Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Beau - weak, sore, & slow but BETTER!!

Such relief to see Beau up and moving this morning. His injuries are not as bad as we were worried they might be. He is waking better, balanced (mostly), & quacking about being separated.  However, he is  hanging close to Queenie and still showing many signs his neck hurts and that he is not feeling great but we are very encouraged.

He is tucked in under the warmth of the heat lamp inside the duck house. We think a few days of warm separation is in order. We are  hopeful that he will make a full recovery. 

Sent from GrMaDuck via iPhone 










BEAU: Just out of the duck house - before "bath" looking much better

From GrMaDuck
Sent from my iPhone

Monday, March 4, 2013

drake on drake abuse in our little flock

I know compared many other things the drake on drake abuse in our little flock is a small petty thing ... but Beau is not well he has clearly been abused by the other drakes during the day. Beau is raw very weak and not standing or walking right and breathing funny. He is with the girls, separated from the other boys, and I am hoping he draws some comfort from being with the girls who will be gentle with him. GrPaDuck suggested we keep him in the bathroom in the house but I, GrMaDuck, decided against it because he would be all alone. This drake aggression is disturbing and sad.

Beau is so weak I don't know if I will find him alive in the morning, although I don't see major injuries, his neck looks like it was injured his eye has been bitten so I don't know what injuries I can't see.
I gave him another dose of anti-inflammatory medication and placed him where he will have gentle company and hopefully that will give him comfort. There is nothing else I can do but pray and trust God with whatever tomorrow brings. I know they are just ducks, but I am their keeper.

Signed ~GrMaDuck
Sent from my iPhone

Added the picture taken of him several days ago.

my my my oh the duckie drama that spring brings

... so glad MamaDuck and GrMaDuck were both at the house this morning to sort a few duckie issues out TOGETHER.

Sometime during the night Beau got his head stuck in the dividing fence while being picked on by the other boys :-( He is okay but we had to cut the dividing fence to get him unstuck. We gave him a dose of anti-inflammatory duck medication because his neck is a little bit sore and swollen.

Frustrating thing is that all the duck books and references said that a 1.5"x1.5" fencing material should be safe for ducks and so we never guessed we would have such a  problem.  Well, now 1/2" hardware fabric is on the dividing fence, to ensure this doesn't happen again.  But what to do about the aggressive behavior ... trial and error and keeping a close eye on them is the strategy we now employ.  Really it is only a problem when the boy first "season in", or "season back in".  

No pictures we were to busy getting him unstuck, making sure he was all right, and making sure the flock was some what peaceful and safe before both human flock members headed to work.