Ongoing health problems, ducks.
Hi,
Me again, I thought I would provide an update on the flock.
The soft egg saga continued and my two ducks with water belly still have it, but are seemingly pretty happy compared to previous weeks.
I was able to drain the worst a little, I removed around 200 ml of fluid after doing some accidental liposuction. It made a small difference, but I stopped when she objected and jumped off the "operating table".
What I did not link to my birds health was drake numbers. After draining the one duck I culled four of the five males.
I knew the ducks were stressed as some stayed in the shed in the mornings and they did have a full time job with the drakes.
Four days from the cull, the two waterbelly birds have pirked up and are moving about with the flock again. Neither needed a lift over the step of the shed last night either.
Eggs are actually quite good today, nine eggs and no obvious soft shells.
I wonder if the whole key to my problems was the drake numbers after all?
The flock now consists of ten ducks, one goose and one drake. I am hoping that they continue to make progress.
I have arrived at the conclusion that poultry keeping is not for me though. Although I can kill a duck pretty rapidly now, it gets harder, it's not as serial killers are reputed to find, easier to kill after the first few :-)
I just thought I would give an update as many on the forum contributed with advice on all manner of problems I had with my flock and "egg sales".
kwackers
Thursday, July 11th, 2024 Thanks kwackers for the update. It's nice to know how people get on with their poultry struggles or triumphs. Hopefully you are in for a more peaceful time now that the other drakes are gone. My own flock of ducks has been reduced to one thanks to the fox. A bitter blow as I had some of them for about ten years.
I had ones in the past with the water belly too but didn't know what it was until you mentioned it. Don't make any hasty decisions about not keeping poultry as I suspect you'd miss them. Best to lick our wounds and carry on! God bless.
Joseph lawler
Wednesday, July 17th, 2024 Thanks Joseph.
Sorry to hear about the fox. I have kept my ducks to an enclosed space, but think I will release them today. The back "garden" is no longer a garden, it looks like a lunar landscape.
I will just let them live out their lives and will not replace them. I enjoyed the hatching though and it was brilliant watching them grow.
Pooch was fascinated too.
My two "water belly" ducks are still fairly bloated, but are far more active now. I should have removed the drakes a long, long time back, I can actually see and almost sense the relaxed atmosphere in the garden now. The poor ducks didn't seem happy as they were chased around often by two drakes and it was a continuous activity.
The water belly ducks look very Khaki Campbell,ish so it must be genetic although the Campbells are derived from the birds out of the original hatching eggs that I started with and none of those exhibited the problem. Most of the flock are Welsh Harlequin and do not have symptoms
I did give the chickens away incidentally. They are less messy than ducks, but the coop was not too good and at least with ducks the mess is at one level. When I moved the entire flock into a shed, the chickens found tools and bits and pieces I had long forgotten to coat with manure.
The drakes were a little over a year old, but in all fairness the first one tasted pretty good out of the oven.
I would be inclined to carry on if my electrical stunner was practical, but I can say that the poor divils looked stressed during the slaughter process or the heads did :-(
Apparently the time of major stressed out brain activity is for 35 seconds after decapitation. It seems about right as far as I could judge.
I cannot see the broom handle or throat cutting being any kinder though.
At least I have a noticeably happier flock now.
kwackers
Wednesday, July 17th, 2024
You must be registered with an email address to comment.
Ongoing health problems, ducks.
Hi,
Me again, I thought I would provide an update on the flock.
The soft egg saga continued and my two ducks with water belly still have it, but are seemingly pretty happy compared to previous weeks.
I was able to drain the worst a little, I removed around 200 ml of fluid after doing some accidental liposuction. It made a small difference, but I stopped when she objected and jumped off the "operating table".
What I did not link to my birds health was drake numbers. After draining the one duck I culled four of the five males.
I knew the ducks were stressed as some stayed in the shed in the mornings and they did have a full time job with the drakes.
Four days from the cull, the two waterbelly birds have pirked up and are moving about with the flock again. Neither needed a lift over the step of the shed last night either.
Eggs are actually quite good today, nine eggs and no obvious soft shells.
I wonder if the whole key to my problems was the drake numbers after all?
The flock now consists of ten ducks, one goose and one drake. I am hoping that they continue to make progress.
I have arrived at the conclusion that poultry keeping is not for me though. Although I can kill a duck pretty rapidly now, it gets harder, it's not as serial killers are reputed to find, easier to kill after the first few :-)
I just thought I would give an update as many on the forum contributed with advice on all manner of problems I had with my flock and "egg sales".
Thursday, July 11th, 2024
Thanks kwackers for the update. It's nice to know how people get on with their poultry struggles or triumphs. Hopefully you are in for a more peaceful time now that the other drakes are gone. My own flock of ducks has been reduced to one thanks to the fox. A bitter blow as I had some of them for about ten years.
I had ones in the past with the water belly too but didn't know what it was until you mentioned it. Don't make any hasty decisions about not keeping poultry as I suspect you'd miss them. Best to lick our wounds and carry on! God bless.
Wednesday, July 17th, 2024
Thanks Joseph.
Sorry to hear about the fox. I have kept my ducks to an enclosed space, but think I will release them today. The back "garden" is no longer a garden, it looks like a lunar landscape.
I will just let them live out their lives and will not replace them. I enjoyed the hatching though and it was brilliant watching them grow.
Pooch was fascinated too.
My two "water belly" ducks are still fairly bloated, but are far more active now. I should have removed the drakes a long, long time back, I can actually see and almost sense the relaxed atmosphere in the garden now. The poor ducks didn't seem happy as they were chased around often by two drakes and it was a continuous activity.
The water belly ducks look very Khaki Campbell,ish so it must be genetic although the Campbells are derived from the birds out of the original hatching eggs that I started with and none of those exhibited the problem. Most of the flock are Welsh Harlequin and do not have symptoms
I did give the chickens away incidentally. They are less messy than ducks, but the coop was not too good and at least with ducks the mess is at one level. When I moved the entire flock into a shed, the chickens found tools and bits and pieces I had long forgotten to coat with manure.
The drakes were a little over a year old, but in all fairness the first one tasted pretty good out of the oven.
I would be inclined to carry on if my electrical stunner was practical, but I can say that the poor divils looked stressed during the slaughter process or the heads did :-(
Apparently the time of major stressed out brain activity is for 35 seconds after decapitation. It seems about right as far as I could judge.
I cannot see the broom handle or throat cutting being any kinder though.
At least I have a noticeably happier flock now.
Wednesday, July 17th, 2024