New Cayuga Hen with issues

[Hillwater farm]

I purchased two unsexed ducklings at the feed store in April that turned out to be beautiful Cayugas. We thought we got lucky and had a male and female but as it turned out our Dixie was not a chick,lol, but was a late bloomer and got his curly feathers a month later than his buddy Cooper. Anyway we love the breed and wanted to get them some ladies. I'm having a hard time finding females for sale in my area and really wanted them to be outdoor ready so I drove 2 hours for a hen posted on Craigslist. Well she's not coming from the best situation and was dehydrated and a bit disheveled but we couldn't leave her there and brought her home dispite her flaws. This brings me to my questions. Her neck has a swerve to it only seen when she's not swimming, her neck is also longer than my drakes. I've seen this in ducklings be repaired but is it possible this can be fixed with proper nutrition in an adult? Secondly she doesn't seem to shed the water the way my drakes do and is almost water logged when exiting her pond. I was thinking maybe she wasn't as old as they said she was (7 months) but even if she's not she is definitely old enough to have all her oils. To be honest I'm not sure I can believe anything these people told me but what's done is done and I've never been one to turn my back on an animal in need. She looks so homely next to my boys so I'm hoping to get advice on maybe a vitamin supplement or maybe she just needs time in a clean healthy environment? Any advice is appreciated, thank you!

 

[Orca5094]

I'm going to guess she didn't have access to a pool to bathe in regularly at her old home. That will result in poor feather quality and their feathers not being water-proofed. That issue will fix itself if you make sure she can bathe and clean herself every day. She just needs time to get her oils working again and be able to preen herself properly. The oils don't activate unless the oil gland makes contact with water.

As far as the neck is concerned, do you think it could be wry neck? With an adult duck, it's not likely you'd be able to fix a problem like that. Those things must be corrected as ducklings. As long as she's able to get around, eat, and live a happy life, I think she'll be ok with a little defect like that. Can you post a pic of her and her neck?

Adding some vitamins to her water would probably be a great idea since you don't really know what she was being fed. I'm not sure what is available where you are, but most feed stores should have some sort of poultry vitamins available.

Good luck with your new girl! It sounds like she really lucked out running into you!

 

[Hillwater farm]

If it is wry neck it appears to be a mild case. Her head isn't twisted thankfully. Your right about her not having access to a pool, in fact there was no clean water in sight but now she has a pond and lots of clean water to drink. I will try and get another picture of her that shows her neck, the ones I have now she is swimming and it's not as pronounced. I will get some vitamins for her water also. Thank you so much for responding, so glad I found this forum.

 

[Amiga]

Rowena was in a similar state - and until her feathers improved, I was very cautious about her in the water. She sank like a stone! So I did not let her get into water that was over her head for a while.

Sure enough, with a good diet and access to water (I have a 5 inch deep rubber bucket) her feathers improved immensely, and she began to float in the water!

 

[Hillwater farm]

We've let her swim supervised and she's done well so far. When she's not being watched we have her separated and she has a shallow tote. It's been 24hrs and there is already a huge difference! She continues to fight with one of my drakes so she is only allowed in with them while supervised until everyone gets along. It's funny my larger Drake gets between them and breaks it up like a peace keeper. I took some pictures of them and she looks so homely next to my boys. Some are blurry but you can see her neck. And some of my boys because they are just so gorgeous

Ellie Mae

Some of my boys

 

[Amiga]

Looks like an injury of some sort to her neck, but regardless - congratulations to you and to her! I know it only took a few weeks for Rowena to look like a new duck. Good quality food, fresh water, swim time, and a little TLC. You are wise to monitor interactions. Two drakes and one female - well, you know - and you are in the process of finding them more females so that everyone will be safe.

Lovely, lovely ducks, there.

We have one drake, Bean. He's a Buff Orpington. He and his two girls joined us but did not blend in well with the rest of the flock, so they are their own little unit. Long story, but it works.

 

[chickens really]

I rescued two Duck hens a month ago. They were attacked by fox. only 7 out of 25 ducks survived. The Pekin cross has a neck kind of like that and the Roen hen can not quack.....As long as she is happy, have no worries...Mine are very happy ducks.

 

[Hillwater farm]

I'm sorry to hear about the ducks being attacked its always a worry keeping critters safe. My horses seem to keep most things out of the pasture thankfully and my dogs keep the rest of the area free of predators but I'm always a little worried. Ellie Mae is already looking so much better. Her neck even looks better to me. I wouldn't be surprised if it was an injury the way she was kept. She was in a small pen with goats, pigs, turkeys and chickens. The area was all dirt and blackberry vines that the birds were getting caught up in. We confronted the lady about the conditions in the kindest manner we could muster but she just said they belonged to her kids. One of the goats couldn't even walk because his hooves were in such bad shape, it was horrible. I just wanted to get her out of there as fast as possible and call animal services. The people claim they rescue animals but if that's the case they are just taking them from one bad situation and putting them in another imo. I'll take more pics next week to show progress, and thank you for the support !

 

[Orca5094]

Aww, the poor dear! That doesn't look to horrible though, I'm sure she'll live a good life even with that little crook in her neck. It does look like an old injury to me as well. Not much you can do about that, but glad she is already looking better! Amazing what keeping animals in the right conditions can do, eh? I feel bad for the other animals those people had, but glad you were able to rescue this girl from that place. Good job!

 

[chickens really]

I'm sorry to hear about the ducks being attacked

its always a worry keeping critters safe. My horses seem to keep most things out of the pasture thankfully and my dogs keep the rest of the area free of predators but I'm always a little worried. Ellie Mae is already looking so much better. Her neck even looks better to me. I wouldn't be surprised if it was an injury the way she was kept. She was in a small pen with goats, pigs, turkeys and chickens. The area was all dirt and blackberry vines that the birds were getting caught up in. We confronted the lady about the conditions in the kindest manner we could muster but she just said they belonged to her kids. One of the goats couldn't even walk because his hooves were in such bad shape, it was horrible. I just wanted to get her out of there as fast as possible and call animal services. The people claim they rescue animals but if that's the case they are just taking them from one bad situation and putting them in another imo. I'll take more pics next week to show progress, and thank you for the support !

Terrible situations a lot of animals have to live in....My two rescues are great. They were very fearful of me but have learned from my other Ducks that I am not the enemy, but the protector.
The Pekin cross with the bad neck is much improved since she got here. Who cares how they look as long as they can function and act like ducks.?
Best of luck with your Ducks!