Baby Duck.. PLEASE HELP?

Question

I have a baby duck that we bought for my daughter. We keep it out on the porch in a little cage. There are a lso 2 baby chicks with it. It has been out there for about a month, and we feed it the feed that the store gave us. Anyway.. I just came home and it was dead =( I dont know what happened. My hubby said he fed it an hour ago and it was fine. Did it get too hot.. but why would the chicks still be alive?? We want another one, but what should we do this time?? Please Help...

Answer 1

well maybe you should keep the duck inside it is summer and they are usually in ponds or water to cool them off.....so maybe you should find a place inside your house to keep the duck, or maybe fill up the tub and let it swim around.

Answer 2

Is the food the store gave you medicated chick starter by any chance? Medicated chick starter contains medicine that is very beneficial to a chicks immune system, but ducks eat much MUCH more than chicks and overdose on the medication. Eventually it will kill them.

It is never wise to buy only 1 duckling. They are flock animals and when they grow up, the crave the company of another duck. So get at least 2, 3 is the best number.

You should feed it duckling starter. If you can't get it in your area you can buy it at www.mazuri.com.  However, its very expensive. If you cannot afford it, use UNMEDICATE chick starter mixed with old fashioned whole oat flakes and sprinkle with brewers yeast.

Answer 3

Duck = water. Did it have a little thing of water it could get into to cool off? If it did..then idk. But thats my guess. Ive been raising baby chicks all my life and well they don't need water like a duck. In fact they usually drowned in water. So it wasn't a good idea to put them together in the first place.

Answer 4

Different birds have different needs. I would suggest reading up on ducks before getting another one. Plus you do know chicks and ducklings don't stay very small for long. They will eventually need a larger pen outside.