Anybody else have a duck that swims backwards?

[solarpup]

Not just a little, but like most of the time when he swims in our pond.

Le Chiffre, one of our three mallard drakes, every time he hops in the pond if he's not bathing (or spinning in a circle trying to build a "nest" – he's done that in the pond, in the rocks outside of the pond, and in the hay in the coop), he's swimming backwards. For a fair distance, and he keeps backing into the edge. It seems to be his preferred mode of travel as opposed to going forward.

The other two pretty much never do that aside from a couple of inches every now and then.

Anyone have an explanation for this, other than our standard, "Ducks are wacky" (which seems to sum up much of their behavior)?

 

[chooks4life]

:/ That is strange. I don't have ducks so don't know how normal that is... But I don't recall having heard it, at least not at the moment.

Some quail, chooks, turkeys etc have genetic issues which cause them to have sort of spasms where they walk backwards, often until they bump into something which stops them, and this is often triggered by drinking, stress, or eating.

Generally there aren't any negative issues associated with that behavior, but it's common in inbred lines, heritable, and the head is usually involved, it generally tucks into their shoulders or under the body, so some walk backwards with their heads up but others do so with their heads below their bellies... Obviously would be an issue if your duck had the latter, lol.

That's just a thought, a random possibility, I'm not saying that's what he's got going on, I have no way of verifying it obviously.

Best wishes.

 

[reba353]

This is a year late... But if you are still on this site i do have a duck that swims backwards, she is still a duckling though. We have been thinking that she is blind. If you have figured out anything about your duck please let me know. I am worried about her!
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/967779/my-blind-or-partially-blind-duckling#post_15079132

 

[solarpup]

We just decided that he is wacky. It's a personality thing, as far as I can tell. Our three drakes each have their bizarre little quirks, and this one seems to be his. As far as I can tell, it's done him no harm, and the other ducks don't seem bothered, so we've just gone with let him do what he's going to do.

 

[jak2002003]

How interesting. You should make a video of him swimming backwards.

I used to have a duck that was a bit 'special';. I think something went wrong when it was in the egg..as she was like that when she hatched... The others were fine..

She would swim backwards for a while when she first got into the water.. and then backwards again when she was eating stuff in the pond.

She would run around in circles cheeping loudly while the other ducklings were eating from the feeder. She would never eat from the feeder.. I had to put her feed on the ground... and she would still run in circles around it for a while until she calmed down.

She was also wobbly on her feet... well, she actually would rock back and forth.. and sometimes stumble back or even fall on her back...this happened when ever she stood still or was preening.

She always had problems swallowing her food.. and coughing... she did not realise it was best to drink some water with it.. like the other ducks did. I had to make her food wet to make it easier on her.

She was also strange looking... She was black with small body and huge feet. Her feet were half black and half orange.. making it look like her feet had been dipped in orange paint. That was the same for her beak.

She lived about a year.. but one day she was not with the others and I found her dead in the lake... seemed she just died a natural death.. I was sad as I got very attacked to her.

 

[solarpup]

Once the pond fully defrosts from our unusually cold and snowy winter I might take a video. (The surface is thawed, however, there is a still a huge chunk of ice in the pump housing.) And it's spring, so the ducks are too busy fighting each other in fits of hormonal fury to be too interested in swimming. (One of the downsides of an all drake flock,) But this too shall pass, and happy ducks running back and forth from house to pond will hopefully soon become the norm again...

 

[reba353]

Well I decided to take my duck to a vet and we found out that she is for sure 100% blind and the reason she swims backwards is because she isn't trying to swim, she is just trying to frantically find ground.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Well I decided to take my duck to a vet and we found out that she is for sure 100% blind and the reason she swims backwards is because she isn't trying to swim, she is just trying to frantically find ground.

I'm sorry to hear this, what did the vet suggest?

 

[SouthernPride]

Poor girl. I had a blind gander, name was Magoo. I was not locking them Up at night and something got him. Since he could not tell day from night, he apparently left the safety of the water and came up to the house in the middle of the night.

 

[reba353]

The vet just suggested keeping her locked up is a coop or run at all times for protection and making sure she eats.