One of my two ducks were killed today by a neighborhood dog that got loose

[tatswell]

I am feeling shattered and miss her so much. I am worried about the other duck. I went out to check on her and I have never heard her so quiet. Not a peep. Should I bring her inside with me until I get a couple more ducks?

 

[tatswell]

Any advice?

 

[Finny]

Get her a buddy asap. Until you do, yes I would bring her inside to keep her company. I am so sorry to hear about your loss .

 

[tatswell]

I would like to get her a buddy, or a couple. Should I get ducklings for her? She is one years old.

 

[Finny]

I would get an adult so they can be together right away. With ducklings you would have to wait to put them outside full time.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I would get an adult so they can be together right away. With ducklings you would have to wait to put them outside full time.

X2 very sorry for your loss.

 

[Onlyducks]

This happened to my Rouen ducks the first year I had them. The dog killed two and tried to kill the third. I kept her for a while but she followed me everywhere and seemed so out of sorts, I finally ended up giving her to someone with a bunch of other ducks. It is best to get adults if you are looking for other ducks to fill the void.

 

[tatswell]

How should I find her an adult? What worries me about that is I handled my ducks. They have always been independent but run to me when they see a hawk, let me pick them up, and even snuggle them. I wouldn't want another adult duck to be weary of me. Ducklings wont help then? Should I rehome her?
I love her so much and can hardly bear to lose her but I want what is best for her. She was with the other since day 1 and it just breaks my heart to have her alone. If I rehomed her, would she eventually adjust? As I said, she is attached to me as well as I am attached to her.
Thanks for the support. My eyes have been sore for 28 hours, my face tired. I just want to give the other duck some comfort

 

[Onlyducks]

We asked at the feed store if anyone knew where we could get ducks. That's also where we found someone to take the sad, remaining duck. If you get adults, if you keep them penned up for a couple of weeks and talk to them and interact, they will start to follow you. It may be easiest to put a divider in the pen so the new ducks can see your remaining duck and they can kind of get used to each other. When any of our ducks are injured or limping, we put them next to the others, but in a separate area. The ducks sit on each side of the wire so they could see each other and keep watch over the others.

As for getting ducklings or adults, the first year I got adult ducks, then for three years, ducklings and this year I got adult ducks and ducklings. I kept the adults penned up for about 2 weeks so they would know where they live. The adults seem to "bond" just as well as the ducklings. Ducks are surprisingly easy to train and interact even when they're full grown. I just talk to them a lot, walk around where they are, etc and they will start following me. I don't handle them, but I think that if I talked to them enough and worked at it slowly, that would be possible. Plus, since your remaining duck can be handled, any new adults will learn by watching her.

Rehoming might work, but since you are very attached to the duck, maybe try finding a couple of adults. As for adjusting to rehoming, as I noted, ducks can rebond quite easily.

 

[tatswell]

Thank you so much. I will go to TCS tomorrow and talk to them and possibly put an ad online for an adult duck. I'd like to stick to having females- although I don't think I'm going to have any luck finding another adult Gold Hybrid. Hopefully any breed will do.