Flax bedding: Poppy is eating it!

[kr33cher]

@chickens really - Thank you for the advice. No she cannot forage at the moment unless she is with me taking a walk outside and/or getting to know her future friends (Ping, Peppy and Pong) under supervision/protection. Simply because at the moment she is an indoor ducky and Peppy is too rough with her (tries to mount her) and she is too small. - I will copy paste a part from my introduction thread, because it'll explain a couple of things and this way I wont have to write it again

COPY/PASTE: Four days in, one little duckling couldn't keep up. Didn't want to eat any more, just drink a bit. Lagged behind, laid down a lot, didn't forage. He/she (we didn't know at that time) had always been a bit of a "loner", or so we thought. Maybe she was the last to hatch or something and had had a bit of issues from the start... Whichever the case, I kept a close eye on him/her and finally decided to take him/her in.

The first days were touch and go. (S)he got a heat light, a soft towel, a cuddly momma bear and water with apple cider vinegar for her electrolytes and oregano as antibiotics. Slowly but surely (s)he regained his/her strength.

Ok, enough with the double wording, we found out "it" was and is a she. We now call her Poppy. And because Peppy can sometimes really act like an *ss, she will stay with us until she is full sized and can fend for herself.

So that is why, at the moment, Poppy is an indoor ducky and will remain as such until she is big and strong enough to fend for herself. In the meantime, to get her to get as big and strong as she can, she does need to eat as much of her "good food" as she can. She gets all sorts of additional snacks like dandelion leaves and other greens from the garden and once in a while she'll get a grape cut into pieces.

 

[kr33cher]

@cyriuskee - that weewee pad might actually work, I'm gonna go to the store here to see if they have them! - She was pretty annoyed with me for putting her in to the harness, but after an hour or so she went to sleep in it, since she was relaxed I took it off. I made the headhole a bit smaller so it'll fit better, so tonight, she'll have to wear it again. I hope she'll get used to it once she notices it seriously increases her "free to roam the house"-time.

 

[gilbert2]

Well, folks, once again I seem to be the only spoilsport here. My belief is that as much as I love my ducks, they are NOT PEOPLE. They live outside, where they belong. They never belong inside my house. And they NEVER wear a poop bag and harness!
I realize that some of us seem to dote on their ducks more than others, but a poop bag? What could be more unnatural for a livestock animal? Sorry, I just cannot see the logic of trying to convert a duck to an indoor pet.
OK, now I guess I should batten down my hatches and wait for the hate mail.

 

[chickens really]

Not saying you need or should do this?...This is what I had done when my little deformed Duckling finally passed away...I had kept another Duckling back so Dandy had a friend..Dandy never grew, ever in the 4 weeks it lived..quickly the other Call duckling out grew Dandy so once again I kept back another Duckling for Dandy and put the other out with the other Ducklings..Dandy died and Thistle was then alone and two weeks behind the other Ducklings in size..I made a Look no touch pen so Thistle could see and interact with the other Ducklings but not get stepped on or bullied..that only needed to be done for a few days..They totally accepted Thistle and he wanted to be with them..So I let him out of his secure pen and they have been together ever since..The other Ducklings were Appleyards and one Call...I know your trying to do your best for the Duckling....I would try putting her out in a look no touch pens daily till she becomes part of the flock..She will be happier becoming a Duck than wearing that harness...
Best of luck....

 

[cyriuskee]

Haha @gilbert2. No hate. I dont do poopbags or house ducks myself. I guess with only one duckling, you do what you feel you gotta do. This thread interests me because of the flax bedding with a duckling, @kr33cher has been great about updating the progress. All my fowl free range and I hatch 12-20 ducklings at a time (staggered over days) and i live in the South where i can keep their brooder outside so I'm lucky! But that doesn't mean I don't dote on them. I love having my entourage follow me around whenever I'm outdoors!

 

[kr33cher]

@gilbert2 - I am not trying to make her into an indoor duck. She is only indoors due to circumstances, which I explained earlier. And the only reason she is getting this poop-bag (quite eloquent) is so she can be out of her smaller pen and away from the flax so she can eat the decent food and be ready for outdoor life quicker.

