Low duck, slow duck, autistic duck, deaf duck, what the duck? What's wrong with this duck?

[IndyRealtor]

I have four ducks about three months old, two Khaki Campbells and two Welsh Harlequins. One of the WHs is so passive and quiet that I have wondered if she's either sick or stupid. This morning I put a small pen around her pool just so she could eat mealworms without the other ducks getting to them first. She has always been the shyest duck, the one least likely to jump in the water or eat out of my hand. While three sleep together or hang out together, she is always off on her own. Sometimes I see her standing there with her eyes closed. The other ducks aren't mean to her, nobody's pecking at her. She has been withdrawn from the day I got her. Is this normal behavior for a duck?

 

[Amiga]

Not really normal for a duck, though some are kind of unique. Elf was slow in development, at least a couple of weeks behind the others, but finally caught up by the time she was 8 months old or so, and now holds her own just fine.

There are some possibilities - she could have had a greater need for B vitamins as a duckling, she could have had an infection that affected her nervous system, there could be an internal issue that is not obvious from the outside.

If you can have a vet look her over, that would be best. If you can get a video, there is a chance someone here might recognize something.

I would get her on poultry vitamins in her water twice a week (won't hurt the others), She may be in pain from an internal injury - or have an infection.

 

[quackers619]

She sounds a lot like my blind duck. Does she get around good?