Possible duck injury?

[Taralynnludwig]

My welsh harlequin, in the back, has been moving a bit slower then her sisters. And she lets her wing kind of hang, as shown in the picture. She tends to leave the other ducks and just sit by herself a lot now. I checked her out and her eyes and nose are clear. She seems perfectly fine but the wing droop and the antisocial behavior arent typical. She was the ringleader and theyd all follow her everywhere. What do ya all think?

 

[Taralynnludwig]

Anyone seen a duck like her? No visible injuries doesnt wince when i touch her in any spot. Clean nose, clear eyes, clean vent. Still eating and drinking just moves slowly and her wing hangs a bit

 

[Adalida]

This might be unlikely for your duck depending on your setup, but my Muscovy was attacked by an owl last month. The owl flew into their covered run through the open door (we hadn't locked them up for the night yet because it was middle of the afternoon). If my husband hadn't happened to see it, we may have never known it happened, assuming the Muscovy managed to get away. It had a hold of her on the back and she was beating at it with her wings.

She didn't have any puncture wounds and didn't lose enough feathers to be noticeable. She looked perfectly fine, except she didn't fly for weeks and she was irritable for awhile after the attack. She wouldn't come for treats, stayed off by herself, got annoyed when I approached her. Is there a chance your duck got hurt somehow and the injury just isn't visible? My Muscovy didn't act as if she were in pain, but the lack of flying (she loves flying and does it often) made me realize she was likely hurt worse than anything I could see.

 

[Taralynnludwig]

Thats crazy! I did notice a small patch of feathers missing on her back but i thought that was my drake being over aggressive. Their set up is pretty predator proof i believe... they sleep in a coop thats locked inside of a kennel thats also locked up. I keep a light on at night to detract from predators and we have a motion sensor light that covers the whole yard. They do free range during the day but then they have my dogs protecting them. One literally thonks hes mama duck lol. Did yours end up being ok?

 

[Adalida]

She's okay now but she took a few weeks to get back to normal. I'm guessing that her back/wing muscles just got severely tweaked in the fight. You know how ducks stand up and beat their wings? She didn't do that either. She's back to her happy self now though. I hope your duck gets better soon!

 

[Taralynnludwig]

Come to think of it i havent seen her beat her wings in a while... maybe a hawk took a swipe at her or something.... she seems fine for the most part so im sure she will pull through. Thays a freaky thought though!