@chickens really - No deformities in Poppy luckily enough. There are no other ducklings any more, they got relocated with their mum and are doing great. Poppy will get introduced in the way you prescribe in about a week or two.

Thanks everybody for trying to help out!

 

[chickens really]

Well, folks, once again I seem to be the only spoilsport here. My belief is that as much as I love my ducks, they are NOT PEOPLE. They live outside, where they belong. They never belong inside my house. And they NEVER wear a poop bag and harness!
I realize that some of us seem to dote on their ducks more than others, but a poop bag? What could be more unnatural for a livestock animal? Sorry, I just cannot see the logic of trying to convert a duck to an indoor pet.
OK, now I guess I should batten down my hatches and wait for the hate mail.

 

[chickens really]

Not really sure your waiting so long to get her back into her Flock with the other Ducklings...?...Ducklings are just that, Ducklings...They are not mature enough to be mean to one another ..They act out of fear not aggression ...The longer you wait the harder it will be....
Best wishes and please update once she finally gets to go back home to her natural flock....

 

[gilbert2]

Dear kr33cher,
I do understand your reasoning for keeping poppy inside. Of course it is fine for you; she's your duck! Just don't ask me to agree with you. A covered outside pen, or a duck house (outside) would by far be my choice over bringing any livestock animal inside. As I said--that's just me.

 

[kr33cher]

@chickens really - as I've mentioned a couple of times: there are no other ducklings, there is only her. So Poppy is the only duckling I have left. The other ducklings were adopted with their mother Amelia and went to another home, where they are doing very good. Poppy at that time, was still a recovering duckling, so instead of handing over a sick duckling for adoption, we decided she would instead replace the other female duck that went with her ducklings (if she lived, and so far, besides her flax-fetish, she is doing well). The other female duck (Amélia) was relocated because of Peppy. If it were just Ping & Pong, there would be no problem. Ping and Pong are pretty laid back and relaxed ducks. Peppy on the other hand is just a very big and strong runner duck with quite the libido and rough disposition. If you want to know the whole story, I wrote it in my introduction: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/ping-pong-peppy-and-poppy-saying-hi.1189881/ -

In short: we have ONE duckling that will re-integrate with an adult flock of three (two drakes, one duck), only when she herself is big enough to at least be able to fight of Peppy.

@gilbert2 - no worries, we don't need to agree. And whilst your suggestions are logic, they weren't an option.

There is a foxproof outdoor pen (completely covered with wire and dug into the ground and folded at a 90° angle in the ground) and a duckhouse attached to it. Because we only let our ducks out after dawn and they go back in lock-up before dusk, in three years time, we have not lost a duck. Whilst most of our neighbours have lost several chickens. I intend to try and keep it this way.

So besides this duck housing which took a lot of effort and time to build, I just don't have the infrastructure to have an additional small outside pen and duckhouse with heatlamp (which was needed at first) to keep this one safe, dry and warm in. Now she is a month old, she is still only just over half the size of the other ducks. First time I tried to reintegrate her, the other two pecked at her a couple of times, then let her be. Peppy on the other hand kept chasing her, and kept pinning her down, pulling all the down from her neck trying to mount her. And by doing so, riling the other two up again as well going at her again as well.

So as I mentioned before and will mention time and again: she is only inside because of circumstances. Once she is close to the size of an adult duck, she will go outside again. Until then, the only room I have for her, is indoors and since I was taught that I need to take responsibility for the animals in my care, that is exactly what I am doing, the best I can, with the means at my disposal.

UPDATE: Whilst it is an inconvencience for me, Poppy's health comes first, so I chucked all of the flax from the pen (aka dog bench I borrowed from my father) and replaced them with weewee-pads. And to help fulfil her foraging needs, what used to go in a separate bowl, now gets spread in her pen. Thanks @cyriuskee for your suggestions! And sorry to have to be the party-pooper and letting you know that the whole flax thing, did not work at all for us.

And yes, Poppy does get daily walks outside where we try to walk along with the flock (which is a big word for three ducks, becoming four again soon). So far, Peppy keeps trying to attack her. But we will persist.