A fox tried to take my Abbey

[Kleonaptra]

I haven't had a duck molt yet, but could that be it?

What's her breathing like, any tail bobbing when she's laying down? That is sometimes a sign that the issue is egg related, in which case I'd try a little extra calcium.

Also, here in the states there are vet offices around that will do fecal tests so that you can at least try to confirm some suspicions, particularly worms. That way you're not doing as much guess work. It's a good way around the high cost of actually taking the bird in for an office visit.

These are just ideas. You know the duck best. Hopefully you see some results with the deworming.

She may be molting, I have thought of that. Ive just never seen it hit a bird so hard and she wasnt this bad on her last moult. She hasnt done any more moping since the day I tracked her down and forced bathed her, but Im suspicious of that because I think she is just trying to keep me from interfering with her again. She usually free ranges the furthest and she has stayed in the pen the last few days.Other than that, her behaviour is good, she's enthusiastic about food and fresh water, had a big swim and a mega long preen this morning. Im just getting ready to head off to work but I'll get some pics of her up tonight.

Her breathing is good. No tail bobbing, although when I caught her yesterday to drench her she was weezing a little. Scares the hell outta me.

All our local vets are dog cat or horse. The nearest bird specialist is miles away. There is one nearby who says he will look at my birds if needed but just so long as I accept he is not an expert. I think for wounds and such he would do fine but on something like this he would just refer me to the specialist. They wont do fecal tests, etc unless the animal has a consult and for birds he would still tell me to go to the expert. My horse vets will do all of that for the horses, but they are strictly equine specialists only. Im reassured that if I have a sudden trauma with my ducks or pigeons I can at least take them to this guy for emergency treatment, but for something like this he just cant help me.

All my calls seem rather fat. I'll get pics of them all, little Stormy who's only a few months old looks like she has ROLLS she's so fat! I dont know what to do about this. They get plenty of exercise, but Im wondering if Leelu is fat that cant help any problem she has.

 

[TLWR]

Young foxes learn to hunt during the day - that's how I lost mine

 

[Miss Lydia]

She may be molting, I have thought of that. Ive just never seen it hit a bird so hard and she wasnt this bad on her last moult. She hasnt done any more moping since the day I tracked her down and forced bathed her, but Im suspicious of that because I think she is just trying to keep me from interfering with her again. She usually free ranges the furthest and she has stayed in the pen the last few days.Other than that, her behaviour is good, she's enthusiastic about food and fresh water, had a big swim and a mega long preen this morning. Im just getting ready to head off to work but I'll get some pics of her up tonight.

Her breathing is good. No tail bobbing, although when I caught her yesterday to drench her she was weezing a little. Scares the hell outta me.

All our local vets are dog cat or horse. The nearest bird specialist is miles away. There is one nearby who says he will look at my birds if needed but just so long as I accept he is not an expert. I think for wounds and such he would do fine but on something like this he would just refer me to the specialist. They wont do fecal tests, etc unless the animal has a consult and for birds he would still tell me to go to the expert. My horse vets will do all of that for the horses, but they are strictly equine specialists only. Im reassured that if I have a sudden trauma with my ducks or pigeons I can at least take them to this guy for emergency treatment, but for something like this he just cant help me.

All my calls seem rather fat. I'll get pics of them all, little Stormy who's only a few months old looks like she has ROLLS she's so fat! I dont know what to do about this. They get plenty of exercise, but Im wondering if Leelu is fat that cant help any problem she has.

This year a couple of my ducks were in their biggest molt yet they were3 this past July, my 1yr olds I could hardly tell my 2 yr olds not too bad either, but I notice when they are going through a hard molt they will keep to themselves and they worry me, soon as molt is over they are back to their old selves. Molting is hard on them. I give vitamins during molt to help them out. Do you give alot of treats? if so what are they? treats can contribute to over weight.

 

[TracyLovesDucks]

If you're worried about her being overweight, you could see if there are any threads that talk about how much call ducks should weigh and how much feed they should be eating on a daily basis.

Ah ha, Amiga has shared the calculations in this thread that I just found. It is very helpful: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/822840/how-much-should-call-ducks-eat

It's true for humans that diet contributes to 75% of weight loss while exercise only contributes to 25%. And for animals, I believe it could be even more extreme, like I've heard that for cats diet is pretty much 100% responsible for their weight. So you'd probably be best off restricting her feed consumption if you can confirm she is too plump. Exercise is good, but it's not really going to help with weight loss.

 

[Lacrystol]

Ok, so I reviewed over this, hows our little girl doing today. Personally it almost sounds like she likes the attention. You said you pulled her out of the nesting box and since then she's been acting distance from the other's, is that correct?

 

[Lacrystol]

YOU JINX ME, now I have a little fox coming around. LOL.. GRRRRRR.. lol

 

[Lacrystol]

Here she is today



She's just had a swim and she's doing the little wing ruffles I only associate with very happy birds (any species) the 3 big girls look rough and you would easily say Syanne the pure pekin looks a lot rougher than Leelu, but she copped a real beating from the drakes. I never saw Leelu get it as badly as the big girls did, she is very good at hiding herself. Leelu also limps slightly on her right leg. She always has, ever since she was a duckling. Ive never seen an injury.

