The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: Pandy on October 06, 2008, 01:06:20 pm
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Hello everybody,
We are new to the forum and wondered if anybody can help us with a problem.
Our Welsh Harlequine duck mated with a male mallard and two of the eggs hatched two weeks ago. All was fine until the day before yesterday when we noticed that one of the ducklings looked a bit more sleepy than the other one, it was also a bit smaller. When they were let out today both the ducklings fed very well on the crumb we are giving them but when they went into the duck pond it was very obvious that the smaller one was not moving around or searcing for pond food as it has been (like it's sibling), there is undoubtly something amiss but we are at a loss as to what we can do. Can anybody help please?
Pandy
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I would suggest it is cold. There is a similar thread going on about chicks. The birds seems to be late brooding this year, at least here in France they are. The chicks get cold and then larthargic, and the consequence is that they eat less, then none, and wont survive. Bring them inside first of all. Have a lamp going if you can. No drafts plenty of bedding. It wouldn't matter to take the ducklingS away from the parents altogether. They parents will be fine outside, infact will hate being in probably and the little ones will cope much better inside. Think of them as chicks from an incubator. I raise mine in the bathroom sometimes - it is lovely and warm in there and no need for a lamp.
Good luck anyway.
Kate :pig: