Duck is depressed? Help?

[Duckworth]

I would just keep an eye on your mallard with the injured female. Sometimes, ducks will pick on an injured duck, so it will be important to ensure that your mallard doesn’t do anything to exacerbate your injured female’s injuries. Ducks usually do better with companionship and it may be good for both. I use a wire dog crate inside the duck pen when I need to protect one or more ducks. If it’s just one and for a day or two, I use a smaller crate. If it’s more than one duck or I think it will take several days or longer, I use a large crate, about 30x42”. I just add in some extra bedding and take the bottom tray out. I put a separate food and water container inside.

Even when I have no ducks in a crate, I have at least two water buckets and sometimes two food dishes, separated enough that a cabal of ducks has a hard time guarding all of them at once. That tends to allow everyone to eat without harassment. But I have an all female flock and don’t have the problem with too many drakes to too few females to contend with.

 

[AustralorpLover1004]

Is it okay to put him in a cage? It's padded, and probably 4×3 feet. Is it okay to put another injured female in there with him? To let her heal and to keep him company. She's the only female we have

Yes. I have done that before with my drake when he was picking on my females. And I usually put a female with him.

 

[AustralorpLover1004]

I would say to get either more females or give a couple of the males away though. If they all gang up on her and over mate, she could die. My neighbor had way too many males and they drowned all of the females due to over mating. If there’s only one or two “alphas”, and gang mating is not a problem, then I’d say they’d all need time to adjust.