Are my ducks bullying?

[KentuckyRooster]

I rescued a group of 5 ducks in august. 4 hens and a drake. One of the hens is a welsh harlequin. She's special needs, missing a leg. The other ducks are all buffs and healthy, the drake takes good care of the hens. Quackers can't walk or get around at all. I help her do everything and she spends her days sitting in her "spot" with a bowl of water and food, and in the morning and evening I carry her to and from the duck house. If she needs something she calls for me. I adore her.

She presented with a bad eye infection this week, and last week I noticed a clump of feathers yanked out on her head area but I thought maybe she argued with one of my roosters, who she's friendly with, and she does push them around sometimes if they try to take her food. And when I was at the vet today, I noticed one of the webs on her intact foot has been torn severely.

She cannot get away. She can't even stand up or walk. If the other ducks are bullying her I'm afraid they might kill her. Does it sound like other ducks? Or just a run of bad luck?

If it IS my other ducks, what can I do to make them stop that? I don't want to re-home them,I really like them, but I will and will keep Quackers if I have to.

 

[sourland]

Something is bullying her, and she is a 'sitting duck' given her condition. Is there any way that you can give her a private pen ?

 

[Abriana]

Or a run within the pen of the others so she's not lonesome? If you do a separate pen you could get a sweet little bantam hen to keep her company. My bantam hen never pecks or picks on anybody and is friendly and sweet too.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

Everyone free ranges during the day- the duck house is a sleep space only, it doesn't have a run. I've had her sleeping with the chickens the past few nights, and tonight, I brought her indoors again. The area they range in is huge, its a big backyard, and there's no reason they even would need to be anywhere near her (and I rarely see them near her except for a couple of chickens, but they are the boys she sleeps with sometimes who like her. They don't bother her)

I don't know how to keep them away during the day short of making her spend her time in a cage which doesn't seem very fair. Maybe she'll need to stay in her playpen indoors and not go outside anymore. With winter coming I was worried about that anyway, she doesn't regulate temperature very well and she got hypothermia on a 70 degree day because she was in cool water too long. I am concerned about her being unable to keep warm in our brutal winters.

She seems to be healing ok as far as her eyes and such go. She was cheery today and no discharge since starting her new medication thank god.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

I've just kept her indoors today. Here she is just because she's so cute

Ignore messy room, it's an outbuilding used to breed rats and mice for feeders for my snakes. Climate controlled and all.

 

[ceazed]

I would say to keep her with a bantam duck hen my calls r so sweet but I wouldn't put her with Bantys

 

[Mama Runner]

Is buying her a diaper and making her a house duck an option. She sounds like she has quite a few issues.
She might be ok with just you for company and when you go outside she can come with. Just a thought.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

Is buying her a diaper and making her a house duck an option. She sounds like she has quite a few issues.
She might be ok with just you for company and when you go outside she can come with. Just a thought.

I've definitely thought about that. She's pretty much stuck wherever I put her so she could have a "spot" in my house just fine I think. She'd have to use a diaper though...duck poop is so icky.

She does have a lot of problems. She is a people duck, I think she's imprinted on me at this point even though I didn't have her as a baby, because she calls for me and talks to me. She likes to be touched and handled.

 

[Mama Runner]

She sounds so sweet. I have a sunroom in my house with a tiled floor and we call it the hospital. We have the turkey in right now. Even if you could use a dog crate. He can see me in the kitchen and can see me when I am sitting on the sofa. I talk to him and let him know I am here and around.