Mean and fighting with one duck?

[RavenStorm]

I've got 7 ducks, 2 of them are older and they are buddies but the other 5 are siblings that are only about 3 months old. This past week, all of the ducks have decided to pick on one of the younger ducks. The siblings have been ripping out feathers right at the base of her neck and the top of her tail. They have been biting her and chasing her away from the food. Her skin is raw and inflamed on her bald spots, and a few of the feathers pulled out were blood feathers so she has been bleeding.

The two older ducks have been biting her leg and wings, and now she is limping and letting her wings droop. I have isolated her, but kept her in a dog crate in the area so that they can still see each other.

Why are they all suddenly turning on this one girl? They have a huge area to romp in so it's not over-crowding and there is plenty of food, water, and weeds to play with. Now that she is separated, there is no fighting between any of the meanies left outside with each other. What can I do to help integrate her back with the rest of them.

 

[ExpLo721]

That's horrible! Poor duckie...

 

[FenDruadin]

I'm so sorry to hear about your situation. I don't know what you can do, but one thing to check for is if there is one duck in particular who is instigating. If so, I would separate the main bully and leave the rest together. One thing you could do to test this is to take each duck, one at a time, and place them with the victim. Watch and see if they get along. If one of them is especially aggressive with her and the others are fine with her, I would then separate the aggressor and place the victim back with the main flock. Watch again, and if they are fine, then leave the aggressor out for a week or two.

I have heard (I am planning to try it soon, because I have an aggressive drake, so I'd love to hear if it works for you) that eventually the "meanie" will become "low man on the totem pole" due to being separated, and at that point can be added in. He will no longer be able to convince the others to be mean.

Your situation may be different, though--there may not be a single instigator. I wish I could help you, but if that's the case then someone else is going to have to pipe up and advise.