When the big girls look rough, usually worming sorts them out, sometimes its calcium. They get a fair amount in the pellets and Im wary of using extra after losing Piper and making Wist sick, BUT Wist and Piper are wild and cant process a lot of the stuff domestic ducks need. Had to learn that the hard way. However the big girls have not layed so much this year, I usually get 3 giant eggs a day, this year usually only 2 a day and on the small side.

When the boys get to rough, they can really lay it hard on the girls and cause them injury and they start limping. Best thing is to give her some vitamin b. See if that will help, limping does take a while to heal and it could also be why she is getting or keeping her distance away from everyone.

The disadvantage with that, she is a very easy prey. She's got a weakness, hopefully the Fox will not catch on to it because she is most likely could be the first victum for him...

IF you can keep her separated for a while until she has recovered and it back on her feet that would be the best. Ducks are VERY good at hiding pain. I'm also wondering if she enjoys your attention. I believe you said that she didn't act up until you pulled her out of the nesting box and now she's showing signs of loneness.. but you said when you gave her attention she semi-acted like a normal duck.

Molting could be playing a huge role as well, it causes a lot of stress.

Ivermectin is what my vet recommends for my chickens as well as my ducks for deworming....

 

[Lacrystol]

do you have more drakes then girls??

 

[Kleonaptra]

do you have more drakes then girls??

Hello! Im going to try and answer all your questions.

She has always liked to go off by herself, generally after being let out in the morning she disappears for a few hours. My first clue something was wrong was she did not reappear at breakfast (they get let out at about 8am and breakfast is about 10) and when I went searching I found her in the bushes at the top garden, one of her fave nesting spots. I left her there most of the day because she likes to be left alone but by late afternoon I was getting very worried as I was leaving for work soon and my family wont check her - my partner has even left birds out if he cant find them. So I pulled her out, gave her a warm bath and a good feel over. She went back to the pen of her own accord and I locked her in. The next morning when she free ranged she went further than she's ever gone - I was pretty worried but the other calls were absent too, she had taken them with her. Leelu likes the 4 call drakes with her like a little honour gaurd. I chased them all back up to the pen and she's hung out in the pen since then. That was last Wed/Thur. They were wormed Saturday afternoon.

Here she is sun morn
Looking very rough but behaving normally.

Here she is today

She definitely seems to be getting better but she has not left the pen at all, and she has fave spots where she visits throughout the day. After the worming everyone seems a bit happier.

I would be more comfortable with ivermectin but I can only get it for horses not poultry. I would very much appreciate if you could check the products on the links I provided and tell me if they are any good for ducks? The first is a wormer, praziquantel and montral tartrate which I use on the horses too but this is a bird formula. The others are various antibiotics and if they are useful in ducks I could keep some on hand for emergencies.

Whats the best way to provide extra vitamin B?

I have 5 drakes and 7 girls. One of those drakes is only 2 months old (thats Abbey) Wist never chases, pecks, mounts....If I hadnt seen his male equipment years ago Id still swear he was a girl. The other 3 are call drakes, one is Leelus best mate the other 2 are her brothers. She started really acting depressed when I started locking up the boys at night. I left them out the last few nights to see if it cheered her up, it did, and the big girl who was copping it the worst put herself in the drake run! Everything works out...

Heres Abbey, the one the thread started about



Sometimes he still looks a bit lumpy at the base of his neck but it soon goes down. Im not sure whats going on but Im hoping its all healing.

About food, they get layer pellets
http://www.coprice.com.au/poultry-poultry/2012-07-18-09-58-51/lucky-layer

And Layer mix
http://thevellagroup.com.au/Technical Sheets/Technical Sheet Free Range Scratch Mix.pdf

Usually they would get a few scoops of each with fresh water in the morning and thats it. Lately they have been pestering me for food and the big girls look a bit light so I give afternoon feed as well.

 

[Kleonaptra]

Oh I forgot about treats, they get kitchen scraps. The ones who get the most are the pekin girls, they stand at the back door waiting for my daughter to throw out sandwiches she doesnt want. If my daughter doesnt like something (she's 3) she will say "PUH-Leeze put it in the chickens!"

So leftover veggies usually cooked, cooked rice or pasta, mashed potatos, the odd bit of meat scraps,(like sausages,chicken bones, spaghetti sauce) breadcrumb and egg mixture that I use for snitzels...This would all be very small amounts on different days throughout the week. Oh, nuggets and chips.

Daily theres always bread scraps, even if my daughter eats her sandwiches she always gives them the crusts.

Now I know what you're thinking. But the calls - who are fat to me - dont actually get much of any of this. They prefer to be off swimming and free ranging where the big girls and chickens are waiting around the door for treats. The chickens and the purebred pekin BOLT when they see me open the back door!