peace of a cool spring morning with pet duckies

It was a long long work week for MamaDuck and GrMaDuck.  So welcome and embrace the wonderful peace of a spending time with our very loved pet duckies while they forage on this cool overcast spring morning.

Missy                                 Darrick

Darrick                      Beau                              Kouta

Queenie

Missy is looking SO pretty

Queenie and her white speckles

Queenie                                Missy

Beau   (his head feathers are changing again)

Duke Darrick

King Kouta watching the sky for preditors

Beau                                   Queenie

dig dig dig

Our duckies are LOVING springtime, and they got the extra treat of spending lots of time outside the aviary while GrPaDuck was home from work and spending time working in the garden.  Our happy pet duckies are looking really good.  It appears that their bodies needed the extra green goodies.  It's too bad that they have eaten and dug up all the green stuff inside the aviary.



P.S.  Our girlie duckies are NOT laying right now.  We have had a few stretches of days of "yucky" eggs.  The vet couldn't find anything wrong on the last visits, but makes us wonder and worry just a bit. 

yucky very soft shelled egg

In the future, we would like to add a few more girls to our little flock, but we would like to have a better understanding of the egg issues associated with our water, soil, etc, before we introduce more duckies.  In the meantime everyone is happy and healthy so we are happy too!

YouTube video links ... video from today:

http://youtu.be/me4ue2TSlBE

http://youtu.be/UBsBV7SGzsk

http://youtu.be/BIAcR0ftDnY


:-) quack quack

Sometimes the right thing to do breaks your heart

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

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.

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

Keelyn's new area

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

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.

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

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.

One Month Progress Report - Keelyn's Recovery

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.

GrMaDuck's Saturday Morning Report

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

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.

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

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~

another Keelyn update

HD Video highlight Keelyn's leg movements

FAMILY FUN DAY 5

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 :-)

Keelyn 5.24.2011

Enjoying chasing and eating freeze dried mealworms. :)

Fighting the bordom

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

Lots of pictures and considerations...

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