I brought home two baby ducks back in late june, they grew and bonded with eachother. one of them was a little older/bigger(skipper) and the other was maybe a week old only(hammy). hammy followed skipper everywhere and became best friends. whenever they would be separated for even a few seconds both would start chirping really loud and going crazy, they loved eachother.
one day skipper was acting funny, he was moving a lot less and seemed like he didnt have much energy. the next morning i found him dead on his side, with hammy standing over him. it was heartbreaking, they were life companions.
that day we noticed hammy started acting similar to how skipper was, he seemed like he had little energy and maybe depressed, i mean his companion just died. we showed him all the care we could and got him two new friends to bond with that day.
hammy seems like he is doing much better and wont pass like the other one did, but he either is really confused why is bff is not there anymore, or he is sad and has no motivation. he often just wanders around the pen slowly, looking for skipper maybe, he did everything with skipper. he seems to get along with the two new ducks, but i dont know if he will ever be the same, like the way he was with skipper.
it breaks my heart as an owner, to see hammy grow from a little baby duck to being bestfriends with skipper, and now to see him depressed and sad. will he ever be the same? he doesnt run around as fast anymore and does everything slowly with little energy compared to the other two. should i be worried? what should i do?
thankyou if you took the time to read this, and for giving me your best insights, i want the best for all my ducklings. rest in love skipper
one day skipper was acting funny, he was moving a lot less and seemed like he didnt have much energy. the next morning i found him dead on his side, with hammy standing over him. it was heartbreaking, they were life companions.
that day we noticed hammy started acting similar to how skipper was, he seemed like he had little energy and maybe depressed, i mean his companion just died. we showed him all the care we could and got him two new friends to bond with that day.
hammy seems like he is doing much better and wont pass like the other one did, but he either is really confused why is bff is not there anymore, or he is sad and has no motivation. he often just wanders around the pen slowly, looking for skipper maybe, he did everything with skipper. he seems to get along with the two new ducks, but i dont know if he will ever be the same, like the way he was with skipper.
it breaks my heart as an owner, to see hammy grow from a little baby duck to being bestfriends with skipper, and now to see him depressed and sad. will he ever be the same? he doesnt run around as fast anymore and does everything slowly with little energy compared to the other two. should i be worried? what should i do?
thankyou if you took the time to read this, and for giving me your best insights, i want the best for all my ducklings. rest in love skipper
I’m no expert but it seems like you’ve done everything you can for Hammy by giving him some new companions. If he seems fully healthy and is eating/ drinking normally, his energy and should come around. I have heard that ducks can get depressed, having the new ducks around should help and if it was more recently that this happened, she might just need a bit of time. Hoping all goes well for Hammy and your new ducks too.
thanks for your sympathies
