When the champion layer slows down
Few ducks lay like a young Khaki Campbell, so the contrast in old age is stark: eggs arrive less often, shells may thin, and long pauses become normal. That decline is not a failure of care, and pushing a senior bird to keep producing with rich feeding usually adds weight her legs do not need. Let her diet follow her actual laying, with a maintenance approach for a bird who has essentially retired, and judge her health by brightness, appetite and movement rather than by the egg basket. She still needs the same clean water, deep enough to dunk her whole head and keep eyes and nostrils clear.
Legs, feet and safe access to water
Ducks carry their weight on relatively delicate legs and broad webbed feet, and years of activity can leave an older Campbell stiff, slower and prone to sores on the underside of the foot from hard or dirty ground. Keep her pen surface as soft and clean as you can, clear away sharp stones and frozen ruts, and check foot pads by gently picking her up on a regular rhythm. Swimming remains a pleasure and good gentle exercise, but entry and exit matter now: a steep-sided pond edge that a young duck scrambled out of can trap or exhaust an old one, so provide a shallow ramp or stepped bank and watch her use it confidently.
Feeding, weight and flock dynamics
Senior ducks often move down the flock order, and a Campbell who hangs back at feeding time may be bullied rather than uninterested, so offer feed in more than one spot. Avoid letting her grow heavy on bread-like scraps or excess grain, because extra weight strains legs and can complicate any remaining laying. Grit access supports digestion of whole foods, and fresh greens she can dabble for remain good enrichment that encourages natural foraging without much energy cost. In cold weather, an older, leaner bird feels the chill more, so dry, draught-free night housing with deep bedding matters.
Laying troubles and other warning signs
Straining with a drooped tail, walking upright like a penguin, loss of appetite or laboured breathing can signal a laying-related emergency in a female duck and needs urgent veterinary attention from someone experienced with birds. Also act promptly on limping that does not ease with rest, a swollen foot, discharge from eyes or nostrils, or a bird who stops bathing and sits hunched apart from the flock. Older ducks hide illness well, and by the time a Campbell looks obviously unwell she may have been struggling for days, which is why small daily observations count.
Rotate her grazing or pen area when ground becomes worn and soiled, since an older duck spends more time sitting and her breast and feet suffer first from damp, dirty litter.
Small bird, worthwhile paperwork
Her age, laying pattern, past foot trouble and what she eats are details a vet, sitter or new keeper should not have to guess at during a problem. KinsLe keeps those notes together through Pet Passport, so an older Khaki Campbell's care history can travel with her whenever she is treated, rehomed or looked after by someone else.