Any advice for gasping for air in ducks!

[CayugaDuckMomOfTwo]

They grow like weeds

 

[Aunt Angus]

They grow like weeds

They'll be a united, happy little family soon!

 

[ProudRedneck]

Thank you for your sweet message. I tanked again yesterday, and cried for hours thinking about Grace, and watching Frankie figure out how to live without her other half. Frankie has been a little more chatty, and she did her "dominant bite mom while doing a happy feet dance" for the first time since Gracie passed. Of course I cried happy tears, since it was the first time she really touched me, and let me tickle her chest for weeks. We foraged for hours together last night, and she kept coming over to see what I had found. Her right eye is still tearing (really hard to tell since their head are wet all the time), but she still has 5 days left of her antibiotics and anti-inflammatory. Ducks are smart, let me tell ya. Frankie is given tablets mixed with mealworms vs Grace's liquid I had to syringe down her throat. Frankie can pick out all the mealworms around the cut up tablets at 100 mph. I'm taking her back in to the vet for a recheck after the meds are done.
Because of my now super paranoia, I had not introduced the ducklings to her yet. I read there should be a minimum of a 4 week quarantine period, and that they do better when the ducklings aren't so little and "peeping". So far Demeter and Kijora are doing well. They are PIGS, and I had to help Demeter when she started choking one night from eating too fast and not drinking water in-between gulps of food. I switched them to tiny crumbles vs pellets real fast. She about gave me a heart attack. They love their bathtub time of course. I got them an outdoor pen to explore outside (away from Frankie to be safe).
Sorry for the novel, I'm just trying to figure out how to live with this crater size hole in my heart and without my Grace. My boyfriend had a big blanket made with a picture of Grace that's says "Grace, Forever in my heart" on it. I would give anything to get her back and make our family whole again.

Thank you so much for your reply. I started crying again while I was reading your post to my DH in regards to how your boyfriend made a blanket for you with Grace on it. That was so sweet of him and it sounds like you're a lucky gal . I know it will take time as with any time we lose someone or something we love as deeply as we do, I pray that your healing comes sooner than expected. I know the two babies will not be a replacement but, I have found in my own grieving process of losing my Mom, ducks can certainly be a distraction and thankfully provide happy moments that bring laughter. Until God put Daffy in my life, I was struggling to find reasons to get out of bed. So hear me when I say, I COMPLETELY understand how important our ducks can mean to us. Much love to you and Frankie, Demeter, Kijora, and the rest of the family both human & animal

 

[ProudRedneck]

I love it! Looks like duckie wings.

I agree it does !

 

[Miss Lydia]

Terramycin eye ointment can help heal eyes
Your babies are beautiful and hope they all get to meet each other soon!

 

[CayugaDuckMomOfTwo]

Thank you so much for your reply. I started crying again while I was reading your post to my DH in regards to how your boyfriend made a blanket for you with Grace on it. That was so sweet of him and it sounds like you're a lucky gal . I know it will take time as with any time we lose someone or something we love as deeply as we do, I pray that your healing comes sooner than expected. I know the two babies will not be a replacement but, I have found in my own grieving process of losing my Mom, ducks can certainly be a distraction and thankfully provide happy moments that bring laughter. Until God put Daffy in my life, I was struggling to find reasons to get out of bed. So hear me when I say, I COMPLETELY understand how important our ducks can mean to us. Much love to you and Frankie, Demeter, Kijora, and the rest of the family both human & animal

I am so sorry to hear that about your mom Love is the most complex thing we will ever experience in our lives, and loss is it's opponent that we battle with and will never understand fully. Keeping busy is definitely a key in the grieving process. I am grateful for your empathy more than I can say. No matter furry, fluffy, feathered, scales, or flesh, love is love. It goes as deep as our hearts let it, and the deeper it goes the harder it hurts when that physical life is ripped away. As you said, Grace can never be replaced, but additional love helps distract the pain. It's my personal belief, but I know me, Frankie's, and Grace's souls are intertwined, and her spirit is with me and Frankie.

 

[CayugaDuckMomOfTwo]

I failed to mention that I'm getting super worried Demeter is a male. Kijora, being a Rouen makes it more difficult to tell. We thought we sexed them correctly, but Demeter is starting to sound a little raspy. Her(his) feathers are coming in quicker than Kijora, but only Kijora still sounds high pitched. Could Demeter just be older due to the quicker feather development, but probably male due to sound?
And then comes the bigger question: Hoping that just one of the ducklings is male, do you think I'll be ok with one male and two females (Frankie is a dominant female)?
Through A LOT of research color (feathers, beak, palmates) being gender specific is a moot point nowadays until fully grown. Obviously if either of their heads turn green we'll know. Fingers crossed they both aren't males!

 

[ProudRedneck]

I failed to mention that I'm getting super worried Demeter is a male. Kijora, being a Rouen makes it more difficult to tell. We thought we sexed them correctly, but Demeter is starting to sound a little raspy. Her(his) feathers are coming in quicker than Kijora, but only Kijora still sounds high pitched. Could Demeter just be older due to the quicker feather development, but probably male due to sound?
And then comes the bigger question: Hoping that just one of the ducklings is male, do you think I'll be ok with one male and two females (Frankie is a dominant female)?
Through A LOT of research color (feathers, beak, palmates) being gender specific is a moot point nowadays until fully grown. Obviously if either of their heads turn green we'll know. Fingers crossed they both aren't males!

Demeter "could" be older but, based off the last picture you posted of them, I would say most likely they aren't too far apart. Also, I was just going to ask if your Welsh was a male because it's bill looks wide & flat to me....and yes, 1 male -> 2 females will be fine Praying they both aren't males though... for you AND for Frankie's sake

 

[CayugaDuckMomOfTwo]

Demeter "could" be older but, based off the last picture you posted of them, I would say most likely they aren't too far apart. Also, I was just going to ask if your Welsh was a male because it's bill looks wide & flat to me....and yes, 1 male -> 2 females will be fine Praying they both aren't males though... for you AND for Frankie's sake

It's still hard to know for sure what gender Kijora is, but I'm almost certain Demeter is male. He still "peeps", but his adult voice is starting to come through, and it's somewhat raspy. I'm super bummed, but still hoping Kijora is female at least. Kijora is still very high pitched, and much noisier. We are obviously not good at vent sexing
I've never had a drake, and it worries me that Frankie is a very dominant female (she used to try to mount Grace and pull on her neck feathers), whereas Gracie didn't mind Frankie's rough behavior, and would only occasionally grab Frankie's neck. It never got too rough, and they both would make giggle noises during these bouts. Frankie even tries to dominant me sometimes. We'll see how it goes in a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed. Frankie has recheck bloodwork on the 18th. Fingers crossed for that too.