Will my duck be lonely if it is in a separate enclosure within the larger fenced off duck area.

[khorn11]

i have a rescue khaki Campbell duck named Nelsa that is handicapped (attacked by a snapping turtle and lost one toe resulting in decreased mobility) and I dont think she can live with the main flock any longer (1 drake, 6 female). She became lame again and I suspect it is due to being mounted by the drake who is twice her size. they currently all live in a large fenced off area. My question is Would Nelsa feel lonely it she lived in a separate enclosure within the large duck run? She would be near everyone and see them but hopefully it would keep her safe and ensure she has easy access to water feed and foraging space. Anyone had a similar situation?

 

[cheezenkwackers]

She would be happier if you separated her with a friend. Could you put one of the other females with her?

 

[Jenbirdee]

As I read your post, I’m sitting in my bathroom with my lame khaki Campbell allowing her to preen before putting her back into a large crate while she is healing from a leg injury however, it has been six weeks and she’s still not walking. I am actually considering the same exact thing that you just mentioned and one idea that I have is to put one of my other female Ducks that is a gentle friend duck for her in the smaller enclosure within my larger duck yard and perhaps to use a large dog crate inside my duck house at night when they all go to bed I will put my injured duck and her friend into the large crate. I think I would have to put them both in there because if I keep letting the friend mix with the other ducks at night and then separated with my injured duck all day, she may get picked on at night by the others in the duck house.

 

[khorn11]

She would be happier if you separated her with a friend. Could you put one of the other females with her?

I do have one female who is a little more friendly I could try to put with here, but would that upset the other female? Going from a large space to a smaller one?

 

[khorn11]

As I read your post, I’m sitting in my bathroom with my lame khaki Campbell allowing her to preen before putting her back into a large crate while she is healing from a leg injury however, it has been six weeks and she’s still not walking. I am actually considering the same exact thing that you just mentioned and one idea that I have is to put one of my other female Ducks that is a gentle friend duck for her in the smaller enclosure within my larger duck yard and perhaps to use a large dog crate inside my duck house at night when they all go to bed I will put my injured duck and her friend into the large crate. I think I would have to put them both in there because if I keep letting the friend mix with the other ducks at night and then separated with my injured duck all day, she may get picked on at night by the others in the duck house.

Thats what I have been doing for my injured girl during the day while I’m at work is putting her in a large dog crate out in the run so she isn’t by herself inside while she is heeling. That has worked okay for the time being but isn’t going to work for the long run.

 

[Jenbirdee]

I just thought to ask you -
Is she eating well?
What is her diet?
Are you giving her any supplements such as niacinamide ?
I have been giving my duck one ML of liquid be complex daily, which has 100 mg niacinamide that helps strengthen Ducks legs.
Also, I have been giving mine tube feedings because she wasn’t eating and glucosamine/chondroitin
And meloxicam for pain
Also, I add some rooster booster poultry cell to her tube feeding mixture - which is just a little bit of her duck feed pellets in warm water mixed into a soupy consistency
I just put her little foot brace back on her today and hopefully she will start walking in it. The first time I put it on her leg wasn’t strong enough and she was dragging it.

 

[Jenbirdee]

I do have one female who is a little more friendly I could try to put with here, but would that upset the other female? Going from a large space to a smaller one?

She’ll be ok

 

[khorn11]

I just thought to ask you -
Is she eating well?
What is her diet?
Are you giving her any supplements such as niacinamide ?
I have been giving my duck one ML of liquid be complex daily, which has 100 mg niacinamide that helps strengthen Ducks legs.
Also, I have been giving mine tube feedings because she wasn’t eating and glucosamine/chondroitin
And meloxicam for pain
Also, I add some rooster booster poultry cell to her tube feeding mixture - which is just a little bit of her duck feed pellets in warm water mixed into a soupy consistency
I just put her little foot brace back on her today and hopefully she will start walking in it. The first time I put it on her leg wasn’t strong enough and she was dragging it.

She does eat and drink well, I give her the Purina duck pellets and a healthy serving of mealworms scatter out to encourage her to move around and get extra protein. I would like to give her something for a little bit of pain management as she is healing but I don’t know where to get the meloxicam, did you have to get that from a vet?I thought about trying a small dose of aspirin but I read too many mixed reviews on if it was safe or not so decided it to risk it. Will your duck use her legs if you put her in water to float and swim around? I also just order a leg splint for her to hopefully help her put a little more pressure on the bad foot while the good leg is healing.

 

[Jenbirdee]

She does eat and drink well, I give her the Purina duck pellets and a healthy serving of mealworms scatter out to encourage her to move around and get extra protein. I would like to give her something for a little bit of pain management as she is healing but I don’t know where to get the meloxicam, did you have to get that from a vet?I thought about trying a small dose of aspirin but I read too many mixed reviews on if it was safe or not so decided it to risk it. Will your duck use her legs if you put her in water to float and swim around? I also just order a leg splint for her to hopefully help her put a little more pressure on the bad foot while the good leg is healing.

I got my meloxicam from my doctor…human meloxicam. I crushed the pills and then chop them up into little piles to make the right dosage for my 3 pound duck. She gets 1/4 of my 15 mg pill, every 12 to 24 hours. The meloxicam dosage is actually 2 to 4 mg per kilogram. ((1 kg is 2.2 pounds so a 3 pound duck is 1.36 kg ))
And I just read in my ultimate pet duck guidebook that a duck can have aspirin : dosage 5 to 25 mg per kilogram 3 to 4 times daily.

ETA
I do put her in the tub for some exercise therapy, but she doesn’t swim around. She just splashes herself a few times and then tries to fly out so I catch her lol