We lost the weak chick today. The other chick is the one that somehow got the top of his head (feathers & skin) peeled back. It is healing nicely and he is eating and drinking, but is really lonely I can tell. I'm sure there is dried blood and dead skin around the base of his neck from the area that got peeled back (I STILL cannot figure out what happened!). I'm wondering if I can put him back with his Mom & 2 siblings, or if I should wash off his neck area to get rid of any dried blood, or, thirdly, if I should keep him separated until the skin and feathers grow back. Advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!
Probably keep him separated until it's healed. The others will probably pick at it and give him a nasty infection that might cause his death. Maybe see if you can get him a smaller buddy from somewhere else? ~Chelsea
When I hatched out only 1 duckling and the other ducks were too big and would try to hurt him, I put him in a small cage next to the duck pen so he could see the ducks which made him much happier though he spent a lot of time trying to get out of his cage. After a couple of weeks I put them together and after the pecking order thing they just let him follow them around.
