Traumatized duck???

[Quackwacker]

Any help, suggestions, experiences would be greatly appreciated here.
About a month ago we had a daytime predator attack. We lost a chick and a duckling to the predator, and a number of our ducks were rattled by it. A Muscovy hen and Cayuga hen stayed out on the pond all night. We saw them in the morning and thought they would come in with the rest that evening. The Muscovy disappeared again and the Cayuga we had to pull out of the water and bring in. Long story short, I though after a few days to a week she would snap out of it. But she stays in the coup all day quaking to herself. She won’t come out at all! She’s still eating and drinking but not a lot. She was our very first duck hen 18 months ago and has always been somewhat of a “leader” if you will, when we introduce new birds. We are concerned for her. Will she snap out of it? Is she scared for life?

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

It can be hard to tell. Try forcing her out of the coop by locking the door. Be sure to offer her treats and keep her in your sight. Don't let her go out on the lake. Teach her that nothing is going to get her, and get her used to being outside again and let her know that you're there to protect her. This may/may not work. I had a hen who was traumatized by a dog attacking her sister in the coop while she was in there. From then on, she'd roost in the nesting box and no longer on her perch. So, I started placing her back on her favorite perch every night. It seemed to help her. How's she's young, try braking your duck's fear, before it turns into a habitory fear. If you get her to forget her fear, she should be fine, but as far as PTSD, she'll probably keep that for life, even if she doesn't know why. Try to make certain nothing comes near her or her flock that might bring the fear back, and make certain (if possible) that whatever attacked her doesn't make another appearance, cause it can bring back her fear. I hope that you've found something helpful out of everything that I said, and that you're able to help your duck.

 

[416bigbore]

Just curious, what was the Predator? Will she ever recover and be back to normal is the 100k question. Traumatic experiences effect everyone ( animals ) differently, hopefully see can feel safe in her surroundings again and be back to normal sooner over later. It all takes time, best of luck, poor thing.

 

[KaleIAm]

I'm sorry this happened. Ducks are sensitive and suffer emotional losses. My own ducks had a really hard time when we lost our last flock member to a medical issues. It took about 5 months for them to stop looking and quacking loudly for her. We grieved pretty hard.

Your duck might be both terrified and grieving. Personally, I would be very gentle and understanding with her. If you do bring her out consider giving her favorite treats and make her outings short. You can build up the duration as she builds up tolerance.

 

[Quackwacker]

Just curious, what was the Predator? Will she ever recover and be back to normal is the 100k question. Traumatic experiences effect everyone ( animals ) differently, hopefully see can feel safe in her surroundings again and be back to normal sooner over later. It all takes time, best of luck, poor thing.

We think it was a raccoon...

 

[Quackwacker]

I'm sorry this happened. Ducks are sensitive and suffer emotional losses. My own ducks had a really hard time when we lost our last flock member to a medical issues. It took about 5 months for them to stop looking and quacking loudly for her. We grieved pretty hard.

Your duck might be both terrified and grieving. Personally, I would be very gentle and understanding with her. If you do bring her out consider giving her favorite treats and make her outings short. You can build up the duration as she builds up tolerance.

She’s eating her treats but won’t come out. Not even with coaxing.

 

[416bigbore]

We think it was a raccoon...

So you didn't see the Racoon? They are usually a night time animal. Either way, still a very sad situation with the possibility of whatever it was will surely be back for more! Best of luck.

 

[KaleIAm]

She’s eating her treats but won’t come out. Not even with coaxing.

Is it ok to leave her in where she feels safe?

 

[Quackwacker]

Is it ok to leave her in where she feels safe?

Absolutely, she’s fine in there, it’s just not giving her the opportunity to do duck stuff.

 

[Quackwacker]

So you didn't see the Racoon? They are usually a night time animal. Either way, still a very sad situation with the possibility of whatever it was will surely be back for more! Best of luck.

Right, which is very odd. We saw animal dropping near the attack site that appeared to be racoon and we saw tracks that meet the criteria of racoon. But the day time thing throws me. We have hawks, eagles, crows, and owls here. All of which would Iove a snack from our flock. But they don’t leave tracks....