMENT FLOORING AND THEY ARE LET FREE TO WANDER ABOUT THERE. THE PLACE IS KEPT CLEAN ALWAYS AND HAS GOT AMPLE WATER FACILITIES. OKAY NOW COMING TO THE DEAD ONES, THE FIRST DAY THEY HAD SOME YELLOWISH SHADE BENEATH THEIR EYES AND THEIR EYES WERE NOT AS ROUND AND BIG AS USUAL. ONE COULD SENSE THAT THEY ARE WEAK JUST BY LOOKING INTO THEIR EYES BUT THEY DID ROAM AROUND WITH OTHER MATES OF THEM( DID NOT EAT A THING BUT DRANK A LITTLE WATER). AROUND EVENING THEY BECAME INACTIVE ( SAT AT ONE CORNER). THE NEXT DAY I FOUND IT DEAD.......I EVEN SUPPLIED IT WITH ANTIBIOTICS AS PRESCRIBED BY THE VET BUT IT DID NOT WORK OUT.
 
Do you have water they can get into as another poster mentioned? What are you feeding them? Do you have a heat lamp? What’s their bedding?

HI!!!!! THEY EAT GRAINS, RICE, TOMATOES,SWEET CORN, AND SOME VEGGIES . NO, I DONT HAVE A HEAT LAMP. WE KIND OF HAVE A COOP FOR THEM WHICH WE DO CLEAN EVERYDAY BEFORE WE LET THEM IN.
 
HI!!!!! THEY EAT GRAINS, RICE, TOMATOES,SWEET CORN, AND SOME VEGGIES . NO, I DONT HAVE A HEAT LAMP. WE KIND OF HAVE A COOP FOR THEM WHICH WE DO CLEAN EVERYDAY BEFORE WE LET THEM IN.
Ok gotcha. So the weak one is 5 weeks old? Depending on your climate, that could be perfectly fine. But if they don’t eat a poultry feed on a regular basis, that would be my first suggestion. They can get weak if they aren’t getting a balanced diet. Don’t get me wrong, all those foods listed are fine but it’s very hard to stagger those foods so they are getting what they need on a daily basis. Unless you have some sort of very specific poultry regimen? Do you have a feed store near you? I would get poultry vitamins and an all flock feed first and foremost. How long has it been since weak one has ate? If it’s been awhile, you may want to tube feed it. @casportpony can assist anyone with it, I assure you. But those are my first thoughts based on what information available. I sure hope your little sweet one makes it! Please keep checking back in with us!
 
Ok gotcha. So the weak one is 5 weeks old? Depending on your climate, that could be perfectly fine. But if they don’t eat a poultry feed on a regular basis, that would be my first suggestion. They can get weak if they aren’t getting a balanced diet. Don’t get me wrong, all those foods listed are fine but it’s very hard to stagger those foods so they are getting what they need on a daily basis. Unless you have some sort of very specific poultry regimen? Do you have a feed store near you? I would get poultry vitamins and an all flock feed first and foremost. How long has it been since weak one has ate? If it’s been awhile, you may want to tube feed it. @casportpony can assist anyone with it, I assure you. But those are my first thoughts based on what information available. I sure hope your little sweet one makes it! Please keep checking back in with us!

Yeah, the weak one is five weeks old. OK, I understand that they may lack a proper diet. I will try improving on that part.
The newly bought ducklings came home day before yesterday. The weak one was completely fine until i observed him today in the morning. He follows his mates wherever they go but did not eat a bit today. Is it ok if i feed him??? If so, should i do it today or wait till morning to check if he is good?
 

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