Is this normal for a bantam duck?

[desertdarlene]

There is a domestic hybrid duck at the lake that I'm not sure what the breed is, but I think she has bantam appleyard or snowy mallard in her (she is around the size of a wild mallard). Her exclusive mate is a snowy mallard. She had ducklings last year, two of which survived and look mostly mallard with some "frost" on the wings just like dad (but not as red as he is).

This year, she had 7, but eventually got down to 2 after two weeks. One of the two was weak and the family couldn't forage much as the one duckling had to rest all the time even after a few minutes of activity. That duckling died two weeks ago and now the remaining duckling is very active and eating a lot for long periods of time.

He is now about 5 weeks old and still looks like a 2 week old (at 2 weeks old, he wasn't much bigger than a hatchling). Other mallard ducklings only a few days older than him are nearly fully feathered and twice as large.

I didn't see how fast her last two ducklings grew last year as they were kept away from where people can go. But they are now as large as the father who is slightly larger than than mom. I think I first saw them after 2 or 3 months after I saw them as day-olds.

Do bantam breeds grow slower?

Also, he swims around with his eyes closed a lot. Both him and the other duckling both did that nearly all the time they were swimming. I noticed their mom also closes her eyes a lot more than the other ducks.

Here he is as of today. He will be 5 weeks old on Tuesday and has very few feathers, mostly on his belly and near his tail.

 

[desertdarlene]

I guess no one knows.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I guess no one knows.

I didn't know dd that's why I didn't answer your post.

 

[Shikoba70]

Neither do I, I only do Muscovies but it would be nice to have some feedback from people who have bantam breeds

 

[Going Quackers]

I have calls. They do grow slower than say, my buffs or Muscovy. I have a 5+wk old.. it's the one on the left.



My older ones will sleep in the water... so that may explain some of it. That said if the family has had difficulty in feeding themselves it could be deficient in things unfortunately.

 

[desertdarlene]

Thanks Going Quackers. I've had other people say that their calls grow about the same rate as wild mallards. I do think that, perhaps, the lack of nutrition early in life might have been a factor in his slow growth. Migration is beginning here and we will get more hawks and herons, so I hope he grows soon! He's already a bit big for gulls, crows and ravens to eat. I'm actually surprised he's lived this long considering how small he is for his age.

By the way, your ducklings are adorable!

 

[desertdarlene]

This morning, I saw the mom with the dad, but no duckling. I think he finally passed away. The mom disappeared right after I saw her, so the duckling could have been hiding. But, given the strong bond between the two and how devoted the mom was, I don't see any chance that he is still alive.