what keeps happening to my ducks?

[spish]

every month i seem to lose a duck, doesnt matter what breed or sex, every month one dies and its bugging me why. it must be something im doing wrong?

they firstly lose weight, get thinner, slow down all over the space of a week. then begins the sitting still in a corner all day, slow waddling, far too easy to catch. then as soon as i bring them inside they begin a sort of body shaking as if really cold or scared stiff. i offer food water and warmth but they dont want any of them. by nightfall of the day i bring them in they are usually in that state where you just know they are dying (throwing head back across back, seemingly no control over movements etc) then by morning they are dead.


now what im trying to determine is whats causing the original symptoms (not eating, losing weight slowing down) they are wormed and fed on a diet of table scraps, floating duck pellets, free range grass/bugs/whatever the catch out there, they have a pond with filter but its emptied and refilled every week without fail, 2 times a week if it looks dirty/empty. they also steal the chicken feed if they can reach (its up on shelves but darn can these ducks climb!)

they share the field with chickens, turkeys, geese, a donkey. theres 6 sheep and a pony in the field nextdoor.

plenty of shelter, dry duck houses to sleep in. friends galore!

i have started with 4 scovy drakes, 11 ladies, 2 runners, 4 mallards and a peking.

since last year ive lost 5 scovy ladies, 1 runner, all 4 mallards and the peking. am i missing something?

 

[duckyfromoz]

I was just wondering about the floating duck pellets... What makes them buoyant?? And why floating pellets? Is it so you can feed them on the water? Just asking as I was thinking along the lines that they may be eating food that has sat in the water too long and be going moldy. Not to sure if that would happen as I have never heard of floating food.

 

[veronicasmom]

Do you have an avian vet nearby? If you lose another, I would get a necropsy done. I lost two ducks once, within 2 months and decided with the second to get it done. Turns out they ate a toxic weed I didn't know was there. It wasn't expensive ($40) and worth it to be able to figure out what was going on. Just a thought.
Sorry for your losses, it really does stink to lose them at all, but especially prematurely.

 

[dutchhollow]

Pick up some samples (take a couple) have them checked for cocci, you didn't say wether your feed is medicated or not. It won't show in every sample, so take more then one, and I would treat anyway.

 

[mandelyn]

Sounds like something environmental to me too. Cocci or something.

You haven't lost any other fowl? Just ducks? If Cocci is in the drinking water, you'd lose other fowl too. If it's in the swimming water, I guess it would only be ducks, but it should have spread by now if that were it? I don't know.

Is the swimming water from a treated tap, or well water or other source?

 

[spish]

its river water....(the river runs through our land so the ducks have their own private stretch)

weve lost chickens and turkeys too but not so many, just one now and then, the turkeys we lost due to cocci...6 in a space of 4 weeks

 

[Duck Mad]

if free ranging, could the ducks have found somewhere to drink, and that water being not sutiable for drinking? I would personally stop them from free ranging and search the whole area for anything that they could be eating or drinking, are the pellets fully stored correctly? (I dont like the sound of floating pellets for ducks) it doesnt seem natrual, research to see if other ppl had problems with that type of food ..
Silly things like if near garages etc, petrol oil leaks near the ducks? like could they be drinking puddles with oil ?

hope you get to the bottom of this, not knowing what the problem is very fustrating

 

[dutchhollow]

Quote:
You need to test, or just treat. If your turkey had it, you ducks more then likely do also.