Khaki Campbell duck won't stop quacking

[azrc]

Hi,I have a question that I can find an answer to. I have 3 KC ducks about 2 years old (2M, 1F). A couple of days ago one of the males started to quack non-stop...all day and all night. He has also lost his wing feathers and seems to have changed colours. The feathers may have happened before, usually they stay at the end of the yard and I don't notice them much.

Other than this, he appears normal; eats swims, plays with the other 2 ducks.

Any ideas?

I had a female duck do this in the past after her eggs hatched and then die unexdplainedly a few days later, like she died of stress or something. Thanks for any insight. If he doesn't shut up soon I'm afraid I'm going to have to get rid of him.

 

[duckluv]

I don't know anything about it. I hope he'll be okay!

 

[dumb_cluck]

"SOMETHING" is the matter. Watch carefully what he does as far as activities, eating habits, etc. There IS a reason. Not to just hear himself quack!

The loss of feathers is a hint........

 

[azrc]

Well, I discovered that the He is really the She....guess I counted wrong in the mixup of birds. Can't tell any difference in behavior, it's just driving me crazy. It's like when they quack when yuo take their babies away from them.

 

[ejctm]

Could it be something that spooked her? Like she saw a predator (or what she thought was one?). If there was something lurking around, her noise will probably draw more attention to them, so can you perhaps separate her for a few hours in a dark place to see if this would calm her down a bit? Sounds like it cannot make her worse, so worth a try? Or distract her with some tasty treats and she might forget what she was scared about?

Just some ideas. Hope you can sort it out.

 

[azrc]

No, not spooked...this is something long term. I think I'm going to have to get rid of her (take to a neighborhood duck pond...I wonder if that is even legal...). I don't think I'm able to catch her though, might have to shoot her.

I had another female that hatched some eggs and it quacked like this non-stop for about 2 weeks and then just up and died, I've always assumed from stress and a heart attack. Poor ducks.

 

[SycolinWoodsChickens]

Before dumping your duck or shooting her why not put an ad on Craigslist or even on BYC? Seriously. Even if it is legal to dump a duck (I doubt that every community has rules against it) then you are just making it someone else's problem, or giving predators a free meal, or leaving it to some other end. If you want to put her in freezer camp then at least you know she died humanely.


We are about to rehome a drake that I thought I would never find a home for my asking around our area and someone knew, someone, who knew someone that wanted a drake. So if you really want to get rid of her and don't want to send her to freezer camp then make an effort to find her a home.

 

[treldib]

Quote:

LOTS of people would gladly take an Adult Khaki Campbell hen

 

[sonew123]

many on BYC will try to help you rehome if not take her themselves! Dont ever rehome your animals in local ponds and such -:-(

 

[desertdarlene]

Please don't take him to your local pond/lake. A lot of people don't realize just how many predators there are even in these tiny ponds in the middle of the city. Raccoons, possums and skunks are dangerous to ducks, for example, and live in all neighborhoods. Sometimes, you get stray dogs attacking ducks. Most domestically raised ducks aren't as cued in to predators as the wild ducks are. Plus, there's social and disease issues to deal with. Also, most people don't feed ducks healthy food at most lakes on a regular basis.

I'm sure someone here on BYC will take the duck. In the very least, perhaps the humane society or duck rescue can help.

If you are having problems catching her, try feeding her off by herself with special duck food and treats. I've even seen wild ducks warm up to people who feed them food that they like.