Muscovy limping/laying down and siblings going bald

[MamaMarcy]

Where to start? I have 3 baby muscovy ducks - one is twice as big as the others and a few weeks older. I have them in whaat we call our "teenager dorm" (out of the brooder but in a small coop/run with a heat lamp) with chickens & 2 poults. The only other inhabitant is our mature bantam rooster, Batman.

So a few days ago the little ducks who are just getting feathers started goign bald on their backs. I hadn't noticed thaat witht he slightly older one who is now fully featehred.

(any guesses yet?)


So today I noticed Trooper the oldest of the scovy trio limping a bit. I picked him up and he looks ok and didn't flinch when I inspected him head to toe. Now he's laying in the yard...just laying there when everyone else is up pecking/walking around.

So...earlier today I saw Batman mating the scovy baby. Now I think I know why the other scovies are going bald on their backs.

Yes, Batman used to have a flock of his own girls, but when one of those girls turned into a big huge dominant standard size roo we moved Batman to the dorm. He does have a flock of 4 bantams pullets, but they are not mature yet and I guess the muscovies are getting the brunt of the behavior?


Shall I attempt to isolate the roo or the scovies? I'm not sure if it's wide to put the ducklings in the big coop yet? It holds 4 adult scovies, 1 adult injured turkey (who sleeps alone so the adult scovies don't eat on her), one big roo, and 9 standard hens. Trooper would likely be big enough but the littler ones are pretty tiny.

What I really need is my hubby to come hoem and build me 2 new coops.

 

[jamband]

yes batman needs to be taken out he is the reason they are bald and they are also not ready to be mated, could injure them. They need to be kept separate until big enough.

 

[MamaMarcy]

I wonder though if it'd be better to remove the muscovies? They are small enough that I don;t think they'd hurt the turkey in isolation while they all heal. My only other option is to put Batman in a pet carrier until hubby helps me get a coop built.

I guess either way is ok? The other poultries in with Batman are all bigger than the muscovies so I'm not worried about them.

just a sidenote that the other rooster will try to kill Batman so that coop is out of the question. Unless I et Marylou....he's come close to meeting my shotgun lately due to flogging me.

 

[MamaMarcy]

Update: I've found a used small chicken coop on craigslist for $130. As long as the guys wife gets back to me, I'm hoping hubby can pick it up tonight. If it all happens, I'll relocate Batman and the 4 bantam cochin hens plus one mixed chicken I suspect is a pullet. It'd be such a huge help!

If it doesn't happen I'll put Batman in a carrier tonight in a heated room.

 

[jamband]

but could the turkey poults hurt the scovies?? especially if one is hurt a bit ??

 

[MamaMarcy]

So far I haven't noticed any issues with the baby scovies and the 2 poults. The injured turkey in isolation is actually an older girl who I adopted from a friend. Big Mama is obese and has trouble walking very fast. At her last home she was repeatedly getting dog-attacked. Here the adult muscovies have pecked under her wing. Because she's so large, she really has to be in the "big coop" and she fits nicely in the muscovies house (there's a hen house and the duck house that share the run) which is an old dog house. She mingles with the other birds if they are out to free range without any noted incidents, but if she's not isolated in the duck house behind a closed door when not free ranging, the big ducks get her. She's quite docile so I think the baby scovies would be ok with her for a bit, but probably the best option is to remove Batman until a new coop is up.

It's working for now, but long-term I want Big Mama and the growing poults to have their own coop & run.

 

[MamaMarcy]

I found a coop on Craigslist last night for $150 (they took 130). Hubby brought it home and WOW it's way nicer than the pics showed. So, I got the 3 baby scovies transplanted along with the 2 older Runner ducks (the scovies have been following them around like they are their babies so cute!)...I'm going to also add the 2 turkey poults. Once the baby scovies are bigger I'll add the adult scovies and switch the poults to the chicken coop with the bigger turkey (who will stay in isolation while she heals and the little scovies grow bigger).

That'll leave batman with 4 bantam hens, one half bantam of his own offspring (I think he started crowing yesterday) and one young pullet who is standard size but still small.

The new coop came with 2 nesting boxes, 2 feeders, and a waterer. I'll clean them and bleach them before we use them. It even has a light inside.