The Duck Thread

[Wobbles]

Well today four of the ancona crew and our pekin went to our friend down the road. Marshmallow the pekin will be the guard duck

He was so happy to get the ducks. They are joining his two existing Anconas. Boy I'll tell ya, it was hard to see them go even though they are only a five minute drive away and I can see them whenever I want. But at the same time oh it is nice having the brooders less crowded. Two more ancona go to the lady we got our original five ducks from because she will swap us for muscovies. She needed two ancona female and I need three muscovy females. Win win! That will leave us with two girl ancona of our own still

Also today my dad and his wonderful girlfriend stopped by so they got to meet willow and wobbles the muscovies. They were very impressed with how friendly they are. Followed us through the entire yard and laid in the driveway by us while we gabbed. Boy i'm glad they didn't show up thirty minutes earlier when I was elbow deep in duck poop cleaning brooders

Not much coop progress the last couple of days and tomorrow I turn another year older (31 eek) so probably not much progress tomorrow either...ah well.

 

[Kaessa]

We may have just narrowly escaped disaster here:

I went in to check on the ducks and collect eggs yesterday morning. Everyone (as usual) ran to the other side of the pen when I came in. Everyone but Pepper. She came waddling up to me and was giving me a look like she wanted to say something to me. I squatted down and tried to see if she'd come to me and nibble on my fingers like she did when she was little.

When she got close enough, I saw an itty bitty binder clip (just the black part) clipped on to her lower bill, right next to her face. It was on there SOLID, too. I'm surprised I saw it, it was the same color as her bill, just a bit shinier.

We caught her, my husband held her, and I managed to pry the clip off of her bill without doing any damage. She seems to be fine, but I'm hoping she didn't swallow the rest of the binder clip. I still have NO idea where she got it, it must have been somewhere in the pen from before we made it a pen. It's not a size of binder clip that I've ever used.

How long before they show symptoms of metal poisoning if they swallowed something metal?

 

[Amiga]

It could take several days or perhaps even weeks. I hope she has nothing in there.

One could consider an x-ray, though that is stressful and expensive if even available. You could consider looking into chelating supplements that are not toxic to ducks. I think I read cilantro is a good chelator. Just don't know if it's okay for ducks to eat. Then there's food grade activated charcoal, that binds to toxins. It could be added to their night water as a precaution.

When Einz snagged herself on a bit of coated metal wire (I wish I could show you a photo of it, because I would have thought there was no way for her to do what she did), that was heart-wrenching - I was able to get her mandible unstuck without breaking it. Whew.

So I would dab the edge of her bill and underneath with triple antibiotic no painkiller at bedtime for a day or two just to prevent infection in case the skin was broken.

 

[Kaessa]

Also, we got our first egg from one of the younger girls today! No idea who laid it, but it was right in the middle of the duck house when I let them out this morning. Probably not Pepper, because it was cream colored and not black/grey.

 

[Kaessa]

It could take several days or perhaps even weeks. I hope she has nothing in there.

One could consider an x-ray, though that is stressful and expensive if even available. You could consider looking into chelating supplements that are not toxic to ducks. I think I read cilantro is a good chelator. Just don't know if it's okay for ducks to eat. Then there's food grade activated charcoal, that binds to toxins. It could be added to their night water as a precaution.

When Einz snagged herself on a bit of coated metal wire (I wish I could show you a photo of it, because I would have thought there was no way for her to do what she did), that was heart-wrenching - I was able to get her mandible unstuck without breaking it. Whew.

So I would dab the edge of her bill and underneath with triple antibiotic no painkiller at bedtime for a day or two just to prevent infection in case the skin was broken.

I will give them some activated charcoal in their water, hopefully there is nothing in there to worry about.

 

[Julie Birb]

I will give them some activated charcoal in their water, hopefully there is nothing in there to worry about.

Oh, no. I hope she didn't swallow a part of it. You're great to give her preventive measures. Keep us posted.

 

[caesargirl]

My neighbors bought a cheap metal detector to wave over their duck when they believed the ducks had gotten into something naughty.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

My neighbors bought a cheap metal detector to wave over their duck when they believed the ducks had gotten into something naughty.

Now there's an interesting idea. Do you know if it worked for them?

 

[caesargirl]

Now there's an interesting idea. Do you know if it worked for them?

I know it did once. More than that, no idea. That being said, handy to have to go around the duck areas with.

 

[JadeComputerGal]

I know it did once. More than that, no idea. That being said, handy to have to go around the duck areas with.

Any idea exactly what they bought, or can you find out? I seem to be always finding something I want to add to our first aid supplies to be ready for any potential disaster. I've never had a problem with our ducks ingesting metal, but I'd still like to be more prepared for it just in case.