Kakhi Campbell worse for wear - Update: Seems to be on the mend. Thanks for those who offered sugge

[naivetefarm]

Hi there -
Please don't feel any need to answer this over the holidays - just when you have time is fine.
One of my ducks has been losing feathers around her eyes and is practically bald on the back of her neck (I think the loss of feathers on her neck is likely from the other duck mounting her regularly). I separated her for a while and got some feather fixer to her along with some antibiotics and electrolytes. After about a week, she seemed to be doing better, so I tossed her back into the coop with the other ducks and chickens. Now, she seems to be doing worse again and her feathers on her body seem to be kind of dingy and slick-looking. Almost like they're greasy.

Important history for this duck: She did have bumble foot in the past, but we cleared that up just fine. She is definitely the lowest bird in the pecking order and has a pretty high-strung personality. She stresses out and skirts the other birds in the pen (I've never actually seen any other them pecking her, but it must happen on occasion if she's that nervous around them). Likewise, she was stressed the whole time I had her separated and was constantly quacking back and forth with the other duck in my flock.

I feed my flock a "mixed flock" feed and supplement with scratch grains and oyster shells as well as food scrap treats (celery and carrot tops, apples that are within a day or two of needing to be used, etc). They have a large 2 gallon heated dog bowl that I keep fresh water in, although for those of you with ducks, I am sure you know how quickly they can make a mess of their water. In other words, she has plenty of depth to dunk her head and she can even get completely into the bowl, if she wishes, although it's a tight fit.
Do you have any ideas about what might be happening to her? If not, do you have any other knowledgable folks that you might point me to?
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this message! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi there -
Please don't feel any need to answer this over the holidays - just when you have time is fine.
One of my ducks has been losing feathers around her eyes and is practically bald on the back of her neck (I think the loss of feathers on her neck is likely from the other duck mounting her regularly). I separated her for a while and got some feather fixer to her along with some antibiotics and electrolytes. After about a week, she seemed to be doing better, so I tossed her back into the coop with the other ducks and chickens. Now, she seems to be doing worse again and her feathers on her body seem to be kind of dingy and slick-looking. Almost like they're greasy.

Important history for this duck: She did have bumble foot in the past, but we cleared that up just fine. She is definitely the lowest bird in the pecking order and has a pretty high-strung personality. She stresses out and skirts the other birds in the pen (I've never actually seen any other them pecking her, but it must happen on occasion if she's that nervous around them). Likewise, she was stressed the whole time I had her separated and was constantly quacking back and forth with the other duck in my flock.

I feed my flock a "mixed flock" feed and supplement with scratch grains and oyster shells as well as food scrap treats (celery and carrot tops, apples that are within a day or two of needing to be used, etc). They have a large 2 gallon heated dog bowl that I keep fresh water in, although for those of you with ducks, I am sure you know how quickly they can make a mess of their water. In other words, she has plenty of depth to dunk her head and she can even get completely into the bowl, if she wishes, although it's a tight fit.
Do you have any ideas about what might be happening to her? If not, do you have any other knowledgable folks that you might point me to?
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this message! I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

@naivetefarm I think she needs more time out,but I would put one of the more laid back females in with her so you don't add to her stress level. Some good poultry vitamins may help too. sounds like someone is really using her and her being low on pecking order is why. She may not be taking care of herself and preening is why her feathers look bad.

If the drakes are abusing her she maybe avoiding the pools too and if she isn't bathing then she isn't preening which is how they keep their feathers looking good and water proof. How many drakes to females do you have?

You can also add some high quality cat kibble to her feed on a daily basis till her feathers get back in shape this gives her a bit more protein to help. Others may see something i am not but I really think the abuse from the other drakes and possibly other flock members plus not bathing and preening is the major problem her stress can be helped to by keeping her separate for a while but with another duck for comfort. Then when you introduce her back shake up the pecking order by moving them all around let the high in pecking order spend some time in time out and put her back in with the group and just keep rotating the flock around till everyone has been moved in and out then all put back together. But if you are over loaded with drakes your going to have to address that problem too Does this female lay?

