MamaDuck

a snowy morning

2012-02-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

Woke up to the beautiful snow ...
However the aviary netting was so weighed down in sunk low inside the duckie aviary. It took a lot of work to knock it down because it was melting into an icy mush that didn't want to fall.

Our poor silly duckies - they are weirded out by the snow and brightness with shadows and the falling stuff (snow and small branches). But it gave us an opportunity to take some pretty pictures because for the most part they stood and just stared at GrMaDuck (like I can control the weather ... silly duckies) and at the sky.

Enjoy my snowy duckie pictures.

duckie aviary weighed WAY DOWN

weighed down aviary netting view from back side

snow on Kouta's bill - Beau showing off his curly tail

Darrick (cayuga drake)

Beau and Queenie

Kouta (front left), Queenie (back left), Darrick (center), Missy (back right), Beau (front right)

Beua saying we don't like the snow GrMaDuck fix it.
Kouta all puffed up, kingly but not too happy about the falling clumps of snow either.

aviary netting all clean off
Now we need to tighten and re-fasten it down
( a two person job for later )

SNOW

2012-02-19T21:45:00.001-05:00

Well we finally got a few inches (~4 so far) of snow. Our duckies have definitely decided they DISLIKE it. The snow is wet and sticky and after a while created a 2 inch blanket on the aviary netting and weighed it down. We could hear trees and branches breaking and falling in the woods behind the property (something else the duckies didn't like).

The heat lamp has been on most of the day in the duck house and we put down an extra 2 inches of clean pine flakes in the house too. While they are not happy about the snow they seem grateful for a warm clean house to hang out in.

We knocked as much snow as we could from the netting - hoping it does rip over night.

Just a Thursday morning

2012-02-09T07:46:00.001-05:00

Our duckies this foggy Thursday morning.

Saturday January 28, 2012 - a quick update

2012-01-28T11:10:00.001-05:00

Our duckies are doing well. They have adjusted to Keelyn's absence.

Competition between the drakes continues on it's normal ups and downs. The warm few days late in the week resulted in a bit of over mating due to this competition.

So this morning, we gave the girlie duckies some time alone in the R&R pen with the big pool. They have really enjoyed the chill time and pool time without having to deal with the macho boy duckies. When the girls started quacking like they were ready to come out and join the boys, we opened the R&R pen door but Queenie and Missy just stood there ... as if to say, "uhm, just kidding. No thanks we think we will stay in here.".

So they are peacefully napping and eating grasses and playing in the big pool today while the boys stand staring confused as to why the girls don't seem to be interested in such handsome, macho drakes like them. Of course their staring is interrupted from time to time with macho competition activities like fighting and chasing (not mean nor hurtful- just boys being boys).

Sorry no pictures yet today.

Sometimes the right thing to do breaks your heart

2012-01-24T20:00:00.000-05:00

Keelyn ...Sick again ...Re-injured again.....

This is no life for a duck - always hurt, separated from the flock, and often sick. All we are doing now is prolonging her suffering. Her passing is inevitable but will be slow and painful if we don't do something. She can not stay active enough to be healthy and she always has to be protected from the rest of the ducks (she is too fragile to be mated or even walked over), and even in times of improvement she re-injures herself. Saturday morning her breathing was slow and labored. Medication and a warm bath inside in the human bath-tub helped, but she is weak, tired, and losing weight AND Kouta (big white male Pekin) jumped over her fence and got in her dog house nest box so now her legs are re-injured too. The kindest thing to do for her is to put her to sleep, but it is really hard. We have cared for her and worked hard to give her a happy life and to manage her pain and injuries ... but now it is time to say good-bye. We love her too much to do anything else. We just want her to go sleep in peace and be free from her suffering.

**written 1/16/2012 .... our emotions are/were too raw to post publicly
______________

We waited to post this until we were ready to share, we will likely not be responsive to any one's suggestions or questions about how we could have / should have done things differently. This is not YOUR feathered loved one it is ours - please respect our grief and decision(s).

I (MamaDuck) truly believe that God had His hand in the situation. On her last day we were supposed to get rain all day, but we were praying for sunshine so she could have some pool time without getting too cold. This of course did happen, she had one last "good" (considering her condition) day with sunshine, fun with the girls, foraging and lots of one-on-one attention from GmaDuck. We know she knew what was happening and that she trusted us, we both felt her say good-bye and that she loves us. I told her to have fun with Alex and Bianca up in Heaven and don't give Bianca too hard of a time.
It has been a week, and I still ache with how much I miss her, but I know it was the right decision, and I am thankful that she is pain free and sickness free.

Rest in peace our Little One, my Sweet Baby Girl, Keelyn. We love you dearly.

RIP Keelyn 10/12/10 - 1/17/12

silly duckies

2012-01-14T15:10:00.001-05:00

Saturday - Jan. 14, 2012

2012-01-14T14:27:00.002-05:00

SATURDAY it started with Missy's loud alarm quacks because she didn't want to take her medication. However, we insist. Her foot is showing marked improvement now and we are confident she will be all better (after several more weeks of antibiotics).

Keelyn is having a very tough morning but for the rest of the flock there was lots of running around on this sunny but cold morning and happy times foraging for bugs, roots, and grasses.

silly duckies think this is an alfalfa treat bag

Tonight ...

2012-01-05T21:47:00.001-05:00

Our duckies in much need of a bath. Another night with water and treats inside the duck house at bedtime and the heat lamp on.

Our spazy Missy is shown in the top picture here. She is looking like one big hot mess. She is on antibiotics for an infection in her foot which is showing slow improvement. She is the girlie duckie that the boys like best and also spends the least amount of time washing up and preening. We wonder if this is a female Pekin trait, as Bianca the female Pekin we had before was the same way, although Bianca didn't have multiple loves climbing all over her making her feathers even messier.

Keelyn sleeps in the pet carrier, but we have improvised a garden gate front so that she can share treats and socialize a bit. She is shown way in the back because that is where we put her to bed. By morning she will have moved all the way to the front. Her legs are not doing well at all, which is causing increased concern for us. She is on pain/inflamation meds twice a day and another medication. We just trying to do our best for her, but not sure what the future holds.

Beditime treats in a water dish inside the duck house.

Our Kouta is a big sweet love of a Pekin (on the right above). He will calmly walk right up to us and even though he does not like to be picked up or petted, he does loves to talk with us. But when he is stressed (as in the case of very cold nights, and two of his girls having to take medication) he gets very grumpy with the flock and will peck the girls and chase the boys. We take this to be dominate competive behavior.

QUEENIE

Darrick and Queenie our Cayugas are the calmest of our tiny flock. What sweeties.

Beau in the front looking at me with great suspicion.

The weather has been very cold (for our area of the country). The teens and twenties with 15-35 m/hr winds is considered very cold around these parts. We don't have large heated water containers nor large heated barns. It is just not financially practical for six pet ducks in the mid-Atlantic region of the US. So when it gets this cold the duckie pools get emptied and the really warm heat lamp goes on and stays on in their 4x8 duck house. The weatherman is promising warmer weather for Saturday so I am sure we will have VERY VERY VERY happy duckies this weekend... if the weatherman is right.

A coooold morning ...

2012-01-04T09:07:00.001-05:00

....

We are keeping food and water in the duck house with heat light on. By yesterday early evening their water dishes in the aviary had frozen over.

They are not thrilled with the cold or the changes but are learning that the house is warm and the ground is cold. A good lesson to learn BEFORE it snows.

Here a few pictures ...

Our ducks enjoy a warm December morning... clean pool, clean house & nest boxes , & clean leave piles

2011-12-31T13:43:00.001-05:00

What a surprise. We were expecting a deep drop in temp, but instead we received a seasonally unusual warm morning and day.

With aviary clean up on the agenda this worked out perfectly.

Missy is flighty a foot infection again and Keelyn's bad legs are having a major flare-up/set-back. The warm weather allowed lots and lots of time in the clean "deep" pool which is what they both really need (in addition to medications for both and rest for Keelyn).

Every duck loved that we filled the "big" pool and the drakes were happy to have so much forage time. Greens and grass are sparse in the cool months. And the big pool is just too hard for us humans to deal with when the temps are near or under freezing.

So it has been a nice morning in the aviary and back yard.

The "big" pool!!

2011-12-31T13:05:00.000-05:00

A warm sunny morning ...
So I decided to fill the big pool so they all had room to dive and swim

Girlie Duckie pool time on a warm Dec day

2011-12-31T10:45:00.001-05:00

Some much needed time in the big pool

Video taken with camera cam

Nighty night duckies

2011-12-30T21:09:00.001-05:00

Our duckies being out to bed.

The are a little bit freaked out because for the human simplicity medicine is given at night after they go in the house.

We are not sure which is more disruptive to our tiny flock: the night time invasion of their safe place or the chase capture release in the morning. With once a day meds right now we have settled in the night time intrusion.

Notes ... Incomplete needs Editting

2011-12-28T18:55:00.001-05:00

I am going to the Vet to pick up antibiotics and pain meds (Keelyn's legs have suddenly become worse again)

Miissy's toe is looking awful ... definitely infected again - I think maybe Keelyn's issue is related to the infection ...

I put Keelyn in the Rehab tub for a bit then she shivered and shivered so I warmed a towel and wrapped her in it and put her in her night time box and put the box in the playpen.

Keelyn ate a lot of clover grass - I went and pull it out of the yard and put it in her water dish and she gobbled it up. So I went and got a bunch more... she wasn't really interested in her food food so I was happy she ate so much clover grass

Just makes me wonder if the rain washed chemicals or something into the aviary ... But who knows?

Queenie looks good but either Queenie or Missy is laying very soft shelled eggs ... could just be a side effect of the infection tho'

All the girlie duckies will be on Antibiotics tonight for the recurring "bumble foot" like infection.

It is just so weird that the drakes don't seem to have these troubles.

All in all the flock has been happy.

~GrMaDuck

Just a couple of pictures

2011-12-15T09:22:00.001-05:00

We love these funny duckies

Kouta, Pekin drake

2011-12-03T08:53:00.001-05:00

This is Kouta our Pekin drake. He is HUGE and sweet.

He is King of the Flock and his throne is the pool.

He is gentle though a bit clumsy but no longer

likes the human cuddles. His size might have

something to do about that. He is calm and, as fits

his title of "King Kouta", can be a bit aloof.

He is #1 in the pecking order.

Missy, Pekin hen

2011-12-03T08:40:00.001-05:00

This is Missy our Pekin hen. She is a fussy loud

female. She LOVES to eat and insists that

the flock is always together. She is curious yet

a spaz and has a way of sending the rest of the

flock into alarm for the silliest things.

She has beautiful freckles and loves to perch.

We have often teased her because she must

think she is part chicken. Her love is Beau but

Darrick and Kouta disapprove of their love so Missy

and Beau have to "sneak" moments together.

She is extremely flock social and you will

always find her near several of her flock mates.

Pictures taken last weekend ... Nov 2011

Keelyn, Welsh Harlequin hen

2011-12-03T08:24:00.001-05:00

This is Keelyn our Welsh Harlequin hen.

She is our disabled duckie. She continues

to have issues with her legs, having broken

both of her femurs early in her adult life.

She needs special care and most of the time

she is kept in a small enclosure within the aviary

(so that she doesn't try to walk too and keeps

her from being mated - her legs do not tolerate

the weight). She is a beautiful sweet duckie.

Because she gets special human attention

this keeps her very high in the pecking order.

Pictures taken last weekend ... Nov 2011

Beau, Welsh Harlequin drake

2011-12-03T08:05:00.001-05:00

This is Beau our Welsh Harlequin drake.

By far, most people find him to be our most

beautiful duckie. After each molt his coloring

will change up fairly significantly. This most

recent re feathering has brought back heavy

iridescent green head feathers showing off

his white "necklace". Beau is our most skiddish

duck. At the bottom of the pecking order he

will try to act all tough, and is the only one

who will bite (but only if you insist on picking

up duckies). He love is Missy our Pekin hen.

It is a funny match but the feelings are mutual.

beautiful drake tail feathers

Beau with his love mate Missy <3

see those beautiful drake tail feathers

Pictures from last weekend ... Nov 2011

Queenie, Cayuga female (hen)

2011-12-03T07:55:00.001-05:00

This is Queenie our Cayuga hen.

She has a strong calm personality.

She is not easily startled, nor does

she allow the alarm of the other

duckies to send her into panic.

She also loves a human cuddle.

She has a couple of white feathers,

and her favorite place is between the

big pool and the fence.

Pictures from last weekend ... Nov 2011

Darrick, Cayuga drake

2011-12-03T07:46:00.001-05:00

This is Darrick our Cayuga drake.
Duke Darrick #2 in the pecking order.

GrMaDuck thinks he is the most

handsome regal looking of our duckies.
He is a love but also a bit of a goof.
He loves to run (and apparently thinks
that running makes you attractive to girlie
duckies ... so far the girlie duckies are
not impressed by the running). His favorite
pass-time is to pick on and chase Beau.
He has a tiny crush on our Welsh Harlequin hen,
Keelyn. He has beautiful shiny iridescent feathers.

Pictures from last weekend... Nov 2011

A cold morning

2011-12-02T07:32:00.001-05:00

The duckies were surprised and curious about ice covered water dishes this morning. The hose was frozen too but no worries warm water from the tap was carried out to the aviary.

Icy water

2011-12-02T07:16:00.001-05:00

The duckies are confused by ice covered water dishes this morning :-)

2011-11-19T14:52:00.001-05:00

Both of KEELYN 's legs appear to be broken again or severely re-– insured . She only looked sore this morning. But after some time playing in the grass she is not able to walk at all. And has to use her neck and wings to try to scoot.

We are sad and frustrated. Not sure what the future holds for Keelyn . For now she's back in the dog/duck house nest resting semi-comfortably on the think pile of pine chips.

Fall in the aviary

2011-11-06T08:43:00.000-05:00

A bright fall morning in the aviary.

2011-10-08T16:04:00.000-04:00

A Saturday morning video of our six pet duckies. A whole week in "general population" made Keelyn's leg sore so we set aside "girlie duckies" time is the "deep" pool. Keelyn's recovery from her broken legs, includes lifetime rehab and extra care. She is doing very well though and we love all of our feathered family/flock members.

... now for lots of pictures ...

Missy


Beau and Kouta sleeping outside the aviary fence

Queenie preening after a girlie duckie time in the pool.


Keelyn some non-weight bearing time She has joined the flock all day and after a full week with them 24/7 her legs are sore and worn out.


Our sweet Keelyn Welsh Harlequin

Darrick, naptime outside the aviary.

Kouta ... getting sleepy
#1 in our flock

Missy and her beautiful freckles
Pekin

It is hard for us to get a close picture
of Queenie because she is always busy
doing something. Here she was:
dig, drink, preen, drink, dig, ...


Beau


Queenie, look back at us over her wing female Cayuga


Sleepy sleepy duckie Kouta

Darrick always likes to rest near the leafy stuff.

Missy

Beau

"Hey! what are you doing?? Can I come in there too?!?!

Keelyn, sleeping in the pool (ssshhhhh)

Isn't Missy's face beautiful.

Keelyn still sleeping.

Missy all clean and preening after her very long girlie duckie bath.

Silly Queenie after her long girlie duckie bath
she got to digging in the mud then walked around
with mud on her nose.

Mama Duck (human) came over and they
all started walking toward her.

We love saturday mornings when we can spend time with the duckies.

All of girls seem to have developed bumble foot. About a week ago, GrMaDuck noticed that they were eating a lot more mud than usual indicating a nutritional need. We increased their vitamins and minerals, but the combo of nutritional needs and the fact that their pen is mostly dirt created just the right situation to develop this. They are not limping or complaining, we just noticed it during cuddles. All three girls are have a vet appointment this Tuesday. We will keep their feet clean washing them with betadine in the meantime. Each of the girls will likely be put on antibiotics. We caught it early and don't expect any complications, only the inconvenience of having to give all three girls a pill everyday for a week. We are hoping this does not upset the balance of the flock too much.

Our life with pet ducks continues to bring joy into our lives. The duckie world in our backyard is full of silly, fun, drama, and peaceful moments. Having pet ducks ...
(GrMaDuck never expected this years ago) ... but having pet ducks pours so much goodness into your life (okay lots and lots of work too... not to mention the worry and money) but MUCH goodness. (We love our cat Pepper very much too.)

Our six duckies: Kouta male/drake Pekin, Darrick male/drake Cayuga, Missy female/hen Pekin, Keelyn female/hen Welsh Halequin, Queenie female/hen Cayuga, & Beau male/drake Welsh Harlequin

Missy

2011-10-01T13:16:00.003-04:00

She loves to "perch"

Sat pictures of our feathered loves

2011-10-01T13:16:00.001-04:00

Treat time

Pretty Girl Keelyn

In the pool ...

2011-10-01T13:13:00.001-04:00

Kouta and Beau looking for goodies at bottom of the pool

Beau (3)

2011-10-01T13:04:00.003-04:00

Pretty pretty boy

Beau (2)

2011-10-01T13:04:00.001-04:00

Now who couldn't love a face like that?

Beau

2011-10-01T13:02:00.000-04:00

Beautiful Boy

Breakfast for six

2011-09-30T08:01:00.001-04:00

Just another morning in the aviary.

Keelyn, our Welsh Harlequin female, is about as recovered as she is going to get and has now rejoined the "general population" for full days.

The flock is happy and peaceful.

Duckies running around excited

2011-09-22T23:16:00.001-04:00

avairy

2011-09-06T08:16:00.001-04:00

from the back patio at the avairy

from the back of the aviary looking toward the house

Clean water

2011-08-31T07:46:00.001-04:00

Duckies so happy that the power has returned so they can have clean pool water

hurricane IRENE

2011-08-27T19:49:00.001-04:00

Keeping the duckies very close because of wind and rain causing falling branches etc during their break outside their house (during a lull in the storm) - hurricane IRENE

Hurricane IRENE

2011-08-27T19:43:00.001-04:00

Giving the duckies a short break from being inside their house all day.because of hurricane IRENE. (super stormy but not huricane forces here West of Richmond, VA)

2011-08-22T23:31:00.000-04:00

Arrived home after choir / praise team practice and went immediately to put the duckies "to bed" (into the duck house) for the night. All the duckies were sleeping in the pools (girls/hens and boys/drakes). They were so cute. When I said time for bed, let's go to bed (which I say every night) they just looked at me. It took practically stepping into the pool to get them out and headed to the house.

The sweetest thing is that the drakes were sharing pool space so nicely with the hens.
Then our sleepy duckies all went into the house to finish their night's rest.

Such sweet duckies tonight.

We have such beautiful duckies

2011-08-19T08:43:00.000-04:00

yummy wet morning grass and running water!

Left: Missy, Center: Kouta, Right: Keelyn

They are wondering why GrMaDuck is leaning on the aviary fence.
"Silly GrMaDuck you have to use the gate to get in."

3 short video clips (low res)

2011-08-14T19:26:00.003-04:00

Happy hungry duckies excited about a morning rain.

Happy duckies and a morning splash in the rain.

We love this one best. Missy comes back
for more food and LOVES LOVES LOVES it,
and she lets everyone know.
Listen to Missy's happy "this is so yummy quack".

2011.08.14 p1 happy pet ducks (taken with phone camera excuse low quality)

2011-08-14T08:46:00.001-04:00

Catching bugs in the morning rain.

Eggs

2011-07-31T08:26:00.002-04:00

Missys egg compared to Keelyns. about the same length but thinner.

Egg

2011-07-31T08:22:00.001-04:00

Look who laid an egg this morning! Keelyn.

2011-07-25T14:08:00.002-04:00

a passing thunder storm cooled things off for a little while...

Heatwave

2011-07-23T15:47:00.002-04:00

The duckies took a vote. Frozen peas in a shallow bowl with fresh cool well water is SO much better than alfalfa "tea".

Heatwave

2011-07-23T15:12:00.001-04:00

Beau and Kouta were the first ones brave enough to try a new treat ... Frozen Peas. YUM!

Heatwave

2011-07-23T15:10:00.002-04:00

Refrigerated Alfalfa "tea" with semi frozen peas a cool treat to help deal with the heat and humidity.

~heatwave~

2011-07-21T22:42:00.000-04:00

Right Now
(10:30 pm)
86°F

Humidity
83%

We have had temperatures climbing to near 100 with high humidity with little wind over the last couple of days. The weather people are saying it is going to be worse over the two days.

Our poor duckies really struggle to keep cool. We are changing out their water as often as possible. Normally the water buckets are changed once or twice a day, but we are trying to freshen up the water buckets and the pools with the well water more often than that hoping that will provide cooler water.

Today the human flock members all had to work, so our duckies had to tough it out. Keelyn must have jump flew over her fence, into main area in the aviary. The regular pools are harder for her to get in and out of. This evening she clearly was very hot and very sore from doing too much. She was treated with an extra late night trip to the pool. That should help some.

*sigh* too much to worry about.

We will tag team tomorrow through Sunday checking on their conditions and switching out water frequently. Hmmm.... maybe it is time to try semi-thawed frozen peas as a new treat, that might help cool them down too.

Sat 7/16/2011

2011-07-17T06:15:00.000-04:00

New area for Keelyn for when we are not home.

Missy

Kouta & Keelyn

Keelyn's new area

2011-07-16T11:53:00.001-04:00

Keelyn's new big area. Even though she is doing much betteer she can not be left alone with the flock if we aren't home. This area gives her water to splash in room to really walk and a big nest box to get out of the rain and sun.

Sat. Morning 'rehab' - recovering well from leg injury

2011-07-16T10:38:00.001-04:00

After an hour walking, foraging, and socializing now for at least 30 minutes non-weight bearing time in the freshly cleaned "big" pool. Friends near by to enjoy the mud from the water Keelyn splashes out.

'sister' duckies'

2011-07-16T09:58:00.001-04:00

Missy is hanging out with Keelyn during naptime.

Sat. Fun (01)

2011-07-16T09:11:00.001-04:00

A place to get away from the boys "romantic" advances and still walk, dig in the mud, forage, and socialize - for Keelyn (and any of the girls).

Our six pet duckies are playing in the mud

2011-07-16T09:07:00.002-04:00

Our six pet duckies are playing in the mud while I think about getting around to cleaning out the pools, house ,etc. But they are so cute that I keep taking pictures instead.

Foraging

2011-07-07T20:30:00.002-04:00

Keelyn chatting with the boys

Girltime (now including vid-clips of Keelyn's walking progress )

2011-07-07T07:35:00.002-04:00

Getting some girl time in ...
A chance for Keelyn to walk a little bit
and mingle without making her feel like
she must run and keep up with the flock.

Below are a couple of low quality video clips
showing Keelyn walking
So happy is is getting better.

None of these videos are great, but it is so nice
to see Keelyn making progress.

7.7.11

2011-07-07T07:30:00.000-04:00

Our happy duckies

Toxic Plants ...reminders & more info ...

2011-06-24T14:37:00.000-04:00

Thanks to another blogger and duck lover ... we were surprised or had forgotten about the ones below in bold (of course most of the time ducks will not eat something that is poisonous because of the taste but in my rural area we have to extra careful ... because most of the time is not ALL of the time)

You can see Shanti Perez / Augie March - King of Doodles post at the link below.
http://kingofdoodles.blogspot.com/2011/06/plants-toxic-and-safe-to-pet-ducks-and.html
=============================
"birds [ducks] are at risk from laburnum seeds, potato sprouts, black nightshade, henbane, most irises, privet, rhubarb leaves, rhododendron, oleander, yew, castor bean, sweet pea, rapeseed, corn cockle, clematis, common St. John’s Wort, meadow buttercup, vetch, ragwort and some fungi. Blue-green algae is quickly fatal, so water containers should be kept clean, especially in hot weather and access to stagnant water should be prevented."
http://www.poultryclub.org/poultry/poisonous-plants-and-toxins/
=============================
"Eggplant, Stem, leaves, sprouts (ripe fruits are OK) Solanine, atropine-like alkaloids Vomiting, diarrhea, irregular or rapid heart rate, difficulty swallowing, labored breathng, dilated pupils, no urine production, paralysis, seizures
Potatoes Stem, leaves, sprouts, green skins Solanine, atropine-like alkaloids Vomiting, diarrhea, irregular or rapid heart rate, difficulty swallowing, labored breathng, dilated pupils, no urine production, paralysis, seizures
Tomatoes , Stem, leaves, sprouts (ripe fruits are OK) Solanine, atropine-like alkaloids Vomiting, diarrhea, irregular or rapid heart rate, difficulty swallowing, labored breathng, dilated pupils, no urine production, paralysis, seizures
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1912&aid=2236
=============================

One Month Progress Report - Keelyn's Recovery

2011-06-23T18:22:00.002-04:00

Three video clips documenting Keelyn's recovery progress

First clip:
Just out of the pool she is able to stand and preen etc. You can really see the nerve damage and weakness in her right leg (which had the worst break). It can hold some weight but has limited strength and control. We expect much of that to be permanent. Dispite all that she is making good progress and learning to compensate. If we can keep her from reinjury for another month or so, she should have a good chance at being independently mobile.

Second Clip:
You can see here that after a few minutes of standing, preening and snacking she starts to get sore and weak, at which point she uses her head and neck to balance/stabilize herself and shift her weight. She has a two water bowls in her small “play pen” area, a low bowl for easy sipping from a sitting position and a coffee cup deep enough for washing her face, but still reachable from a seated position. You see her washing her nose out toward the end of this clip.

Third clip:
The final clip for today makes us both happy and sad. We are pleased to see that when her she gets sore she will sit down and rest her legs. Continued rest with very little standing and walk/wobbling (for another month or so) is what she needs to let her leg bones finish healing. However, it saddens our hearts to see the extent of the nerve damage in her right leg. She is our little Keelyn; still flirty, feisty, and sweet; and although she will very likely never again run to chase bugs, she is making good progress and learning to compensate for her disability. We are hopeful that as she continues to heal she will learn to walk and be strong enough to spend time with the rest of our little flock unaccompanied by the human family/flock members.

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NOTE: Keelyn is recovering from two broken femurs, one is worse than the other. Today (June 23) is about one month after the acute injury, and about two weeks after reinjuring her left leg in an over zealous attempt to walk and follow other ducks when they walked away from her.

BEAU (June 23 2011)

2011-06-23T07:47:00.005-04:00

Most of Beau's beautiful iridescent green feathers are being replaced with white. Our beautiful boy seems to be fading to "Pekin" (he is a bit jealous of our King Kouta) or going gray. Actually this may be a light molt, with only his "under coat of feathers" showing now.

GrMaDuck loves Beau's "toenails" :-) They look like they have toenail polish on them.

GrMaDuck says, "Very pretty Beau!"

Freckles

2011-06-21T09:20:00.002-04:00

Missy's "freckles" are so cute! We don't know if they show up here, but trust us this sweet bossy but submissive yet funny sweetie has a very pretty face. We love her freckles!
____________________________________________
Here is a better close up on Missy's "freckles" <3

2011-06-17

2011-06-17T07:31:00.003-04:00

2011-06-18

a visiting female mallard interupts our morning routine

2011-06-14T06:30:00.004-04:00

We had a female mallard fly in to visit the duckies this morning.

Keelyn was doing her loud, "come over here everybody" quack while the other girls were preening from their first bath, and the boys were outside the aviary foraging. (Our normal morning routine while Keelyn is on the mend.) Beau tried twice to walk through the aviary fencing confussed and upset about something. It wasn't until then that I noticed her flying over. She circled then landed in the yard between the aviary and the garden. She seemed to be interested in pool and food.

It was so funny; as soon as this young female landed she started walking over caustiously. Darrick was the only on willing to go out and "greet" her. He was so excited to see this other girlie duckie. However, Darrick is not very good at flirting and our visitor was not impressed. I guess she doesn't appreciate being chased. Darrick cracked me up. He ran over to her, chased her, gave up, came back over and bragged at bit to the other boys, then did that again a few times.

Our visting female came over a foraged a bit with the boys where the pools had over flowed outside the aviary. She seemed to be looking for a way to get to the pool, but settled for a little digging around for goodies in the dirt with the boys (not too close mind you).

Then Darrick tried the run around and chase her yet another time. She had enough of that and fly away.

It was a very enjoyable thing to watch.

I personally have concerns about the wild ducks getting used to sharing with our pet ducks. But if Darrick continues "greet" all vistors by running about wildly chasing them, we may have no reason to be concerned.

movie from last Sat 6/6/11

2011-06-11T23:59:00.000-04:00

This is a "movie" from last Saturday June 6.
MamaDuck dialed in to webchat and GrMaDuck and our six pet duckies all spent the morning together.

2011-06-11 cooling off

2011-06-11T14:38:00.001-04:00

Our duckies (Missy, Beau, Kouta, Darrick cooling off with a drink and a dip in the pool)

Keelyn 2011-06-11

2011-06-11T14:34:00.000-04:00

Keelyn thru the "bars" of her rest and recover area

Queenie (2) 2011-06-11

2011-06-11T14:21:00.001-04:00

Queenie keeping cool (2)

Queenie 2011-06-11

2011-06-11T14:19:00.001-04:00

Queenie keeping cool

Duckie 2011-06-12

2011-06-11T14:18:00.002-04:00

Our Duckies (one view of the new Keelyn area)

GrMaDuck's Saturday Morning Report

2011-06-11T10:52:00.002-04:00

GrMaDuck here ...
I spent all morning in the aviary, as is typical for a Saturday. I moved and rearranged Keelyn's "playpen" out from the center of the aviary. I used the flower border fencing we have been using but split it up into three smaller areas. (We will post pictures later.) The boredom and separation really gets to her. I, GrMaDuck, hope that having a few different SMALL areas to be in will discourage attempts to walk (we need those legs to heal) but will also help with the boredom and maybe the flock will spend a bit more time with her. The primary spot is near the human chairs, where the rest of the flock likes to nap in the afternoon, on the side of the aviary that gets the most shade. I am hoping this will help keep her cool on these very hot days.

I love to be out with the flock, even when I am sweating while cleaning out pools, carriers, house, etc. They were such a happy flock this morning. The boys foraged outside while the girls got there morning swim and bath (pretty routine for us these days) and both girls and boys seem to enjoy the longer special time. Our very vocal Missy (MissAdventure), was talkative and happy. Lots of loud happy slightly bossy quacks this morning, along with my favorite, her happy song. All the ducks have a happy song, but Missy sings hers is the loudest. When the boys came back in the aviary they too started singing their happy song... clean pools, grass, floating duck food, everyone all together, pen raked clean, and no fighting over girls, yep.. the boys were happy and they were singing their deep boy coo coo happy songs. I LOVE IT!

My only worry this morning, is Queenie, she is VERY heavy with egg(s) again. She is showing all the classic signs of being egg bound again. (pray saints pray) If she doesn't lay by Monday, I am afraid we are off to another expensive vet visit.

I, GrMaDuck, am happy to report that when Keelyn is in the water we are starting to see her move her left leg much more again. Now if we can just keep her happy and not trying to walk on it. She will endure great pain to try and walk to get close to the flock.

That is all for now.

Have a duckie weekend!
:>

Back in the box

2011-06-03T08:59:00.002-04:00

We had been not been forcing Keelyn to stay inside the pet carrier all day (when see wasn't in the pool or tub) for two reasons.
First, she hated it. She naturally does not want to be separated from the flock at all. The carrier creates a significant separation, even when set out among the flock in the avairy. She was feeling better and stronger and it was making her really upset to be in it.
Secondly, the weather has been very hot and humid. The carrier with limited air flow becomes an like oven in the VA heat, even in the shade.
So for the last several days she has just been in her "playpen" area. She was doing and feeling better but tried to do too much "walking" (hobbling) and reinjuried her left leg. So with cooler temps and Keelyn wanting to lean on something to help deal with the pain in her leg, she is back in the box. Today she is happy to have a soft pile of wood chips under her and a wall to lean against.
Thanking God for cooler weather.

2011-06-01T10:51:00.000-04:00

GrMaDuck was greeted by these lovelies at work this morning. Joy !

2011-05-30T12:15:00.000-04:00

Trying to balance what is best for Keelyn's legs against her very real need for socialization with the flock is tricky. Here is a moment when I was duck sitting close by and I let Kouta and Darrick have a swim with her.

(this is low quality phone video)

~GrMaDuck~

Rehab - Duck Sitting

2011-05-30T12:04:00.001-04:00

I am standing guard over Keelyn while she gets some time in the shallow pool. She is feeling well enough to "jump/fly" out of the pool (even the "deep" pool, but not strong or healed enpugh to be landing or walking. AND I stand near/over her to insure no mating. She is still too fragile for that (even though she is a big flirt). ~GrMaDuck~

BEAU

2011-05-30T11:54:00.001-04:00

I think I upset "the apple cart" (balance) today when picked up Beau and wouldn't let him bite me. He got down from my lap peacefully on his own, but now he is a VERY grumpy drake. ~GrMaDuck~

Drakes are Great

2011-05-28T22:41:00.003-04:00

We have beautiful boys (drakes).

I titled this Drakes are Great, because I swear when they puff up and sound off, they are singing out "Draaakees are Greaaat, Draaaaakes are Greeaaaaat,Draaaaakes are Greeaaaaat "
:>

This video is dedicated to our drakes, our beautiful boys. They haven't gotten as much video time lately, so we are making up for it today.

another Keelyn update

2011-05-28T22:03:00.002-04:00

HD Video highlight Keelyn's leg movements

collage

2011-05-28T16:46:00.000-04:00

a collage of our beautiful ducks

FAMILY FUN DAY 1

2011-05-28T13:45:00.000-04:00

Family Fun Day for duckies
(This was supposed have been the first post)

Girlie Duckie pool time

2011-05-28T11:07:00.003-04:00

VERY VERY Happy Girlie Duckies (The videos are even better.)
Our girlie duckies (Queenie-black-Cayuga, Missy-white-Pekin, Keelyn-multi-Welsh Harlequin) having a blast in the very full and just cleaned pool. (wish the video quality was better- but too cute not to share)

(part 2)

fun fun fun

Queenie

2011-05-28T09:31:00.002-04:00

Queenie

FAMILY FUN DAY 5

2011-05-28T09:19:00.002-04:00

Duckie family fun... It is so great to be able to have Keelyn "join in" with the whole flock. AND Queenie laid an egg last night/this morning. WOOT WOOT WOOT :-)

FAMILY FUN DAY 4

2011-05-28T09:15:00.001-04:00

Sharing=caring 2

FAMILY FUN DAY 3

2011-05-28T09:09:00.002-04:00

Sharing=caring :-) (1)

FAMILY FUN DAY 2

2011-05-28T09:00:00.001-04:00

A little play pen in the yard for a duckie family fun day.

two videos 5/25/2011

2011-05-25T08:00:00.002-04:00

video 1 - 10 min of boring morning stuff
((REMOVED)) just way too boring :-)

video 2
Queenie and Keelyn in the pool, Missy digging in the mud, and the boys running back and forth outside the avairy ... (and a bit of typing arm interference with the webcam)

Keelyn 5.24.2011

2011-05-24T13:21:00.001-04:00

Enjoying chasing and eating freeze dried mealworms. :)

5.24.2011

2011-05-24T07:43:00.001-04:00

Keelyn and Missy in the just cleaned pool.

5.24.2011

2011-05-24T07:41:00.002-04:00

Our girls

A clean pool for the girlie duckies

2011-05-24T07:36:00.002-04:00

The girls getting some non-boy time in a clean pool. Keelyn is enjoying the company and this is good rehab. She is startinng to show some small improvements.

dinner salad

2011-05-23T23:18:00.001-04:00

Keelyn' s dinner salad with calcium powder dressing and meal worm croutons

Fighting the bordom

2011-05-23T18:53:00.001-04:00

Gave Keelyn a plush toy and a small mirror to hopefully help keep her entertained. We'll see how this works...

A Spring Sunday Morning

2011-05-22T07:23:00.002-04:00

A pretty Sunday morning in the duck avairy. *thankful*

Lots of pictures and considerations...

2011-05-21T15:01:00.001-04:00

We are having to consider some hard things related to our little flock. Both of Keelyn's femurs are broken (due mainly to low calcium levels - she has experienced no major trauma). But surgery to pin them is not likely an option because of the low calcium (her bones are simply too weak.) So we are left with very difficult decisions...

put her to sleep OR try and rehab her ourselves OR find a rescue center that can rehab her

After doing some research, MamaDuck found out that those sanctuaries/rehab centers that even take pet ducks, are either so full of rescues that they can’t take any and/or they don’t take lame ducks. There is also the factor of, if we surrender Keelyn to a rehab center, we won’t get her back.

Things to consider
- GrmaDuck usually work 45-55 hours a week, which means that it is a daily challenge for her to make the time to care for and socialize with our little flock, but she manages and it is a delight. BUT adding rehab, will (if we do this right so that we can better manage her pain and increase her potential of a decent outcome) require more frequent care and more time with her and the flock.
- Only GrmaDuck and MamaDuck can work with Keelyn. We don't have anyone else that is comfortable with this. We do have a couple of people who can duck sit healthy ducks, but not injured or sick ducks.
- MamaDuck now lives 25 min away, and starts full-time work in a couple of months. She will always be around and be MamaDuck of the flock, just not every day.
- Happy or not, Keelyn is in pain.
- We wonder if she will ever be able to run and chase bugs again (which was her FAVORITE thing to do)
- We love her so very much. We wish we had a sign that their calcium was so low, but the eggs were fine, everyone was happy, we just couldn't have known before now. Her broken legs are breaking our hearts.
- We don't want to put her down. We selfishly want to keep her with us for all of her life.
- We are trying to be realistic. We are trying to think about what is best overall.
- We aren’t sure that we have the time or energy or money resources to give her the best rehab possible.
- It is more than, is Keelyn capable of being happy. It is, can we keep her happy, and manage her pain level well for months, and likely for years?

As of now, we are finding ways to keep her happy and as comfortable as possible. We even figured out how to keep her immobile while also with the rest of the flock in the aviary. Other than when she is trying to move, she doesn’t seem to be in great amounts of pain. We know that she has to be hurting; you can’t break both your femurs like that and not be in pain. But we are managing her meds to keep her comfortable and using water therapy as often as we can to relieve the pressure and weight off her legs. We have already started adding vitamins to their water which has calcium plus D (Vitamin D helps the body actually absorb the calcium) to help with her bones, and to prevent future issues with the other ducks.

Keelyn is and always has been very energetic, it is the reason we picked her name, Keelyn means "lively", this means that she is already trying to be adventurous and move more than we would like her to. This can create more problems as she is trying to heal.

If we continue down this road of rehab, it is going to be a very long, long hard road. We know that she will never be the same, and will most likely always be mostly lame. This is harder than we can put into words.

FOLLOW UP NOTE ADDED JUNE 2011: We decided "rehab" her ourselves. It has been a BIG challenge and has impacted every area of our life with the frequent time commitment required, but we are seeing progress and are hopeful that despite some permanent nerve damage in one leg she will walk again (she will likely never run again but walking is looking probable). Of course we will forever supplement their diet to counter the effects of the minerals in our ground and water that limit calcium absorption.

Now, for some pictures.

Family breakfast around Keelyn

Tub (Water therapy) time...Darrick sneaking some of Keelyn's treats :P

Kouta - "My Love!...My Darling!"
Keelyn - "Babe, you ate my treats...you get no love right now."
:P

Time to dry off and preen in the sun on the towel.

"Gotta....get...comfy..."
This is the only way she can move around right now, she pushes herself up to get her legs comfortable.

"I don't like this...but since you're holding my bill, I'll tolerate it."
We have to roll her over to dry her belly off since she can't reach that one spot.

You can see, her right leg (the older less severe break) she can sort of move if it doesn't have weight on it. But her left leg (the more recent, and worse break) has nerve damage, she can move her foot, but not her leg.

"I'm tired Mama, hold my head for me" <3

"Ahh...Back in the aviary with everybody, in my new set up, so I can see and talk to everyone, but I can still rest, and not worry about those silly boys getting too close."

~MamaDuck and GrmaDuck

Keelyn

2011-05-21T09:10:00.001-04:00

Grass and preening/drying off time.

'family mealtime'

2011-05-21T08:57:00.001-04:00

Instead of "family dinner around the table" ... This is "family breakfast around Keelyn" :)

5/20/2011

2011-05-20T08:17:00.001-04:00

This morning. our litttle flock

TWO broken legs

2011-05-19T13:06:00.002-04:00

Keelyn has two broken legs up near the knees probably due to low calcium not trauma. without surgery this will be a long slow recovery. we need to add calcium and vitamins to the girls diet.

Actually it is her femurs that are broken. One of the breaks is at nearly a right angle causing nerve impairment with possible permanent nerve damage.

*tears*

more worries

2011-05-19T08:10:00.004-04:00

Keelyn is not able to walk thhis morning. Her legs appear too weak to hold her. She does not act like she is hurting just not able or willing or strong enough to walk. *another trip to the vet*
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are VERY VERY worried. She has been on antibiotics for almost a month, and a second round of anti-inflamintory for almost a week, to treat what the vet thought she has bumble foot and then adding a knee sprain on top of it. But now... now .....

We are VERY VERY concerned..... Keelyn's condition has significantly changed since yesterday. She mostly drags herself around by her wings. She feels a bit bonier (thinner) today. She doesn't appear to be in pain, but to be sick and wea...k and her the way she barely moves or uses her legs looks like paralysis more than injury. I am wondering if she got into something poisenous. She doesn't want to eat her duck feed only mud or to sleep in the nest. Our vet is off today. We are calling all around for vet to help us.