URGENT! Duck not walking

[Amiga]

Carmella had laryngitis a couple of months ago. I took her to the vet to be sure it wasn't something serious, then put a teaspoon of colloidal silver in their 2-gallon water pot at night for four or five nights, and her voice slowly came back. If your little guy is improving on his own, I would wait at see. My guess is Carmella either swallowed a hickory nut or Bean hopped on top of her with her neck over the side of the pool or something like that, and it was a physical injury.

 

[Zombified]

Sorry I've been gone. Dealing with a lot of other stuff.

So, Erebus has been greatly improving physically. His voice is back and he's walking now, though still limping pretty heavily. He started pulling his feathers a few days ago, so I decided to bring him out to spend time with the other ducks. A new problem has risen.

All of the others are trying to pull his feathers. They'll even put their heads through the chain link fence do it. The worst part is he doesn't even fight back, especially with the girls. With Thoth, he'll push him away, but that's it. I decided to bring him out anyway, because he just seems so miserable all alone.

My partner suggested we leave him out for at least a day and see if it improves(once his leg is totally healed and we can put him outside), but I'm worried that the four others will kill him. Is that a possibility?

If things don't improve, I'm thinking about rehoming him. If it was just one attacker, I'd rehome that one, but all four of the others go after him, with no clear leader. I really don't want to rehome him, though. ):

The thing that really puzzles me, is when I take him back inside, the others yell like they're upset, just like they do if another duck was to be taken away.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sorry I've been gone. Dealing with a lot of other stuff.

So, Erebus has been greatly improving physically. His voice is back and he's walking now, though still limping pretty heavily. He started pulling his feathers a few days ago, so I decided to bring him out to spend time with the other ducks. A new problem has risen.

All of the others are trying to pull his feathers. They'll even put their heads through the chain link fence do it. The worst part is he doesn't even fight back, especially with the girls. With Thoth, he'll push him away, but that's it. I decided to bring him out anyway, because he just seems so miserable all alone.

My partner suggested we leave him out for at least a day and see if it improves(once his leg is totally healed and we can put him outside), but I'm worried that the four others will kill him. Is that a possibility?

If things don't improve, I'm thinking about rehoming him. If it was just one attacker, I'd rehome that one, but all four of the others go after him, with no clear leader. I really don't want to rehome him, though. ):

The thing that really puzzles me, is when I take him back inside, the others yell like they're upset, just like they do if another duck was to be taken away.

Can you put him out with them but separate till he's 100% again, by that I mean in a separate enclosure but close where they can all see each other, then try putting one in with him so he has some company. once he's well try putting another in with him till they are all together. what your doing is introducing them into his pen instead of theirs where they feel they have the upper hand. . they see him as weaker and the weaker are always picked on. And they may kill him or injure him.

 

[mothergooz]

As I've discovered recently, ducks make a lot of different sounds other than quacking. It could be that the sound he was making earlier was his way of trying to tell you something was wrong and he was in serious pain...I mean he could've been hurting so much he couldn't even quack!

Monitor the vocal situation and just make sure he has no obstructions.

Hey, and I know this sounds crazy, but spend some time with him telling him how much you like him and what he means to you. I really think the good vibes from you to him will help in his healing.

Believe it or not, they do really understand what we're saying.

 

[Zombified]

I would if I could, Lydia, but I can't. Well, we might be able to find some extra chain link fencing from the last time we had to re-do our fence, but I don't think we have any poles. I would just leave him out of the duck run, but then my dog might decide to eat duck for a late night snack(I don't actually *know* if my dog would attack him, but I'm not taking any chances). If we could find enough fencing, it would just be a matter of making it secure enough that he can't push through it. My dog won't try to push it down or anything, that much I know.

Mothergooz, I'm always talking to him. I tell him what a handsome boy he is and how much fun we'll get to have once he's better. I can actually tell when I haven't been talking to him enough, because he'll start to hiss at me when I get too close to the cage. When was really hurt, he would bite me when I tried to pull him out for some water therapy. Thankfully he isn't doing that anymore. I think you're right about him being too hurt to quack, because he stopped biting me right around the time his quack started coming back.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I would if I could, Lydia, but I can't. Well, we might be able to find some extra chain link fencing from the last time we had to re-do our fence, but I don't think we have any poles. I would just leave him out of the duck run, but then my dog might decide to eat duck for a late night snack(I don't actually *know* if my dog would attack him, but I'm not taking any chances). If we could find enough fencing, it would just be a matter of making it secure enough that he can't push through it. My dog won't try to push it down or anything, that much I know.

Mothergooz, I'm always talking to him. I tell him what a handsome boy he is and how much fun we'll get to have once he's better. I can actually tell when I haven't been talking to him enough, because he'll start to hiss at me when I get too close to the cage. When was really hurt, he would bite me when I tried to pull him out for some water therapy. Thankfully he isn't doing that anymore. I think you're right about him being too hurt to quack, because he stopped biting me right around the time his quack started coming back.

Nope I would not leave him out with the dog. maybe ya'll can figure out something. I bought those $2.38 fiber glass fence posts at Lowes and plastic poultry fencing to use when my ducks had ducklings. that way they were separate from the rest of the flock but everyone could still see each other. then all you'd need is a secure place for him to be in at night.

 

[Zombified]

That's a good idea. It'll have to wait til pay day, which is fine since I'm not planning on putting him out there until his leg is healed anyway.

 

[Miss Lydia]

That's a good idea. It'll have to wait til pay day, which is fine since I'm not planning on putting him out there until his leg is healed anyway.

 

[Zombified]

Okay, so, based on his healing so far, I think we've got another couple days to a week before he's well enough to be put outside again.

Now, I'm kinda worried that the aggression is related to mating. While the others do pull at his feathers, he's starting to actually try and fight with Thoth. I was concerned about this, but I'd hoped that they would be able to last til we got more. They aren't even 20 weeks yet, so I'm not sure of that is the case, or if there's something else going on besides his injury that's making him and Thoth fight. If it is fighting related to mating, I'll try and find juvenile hens ASAP.

 

[Zombified]

UPDATE:
Well, I didn't have to build any fences. They got a few minutes of heavily supervised interaction time for several days, and then I would leave him out during the day and bring him back in at night, and now he's out there just like he was before. The limp is almost nonexistent. I suspect tomorrow he won't be limping at all. I think the only reason Pyrrhos is still limping is because she isn't letting herself heal. She likes to fly and then come in for a crash landing. Her favorite thing to do is dive-bomb the pool. Soooo, when I turn their unused outdoor house into a brooder, I'm going to keep her inside like I did with Erebus so her leg can heal. It's good to have found a reason why she wasn't healing despite the water therapy and Epsom salt treatments.

As for interactions, everyone gets along very well now. Eris and Thoth were chasing Erebus, but now that he's pretty much all better, they don't bother anymore. So, I do believe you guys were correct, they were only doing it because he was weakened. I think the reason they aren't that way with Pyrrhos, is because she won't let them. It's kind of a rule in the flock: Don't mess with Pyrrhos, lol. She's smaller, but I think she could tear some feathers off if it was in her personality to do it. Thankfully, she's a very peaceful bird and only delivers a peck if she's pecked.