I've been thinking about why one of my (seemingly) healthy Pekins just up and died recently. All I can figure is (not speaking bad about the breeders I got the ducklings from) is they do have a limited supply of breeding stock. Perhaps the duck that passed was suffering from an inbred heart defect.
All the girls were panting and the heat wasn't near as bad as they'd already lived through.
On the upside I do know where I may be able to fetch in some mallard eggs and/or duckling next year. When I worked at the zoo I assisted our veterinarian when he pinioned some birds. That is clipping off the last joint of the wings of hatchlings so they can't ever fly away. If I can manage to fetch in some eggs I do have my incubator so I can pinion any babies at Day One.
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