HeritageGoose13
Songster
- Apr 24, 2015
- 1,201
- 127
- 148
Hi everyone. I'm new here. I've checked out the site before (very useful!) but haven't felt the need to create an account and post something until now.
I went to Hubbard Park in Meriden yesterday. I haven't been there in years. I expected to see a couple of ducks, maybe a goose- but there were TONS of dumped ducks and geese. They were all at least slightly friendly, and some of them were obviously hurt. Because they were all formerly pets, it would be easy for me or anyone else to grab them- they're allow you to get very close. The problem is I don't know what I would do with them after that. I can't adopt them myself, since I already have a lot of pets, and I can't keep them on my property because they might spread disease to the ducks that I already own. There's a waterfowl rescue in Lebanon that I was going to contact, but their website says they cannot take any more birds right now.
Then I thought of animal control, but Meriden animal control doesn't even take cats- all they do is dogs.
Can anyone help or point me to someone that can? If anyone here wants to rescue some birds and is able to quarantine...
Here is a long list of *most* of the domestic birds. I noticed at least one other white duck as I was driving away (it was in another part of the park than where I had been walking around).
Group 1: 1 female black swede, 1 male pekin, 1 male blue runner, another pekin, another (probably male) swede. The female of this group was very sweet. When I fed her some leaves, she got very excited and made lots of noise. The back of her neck is showing since the males have pulled her feathers out (she seems very bonded to them despite this). They like corn.
Group 2: A pair of pekin ducks that were eating floating trash in the water. One has a bright orange bill, the other has a pale pink bill.
Group 3: 2 chocolate-colored toulouse-like geese, and 2 white crossed-breeds with gray patches on their heads. These geese are beautiful and seemed by far the healthiest. Their feathers were in great condition and they were actively eating grass. They let you get fairly close, then one of them will hiss and lead the others away. Still, not too aggressive, especially considering the time of year.
Group 4: 2 tiny (probably male) ducks that look like a cross between a mallard and Call or East Indies. One has a bib and one does not. They will definitely be the hardest for anyone to catch, because they are very nervous and fly well. They hung around Group 1 at first, then flew and landed near Group 5. They may be their own group, or belong to either 1 or 5, or maybe these were all one flock at some point.
Group 5: 2 Pilgrim geese, 1 male, 1 female. Such a shame to see a nice pair of an endangered breed just dumped at a park with no one to care for them. They were on an island far from where people were, but they were looking around curiously, so I can't say if they are friendly or cautious.
Lone Birds:
1 beautiful buff(?) old muscovy drake. His feathers on one wing are twisted at an odd angle- I am not sure if this is just a feather problem or a wing injury. He is fairly approachable and makes funny noises at people. Also he seemed to be walking odd, but since I've never seen muscovies walking around (only at poultry shows) I can't say if this is their natural waddle or a limp.
1 unhealthy toulouse goose with an injured watery (closed) eye, a wing problem (just like the muscovy) and a limp. This is the one I'm most worried about. She (?) is very sweet and loves being talked to. I could actually pet her, but then she got up and walked away. She made a little honking noise when she found a pile of bread, nibbled some and spit most of it out. She seems very disappointed- the grass at this park is incredibly short, not much for her to eat. She was lethargic and messy looking, just lying there until I went and talked to her. Then she went swimming and tried to wash off. She went to flap and spread her wings but stopped halfway through, so I know she's in pain.
1 buff orpington (?) cross drake, who actually does not like being talked to! he was sleeping and I got real close to him (he would be very easy for someone to catch) and started talking to him. He got up, bobbed his head angrily while making raspy quacks and layed back down! He was next to a mallard type bird, which did not pick its head up. I don't know if this was a domestic, wild bird or hybrid since I didn't get a good look at it. These two birds were away from everyone else, so they may be bonded, I don't know.
---
Thanks for reading. All together, that's more than 17 dumped birds. I'm a new member, so I don't think I can post pictures yet but I do have them. I have pictures of every bird I mentioned here, so please ask if there's anyone in particular you want to see. I will post them when I can.
