Duck Coop

The ducks were finally able to go outside last week. Their new home turned out great after two full days and some nights getting it put together. We just added the pool yesterday, and they absolutely love it! Fortunately, the weather has been amazing, so it has been fun to watch them play in the water and enjoy their new environment.

R.I.P. Veruca 2/19/10-3/28/10

Sadly, Veruca wasn't able to recover from what we now believe was a birth defect. We know that she's much better off despite her short time here.

The Lame Duck

So, at first we thought she was just the runt. Veruca has always been the smallest duckling, and during the two weeks we have had them we didn't really notice anything odd about her besides her slightly smaller size. However, things have recently taken a turn for the worst... Veruca started to crane her neck awkwardly while she walked, and she started to appear disoriented and dizzy all the time. After we realized it was only getting worse, we decided to seek professional advice... as in a trip to the vet.

Now, any pet owner knows that a trip to the vet office is expensive, and this one was no exception. At this point she looked pretty pathetic, and we realized this could be a life or death kind of thing, so while we definitely were not going to spend unlimited amounts on this duck we felt responsible for her and felt she deserved to live a happy duck life.

After a visit with the doctor and X-rays, it was determined that Veruca is having some sort of neurological issue between the wiring from her inner ear and her brain (hence the dizziness). This is a very serious condition and if there is no treatment it will get worse to the point where presumably she would not be able to eat. There are apparently a number of causes for this sort of thing: heavy metal ingestion, parasites, or bacterial infection. Because we didn't particularly want to pay for the necessary tests to see what exactly it is, the doctor was comfortable administering meds for all of the above. So poor Veruca has to take liquid meds twice a day. So far we haven't noticed her getting any worse, which is a good sign! He said we should know if she is getting better or worse by the weekend. Hopefully the diagnosis was correct.

The doctor also said she needed to be separated from the flock in case it is contagious. The ducks hate to be separated from one another and are quite vocal about it, so we keep Veruca in the brooder box next to the bigger cage where the other five now live. If it is warm outside and we bring the ducks out, Veruca has to go too in her box or they all get skwaaaaky.

This incident has raised a complicated ethical dilemma that any omnivore/pet owner has to come to terms with. Yes, I have eaten duck and other fowl, and there are probably hundreds of ducklings that are bred and die in captivity every day due to infection, trauma, or unsanitary conditions in general, and while we got the ducks partly for the eggs as livestock, they are most definitely pets also. It is tough to put a number on the lives of anything, but in situations like this that is exactly what you have to do. So far for us it was not too expensive, so hopefully she will get better and have a happy healthy life! Quack!