Isolde is here, but is scared, need advice!

[aduckstolemyheart]

Picked up Isolde the Saxony hen yesterday, but tonight she still seems scared to death of us. I noticed she did not touch her dinner tonight yet either.

We have her in quarantine of course, and she was super hard to get into the pen for night time, as she was so darn scared of us and would run herself into the pen fence, and flap her wings and holler.

She acts really interested in our other ducks, but they, for now, want nothing to do with her.

So my questions are:

Is it common for them to be so scared and have a difficult adjustment? What can I do to help?

Will my other ducks (2 drakes and a hen) come around and eventually be interested in her, or at least accept her?

 

[duckyfromoz]

She is in a totally new environment- so is likely to be a little anxious and scared til she feels more at home. She may not have had much human contact at her old home- so give her some time. I try not to get too close to new ducks for a few weeks. I let them learn to that they can approach me without fear that I want to catch them every time. Food is a good way to win them over. I will sit with a container - the other tamer ducks will flock around and slowly the new duck will edge a little closer each day.

Given time they should accept her. She will most likely take her place at the bottom of the pecking order to start with- but it all depend on her temperament.

 

[aduckstolemyheart]

Thanks!

I felt so awful having to put her up, and do those responsible things that scare them so much!

Hopefully she will adjust at her own rate then. I plan on taking her some peas a little later today. As for her temperament, she seems very friendly (with the other ducks) and desperately wants to be buddies. But she's very calm too. The whole car ride home I never heard a peep out of her. Until we reached home and she saw the other ducks. Even then though, she seems laid back, not overly anxious or anything.

 

[katharinad]

My Saxonies are very calm too. They can get pretty wild when they are totally scarred. The first reaction mine have is to run into their duck house and hide. They also feed off the dogs. Our dogs bark, they want to run home. It's not that the dogs scare them or the like. The dogs protect the land from some imaginary monster and the ducks believe them. My ducks and dogs are friends with each other. Give her some time and put a baby night light into the barn so it is less scary to her.

 

[aduckstolemyheart]

Right now I have a yard set up for her during the day, and then at night I move her into her pen, which is temporarily in our basement, as I don't trust it to hold up as well against predators, and do not want to take any chances.


My dogs do the same thing! My great Pyrenees/St. Bernard mix is the best with the ducks. They all lay together and he watches over them very nicely. The Golden...not so much, lol.

Yes, she is really calm until scared, then she absolutely freaks out. Good to know she's not the only duck that goes from 0-60 in no time!

The only thing I worry about really is the fact that she's not really eating much. Maybe peas will get her appetite going!

 

[Kansaseq]

I know you have to move her inside at night for her to be safe, but since she is not use to being handled ( I picked her up twice; when I brought her home, and when I caught her to bring her to you) being caught twice a day every day is definitely going to stress her out. Whenever she sees you, she thinks you are going to catch her, so that's going to make her more afraid of you. I don't know what the solution is for that, just offering up a reason why she is so freaked out.

As for not eating, being stressed is most likely the cause. Is she eating anything?

 

[aduckstolemyheart]

She seems a little mellower today, and a little less skittish. And we are not physically handling her when we move her to the basement. We herd her (while talking softly and calmly) into her temporary pen, and then just carry the pen into the basement. Not sure if this better?

And of course, I expect her to freak out when we go toward her, I'd be freaked out too. Just wanted to make sure she wasn't OVERLY worried or stressed. She's foraged pretty frequently in her yard, and I think she's eating some of her food. I'm just used to my pigs wolfing it down, and never finding anything left in the bowls. She's not eating a lot, but she is eating some.

She laid an egg this morning, it was white, believe it or not. Is this normal for her? I know you said she laid green...but I know this is hers because she's the only one in her pen.

edited because I type faster than I think!

 

[gofasterstripe]

It was the same when I went and got my drakes. I was used to the ducks pigging down their food and 4 days later the drakes cup of food was still there, took a good week to 10 days before they got settled into their new home and ate the food I gave them. I was starting to worry

 

[aduckstolemyheart]

gofasterstripe,

I'm glad your boys finally settled in! Gives me hope for Isolde.

It's funny because I see my little Swede drake glancing at her more than the others, and I think I see the beginning of a wee spark.

 

[katharinad]

Quote:
There goes the Mint Saxony dream....

I would sit with here and talk or read loud from a book. It may be frightening at first, but she should calm down rather quickly. I did hold one of my young males each day until he calmed down. After 3 days you wanted me to get him and he even tried getting in through the dog door. He was so in love with me. You may try this too.

Now this also makes you wonder what caused the color in the first place. Perhaps something in the diet.