Indoor duck

[nanceann]

So I've posted before about my Rouen duck that is periodically lame. Thought it was male when younger. Named Igor. Turned out to be female. Renamed Iggy. She has been spending a lot of nights in our spare bathroom. I guess because she's the runt she ends up on the bottom of the sleep pile or something a lot at night and can't get around in the mornings.

So we think she's going to spend a lot of time in the house this winter. We live in MO. Any advice for keeping her indoors. Diapers? Currently we use pee pads in the bathroom. I have a coffee can with water for her and I give her scratch grains or corn at night.

 

[chickens really]

Lameness can be caused buy nutrition....Breeding, Being over weight, a trip....What is her diet? How old is she?
Keeping her in the house away from the other birds will stress her...Ducks need other Ducks to feel secure...If She is eating and drinking I would leave her out...

Cheers!

 

[nanceann]

Thanks for the reply. Iggy is 1 of 4 Rouens that we have. We also have 3 Indian Runners and 2 geese. We got them all in April. They all eat the same feed. Crumbles and scratch grains and corn. They free range during the day in a fenced area with a small pond and about 30 chickens. At night they are locked in a kennel on a concrete slab and it has a roof. Iggy just periodically gets lame. I have checked her repeatedly for injuries. None. She just seems to have a bum leg. I prefer for her to be out but if the weather is bad they definitely crowd her too much at night. She can barely walk at times. She uses her beak and wings to pull herself along.

That's why she's spending more nights in the bathroom. But as winter approaches she may need more space. That's why I'm asking about options and suggestions for keeping her in.

 

[chickens really]

Could possibly get a Dog house and put her with another Hen to sleep with at night?
Just a suggestion....I would try anything before keeping one of my Ducks in the house...

Well, best of luck with what ever your decision is?

Cheers!

 

[TLWR]

How big is the night kennel? And are all the birds in it, or just the ducks and geese?
Being on her own will add some stress, but if you can leave her outside and confined with a pal at night, it could accomplish the same thing, but without the extra stress. And make sure the area they are confined to has plenty of hay/grass/shavings/etc to give some good padding to the concrete pad as that may just exacerbate the issue with her leg if she's running around at night on concrete.

 

[nanceann]

Right now the ducks and geese are separate from the chickens at night. We don't typically keep any bedding on the concrete because it is near a field and when it rains it becomes a mud mess. However we will be forcing the geese and ducks to bed with the chickens when it gets cold as there's no way to heat the kennel.

Iggy seems sort of ok with coming in at night. She has a mate, an Indian runner named Spot who dotes on her During the day.

 

[chickens really]

All Birds need some sort of bedding to sleep on or Roosts...Being Ducks do not roost...Bedding is needed....Could be the cause of her being lame?

Cheers!