 

[Amiga]

@naivetefarm - Hi!

I am with Miss Lydia. Really sounds like she is getting abused by drakes. So please, get her away from drakes a.s.a.p. for her health's sake and her life's sake - yes, it can be that serious.

Then take a breath and begin to sort out how to adjust the flock dynamic. There are a number of ways it can be done.

 

[naivetefarm]

@Amiga and @Miss Lydia

Thank you for the suggestions!

I actually don't have any drakes - the other female I have is the one who mounts her regularly. I do have a rooster in with them, but he leaves the ducks alone. Since I have only the two ducks, do you think it would be helpful to keep her with one of my more docile chickens when I separate her out? She laid really consistently when I had her separated (every day but one, I think) while the other duck quit laying outside. I consistently have duck eggs out in the coop, but I'm not sure whose are whose...

I'll see if I can figure out the flock dynamic. I know which two chickens are the top of the pecking order, so I can definitely rotate the flock around, if need be.

Sounds like the hubby will just have to deal with ducks in the laundry room for a while again...

Thanks so much for your suggestions!!
Alanna

 

[naivetefarm]

Sorry - I'm new to these forums and not sure how to tag!

 

[Amiga]

Yes, Alanna, you have the right instincts, I can see. Wow, my Runner girls play hop on top but no one has gotten hurt. Some ducks are just more aggressive, I think.

Yes, get her separated - sometimes just a temporary divider fence can work well.

I find that the @naivetefarm tagging does not work from my phone, ever, but it usually works from my laptop - sometimes, though, it takes several seconds for the drop-down menu of names to show up. If the tag turns blue I know it worked.

Wish I knew all the whys and wherefores…..

 

[Miss Lydia]

@naivetefarm Me too, this is very strange my girls do the same but not to the point of pulling out feathers.. Are you sure the chickens aren't messing with her? I have chickens and I can honestly say they can be very intimidating to my ducks and I have large ducks[Muscovy] They are allowed to be out in the fenced in property together but i don't house them in close quarters.

I'd dif try separating her from the chickens with your other female and see if anything changes for the better. In a situation like this you just have to try different things until something works what ever is going on it is really affecting her health.

 

[naivetefarm]

I'll start by separating both Lucy (bedraggled duck) and her partner, Ethel and see how Lucy does.

If Lucy seems to rebound after a good vacation with Ethel, then I'll put them both back in with the flock and remove the bullies for a bit to shake up the flock dynamics. If Lucy doesn't improve after hanging just with Ethel for a while, then I'll have to see about separating them for a while to see how that goes. Looks like it will be "try it out and see what works" kind of deal. Thanks so much for your thoughts on this matter. It's great to have a group where I can get suggestions and it's sometimes just good to hear that I'm not completely mucking things up as a newly-minter urban farmer. Thanks for your helpful suggestions and support!!

@Miss Lydia

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'll start by separating both Lucy (bedraggled duck) and her partner, Ethel and see how Lucy does.

If Lucy seems to rebound after a good vacation with Ethel, then I'll put them both back in with the flock and remove the bullies for a bit to shake up the flock dynamics. If Lucy doesn't improve after hanging just with Ethel for a while, then I'll have to see about separating them for a while to see how that goes. Looks like it will be "try it out and see what works" kind of deal. Thanks so much for your thoughts on this matter. It's great to have a group where I can get suggestions and it's sometimes just good to hear that I'm not completely mucking things up as a newly-minter urban farmer. Thanks for your helpful suggestions and support!!

@Miss Lydia

Please keep us updated on how things go. Hopefully you can get to the bottom of Lucy's problem pretty quick.. and get her back to enjoying life again..

 

[naivetefarm]

@Miss Lydia Thank you! I will keep you posted- have hubby enlisted to help turn the garage into a ducky getaway tomorrow since he ruled out having poultry in the laundry room again. I'll let you know how it goes!