Please help! My Pekin let me pet her?!?!

[rlcrn02]

So we got 8 "female" ducklings the end of April so they are now almost 24 weeks old. 2 of them turned out to be drakes. All 6 females are now laying. Every morning I gather the eggs which are usually buried under bedding. The last 2 mornings 2 of the hens have stayed in the coop while the others go out to free range, watching me gather the eggs. One is Ming Ming my Pekin and the other is Perry, a chocolate Runner. Yesterday I had to literally shoo them out. Perry starts to squat like my hens do for the roosters (and me, sometimes), but then gets scared and tries to "fly" to catch up with the other ducks. Today Ming Ming stayed put, not squatting, but allowed me to pet her all over and to pick her up ( which she was terribly happy about but when I put her down she stayed there). That NEVER happens. I, then, let my chickens out and she still was hanging around in the duck area, not near the nest though. I finally had to pick her up and put her outside. She seems healthy and went on to drink water out of the pool and start free ranging. Any ideas? I don't want to miss something if she is starting to get sick.

 

[Amiga]

Good that you are paying attention. Sometimes that "out of it" behavior passes, sometimes it means she may be in distress, eggbound, mild infection, something like that.

Watch her closely. Is she straining? Check her vent for anything unusual. Maybe let her spend a little time in a tub of lukewarm water so you can watch her. Give the flock some vitamins in their water once, for a boost.

Please keep us posted.d

 

[chickens really]

It sounds to me that she was possibly going to lay...I do not think she is sick? She might be, but I do not believe so....
Sounds like she was hanging around the nest area thinking of laying or had already and was still thinking about it...

Best of luck

Cheers!

 

[rlcrn02]

Thanks. I guess I will leave her be a little longer next time.