I feel so bad for these birds- I had no idea there were so many! The worst part is today and tomorrow are the daffodil festival. That means tons of people, carnival rides, etc. That means ducks and geese getting chased around by kids, barked at by dogs, hit with rocks that people throw... ugh. Please let me know if anyone can help them in any way.
I went to Hubbard Park in Meriden yesterday. I haven't been there in years. I expected to see a couple of ducks, maybe a goose- but there were TONS of dumped ducks and geese. They were all at least slightly friendly, and some of them were obviously hurt. Because they were all formerly pets, it would be easy for me or anyone else to grab them- they're allow you to get very close. The problem is I don't know what I would do with them after that. I can't adopt them myself, since I already have a lot of pets, and I can't keep them on my property because they might spread disease to the ducks that I already own. There's a waterfowl rescue in Lebanon that I was going to contact, but their website says they cannot take any more birds right now.
Can anyone help or point me to someone that can? If anyone here wants to rescue some birds and is able to quarantine...
Here is a long list of *most* of the domestic birds. I noticed at least one other white duck as I was driving away (it was in another part of the park than where I had been walking around).
Group 1: 1 female black swede, 1 male pekin, 1 male blue runner, another pekin, another (probably male) swede. The female of this group was very sweet. When I fed her some leaves, she got very excited and made lots of noise. The back of her neck is showing since the males have pulled her feathers out (she seems very bonded to them despite this). They like corn.
Group 2: A pair of pekin ducks that were eating floating trash in the water. One has a bright orange bill, the other has a pale pink bill.
Group 3: 2 chocolate-colored toulouse-like geese, and 2 white crossed-breeds with gray patches on their heads. These geese are beautiful and seemed by far the healthiest. Their feathers were in great condition and they were actively eating grass. They let you get fairly close, then one of them will hiss and lead the others away. Still, not too aggressive, especially considering the time of year.
Group 4: 2 tiny (probably male) ducks that look like a cross between a mallard and Call or East Indies. One has a bib and one does not. They will definitely be the hardest for anyone to catch, because they are very nervous and fly well. They hung around Group 1 at first, then flew and landed near Group 5. They may be their own group, or belong to either 1 or 5, or maybe these were all one flock at some point.
Group 5: 2 Pilgrim geese, 1 male, 1 female. Such a shame to see a nice pair of an endangered breed just dumped at a park with no one to care for them. They were on an island far from where people were, but they were looking around curiously, so I can't say if they are friendly or cautious.
Lone Birds:
1 beautiful buff(?) old muscovy drake. His feathers on one wing are twisted at an odd angle- I am not sure if this is just a feather problem or a wing injury. He is fairly approachable and makes funny noises at people. Also he seemed to be walking odd, but since I've never seen muscovies walking around (only at poultry shows) I can't say if this is their natural waddle or a limp.
1 unhealthy toulouse goose with an injured watery (closed) eye, a wing problem (just like the muscovy) and a limp. This is the one I'm most worried about. She (?) is very sweet and loves being talked to. I could actually pet her, but then she got up and walked away. She made a little honking noise when she found a pile of bread, nibbled some and spit most of it out. She seems very disappointed- the grass at this park is incredibly short, not much for her to eat. She was lethargic and messy looking, just lying there until I went and talked to her. Then she went swimming and tried to wash off. She went to flap and spread her wings but stopped halfway through, so I know she's in pain.
1 buff orpington (?) cross drake, who actually does not like being talked to! he was sleeping and I got real close to him (he would be very easy for someone to catch) and started talking to him. He got up, bobbed his head angrily while making raspy quacks and layed back down! He was next to a mallard type bird, which did not pick its head up. I don't know if this was a domestic, wild bird or hybrid since I didn't get a good look at it. These two birds were away from everyone else, so they may be bonded, I don't know.
---
Thanks for reading. All together, that's more than 17 dumped birds. I'm a new member, so I don't think I can post pictures yet but I do have them. I have pictures of every bird I mentioned here, so please ask if there's anyone in particular you want to see. I will post them when I can.
I feel so bad for these birds- I had no idea there were so many! The worst part is today and tomorrow are the daffodil festival. That means tons of people, carnival rides, etc. That means ducks and geese getting chased around by kids, barked at by dogs, hit with rocks that people throw... ugh. Please let me know if anyone can help them in any way.
