Just returned from the vets guys, turns out little ducky had a fracture in her right leg, its healed now but she is unlikely to ever walk properly again. She will also be unlikely to carry her own weight in a few weeks. I have been given some antibiotics for her but if she shows no signs of getting better I will have to cull her. As you can probably tell this is the worst news ever and all I can do is pray she gets better, or at least adapts to her situation. She probably will also never be able to go in with the big ducks ever either, which puts a massive strain on me as I dont have the space for a seperate pond and run for her, the other run takes up all the garden! I may be able to adapr it with a divide but its unlikely, and I dont want her having no friends! Well. . . . I guess all I can do now is wait and see if she adapts or gets better, fingers crossed!
Is there any way you can house her inside? I have my Ollie inside in a childs portacot. He has two bad legs so doesnt move around alot- but it works for us. Its a bit of work cleaning his towels - but it has meant he stays alive. I dont have a lot of time to cuddle with him once all the other ducky jobs are done- but I try to get him out as oftern as I can. Being winter here now- he doesnt go outside at all except for on weekends when the weather is good enough. He loves his swims in the bath- and last night sat with my for a while in the lounge room. I was worries about the smell and mess- and feathers.. But having a duck inside isnt as messy as outside if you can figure out how to provide they water and feed properly.
Here is a pic of Ollies set up .
His water is wedged in the corner behind the little dogs bed- so he cant spill it. he hardly ever evens spills a drop!! Which is so strange for a duck... He can make a mess with the food though. I have a towel over the dogs bed to help keep it cleaner and change it every day- the towel on the bottom though can last a few days at times depending on how much he has moved around.
Unfortunately I would not be able to keep ducky inside. She loves to move about too much! She just does it funny. It looks like she is adapting really well, and when she has constant access to water I think she will do just fine. Its just getting past the problem of all the ducks getting along im worried about. They are in the same pen now with a divide and they dont seem too bothered. But when the divide is lifted its chaos! Im going to wait till she gets a bit bigger and see how she is on her leg, then il try putting her with the others again. Im building a new run for my larger ducks now, and was hoping to get rid of the old run, which is awesome by the way, but it looks like I will have to keep the old run and let the two babies live in it. Two runs, two ducks in each! But when she gets bigger il have to put them all together, if the bigger ducks dont like her, then I guess nature will do its thing. But she seems to be ok at the moment.
Well I hope things work out for the best for you both then. Inside ducks arent for everyone- or for every duck either. Some manage better than others. I really hope your little one does learn to cope. At least with the leg healed now it shouldnt cause pain- just be awkward.
Just put all the ducks together, seems like being able to see each other helped, as they dont seem too bad now, they still fight, but they seem okish. Yellow ducky's leg is holding up nicely, even with a funny leg she still gets away from the bigger ducks most of the time. Will they ever get along though? Or will they hate each other forever?
Just an update, yellow ducky started making a recovery. Not walking normal but getting used to it. Untill yesterday that was, now she is looking a lot worse! She can hardly walk again now! Il have to keep an eye on her for a while.