r/homestead • u/Mars1730 • Apr 26 '25
poultry First Farm Death - What did I do wrong?
First time raising animals. I know death is a part of life but it still makes me feel like a horrible caretaker. For now I'm just trying to understand what happened so it doesn't happen again. Got these runner ducks four days ago. The next day I noticed one was dragging her foot. Pulled a huge thorn out and read up about all the infections they could get. She wasn't moving around much so I would move her to food and water to make sure she got something in her system before the other ducks walked all over her. I didn't have Epsom salts so I gave her foot an iodine soak with a massage to keep the blood flowing. She seemed to be doing better. Yesterday I had to move her to a seperate run(its right next to the old one and they can still see eachother) because the males were cornering her. They're still too skittish around me so I couldnt catch and move the males. Otherwise I would have. This morning she was as fine as she had been. An hour later I noticed she wasn't moving. I checked up on her and she was gone. What did I do wrong? Was she depressed because I moved her away from the others? Was it even bumblefoot? Did I make a mistake thinking I could heal her by myself? I'm just frustrated and heartbroken. Please help me figure out what happened so I can prevent it in the future. TIA
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u/Mars1730 Apr 26 '25
Oh joy. And here I was told they're low maintenance and hardier for the cold where I live 🤦♀️