One of those days :(

Well, the dog got & dragged a dead rooster around. It died of something that I'm not fully sure of, but I know enough that I don't want it spread to anyone else. It was quarantined.

Also this morning, one of my 2 blue copper hens was found flat in her coop, possibly smothered. They are a project of mine. Unfortunately, those hens hatched out more black than blue offspring this spring.

And...4 out of our 10 call ducklings died. I suspect that there is a deficiency of niacin in the feed. It is supposed to be a duck & goose starter, which should have it, but it isn't mentioned. We are trying to catch adults & ducklings, but it seems futile. :(

I have someone picking up niacin supplements/brewers yeast in the store, but I would not get them until tomorrow.

I will try giving fresh peas & lettuce all mushed up. Hopefully that is enough. I'm just not sure how to keep the adult ducks from it all. Maybe we will just have to make up everything we have from the garden (which wasn't much today).

Sigh.

I will need to tell my daughter when she takes the adults (and hopefully at least one duckling), that she should keep a form of niacin on hand in spring especially for little ones.

Comments

  • Monek Marie
    Monek Marie Posts: 3,539 ✭✭✭✭✭

    When it comes to animals it all seems to happen on one day.

    Good luck.

    Sorry about the Blue Copper hen.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    @Monek Marie Thanks. Yes, isn't that strange how that happens?

    We found some niacin tablets and we're putting it together with water at a rate of 500 mg:5 gallons. So, of course we are making a smaller amount.

    Wheat germ has niacin in too, but I would assume that after it's been in storage for a while, that it wouldn't be of much good.

  • JodieDownUnder
    JodieDownUnder Posts: 1,483 admin

    @LaurieLovesLearning sorry to hear of your unfortunate day. As an old farmer once told me “ Jodie, if you got livestock, you got deadstock”. We all prefer the livestock part.

  • karenjanicki
    karenjanicki Posts: 996 ✭✭✭✭

    Oh I'm sorry. That stinks :(.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    @JodieDownUnder Yep. Unfortunately, I get really angry first. Then it takes a while to calm down because it simmers. The poor kids get to listen to it all. :( Ah, what to do. In that time, I question, assess & then act if I can. I think it helps with the calming down part to do something.

    Well, the ducklings are eating their mash. Hopefully it helps & we can keep them going. Niacin deficiency is supposed to correct itself quickly. We will see.

  • Torey
    Torey Posts: 5,679 admin

    That's tough, @LaurieLovesLearning. I haven't had animals for quite awhile (other than cats) but it is always sad to lose one and worse for several in a day. I hope your day got a bit better.

    Strange how one mineral or vitamin out of balance can affect animals so much. Makes one wonder how much we as humans are affected by this imbalance and either ignore it or blame it on some other ailment.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    @torey Yes, it's tough. Losing very new cute babies that you have waited for is really bad.

    I think many health problem's roots do stem from the deficiencies. We are just so far removed from being able to recognize it, that it isn't as easy a fix for us as it most likely is in reality. If only we knew more and paid more attention. But isn't that part of why we are on this forum?

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin

    Well, another duckling died today. It seemed to have a problem with legs & had a floppy neck. We are pretty sure that 3 hens in that space were just too rambunctious and they didn't care who they stepped on. We haven't had an issue like this before.

    A drake attacked & killed some another year, but we removed him & the issue disappeared.

    We've had issues with niacin before we knew how important it was.

    So now, 5 ducklings are with one chosen hen and the other ducks are with the drake. We will keep supplementing with niacin as we can.

    5 down from 10. My oldest was going to keep 2 and the rest were to be sold to a lady who has been busy with haying. Her ducks weren't producing and she was hoping to get these to help increase her numbers. Now, she's looking at 3, down from 8. I feel bad, but she certainly understands that things don't always go as planned.

    Such is farm life.

  • VermontCathy
    VermontCathy Posts: 1,987 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @LaurieLovesLearning "I think many health problem's roots do stem from the deficiencies. We are just so far removed from being able to recognize it, that it isn't as easy a fix for us as it most likely is in reality."

    I think that vitamin deficiencies were a huge issue before the 20th century. Pellagra (lack of niacin) was nasty and common, and could cause dementia, diarrhea, or dermatitis. Beri-beri and scurvy were long-term problems in parts of the world.

    Deficiency diseases only went away (in the West, at least) when mass-produced foods such as cereal started to be factory-enriched with vitamins specifically added.

    There is a caution here for all of us who want to eat more natural foods and less factory food. Additional effort has to be put into maintaining a balanced diet and covering all the nutritional bases.

    Personally, I take a multivitamin every day to play it safe.

  • Annie Kate
    Annie Kate Posts: 680 ✭✭✭✭

    Oh, what a sad day for you! I hope you soon correct the deficiencies. You'd figure they would make feed that was complete; they must get a lot of complaints!

    We sure do live in a fallen, broken world, but there's a better one coming where none of these problems will occur.

  • LaurieLovesLearning
    LaurieLovesLearning Posts: 7,576 admin
    edited August 2021

    @Annie Kate We are down to 3 ducklings as if yesterday. We believe that it has been the heavy smoke playing havoc with their delicate new lungs. The ducklings are now just over 1 week old. Technically, they should be past any huge risks, but the smoke adds an unusual element.

    You know, we also gave up hoping that our heifer is in calf. It has been way too long. Her udder did start to develop though, and if we try to "milk" her, we get a little of what looks like milk, and only about 1/2-1 cup. It's just gone to the cats.

    It's just that as much as she is very healthy, there just isn't that baby bump & no movement. It's too bad, she had been bred AI female specific jersey when we bought her. Oh well, that's life. It has been a wretched year for calves around here. One miscarried, one died during birth, and then there is this one. It was just confusing as at no time did we see a body.

    Sometimes I do wonder what's up around here. It can be quite discouraging being the recipient of so many negative events. But, life goes on.

    On a positive note that I hope keeps going (smoke, smoke go away), our youngest daughter's pet hen hatched 2 chicks yesterday. Our daughter is so very proud!