jevans1
Chirping
Hello forum. I sure wish I came to you before it was too late. I just didn't know how to post things or use the site that well. I would like to ask you to please be gentle with the way to respond, as I am very upset and just need advice. I am planning on trying again and getting two more ducks before the summer is over. I have built them a huge house with two ponds and have a large garden and yard for them. I just don't want the same mistake to happen.
Here is my sad story:
I had two ducks both almost 9 weeks old. They went swimming with me all over the state of Michigan (I travel a lot in my VW Bus during the summers so I took them with me). I cared for them deeply and always made sure they were happy, well fed, comfortable, able to swim and be happy ducks. About a week ago they began acting abnormal - pretty sluggish and hiding under the porch when I had returned from camp in the Upper Peninsula. I assumed they were hot because it was over 90 degrees. Because it was so warm I refilled their pool 4-5 times with cold water that day and took them down to swim in Lake Michigan twice. For the first time ever, they did not come to me when I got out of the water. They did not come to the prompt "Treats, treats, treats" as they usually come flying out of the lake. The severity of their condition dawned on me when they stopped eating that night and then were not even interested in treats at all unless hand fed and then only a few. I didn't know what to do. I brought them into the vet.
She gave them a dewormer. The vet is only a mile from my home. Upon arriving home Mona, (my Pekin) started convulsing. I floored it to the vet and she was still alive (not well at all!!) when I raced her in. She died within a minute. Frida, (my Cayuga), was in the same crate. The doctor told me to focus on making her well, and was so sorry about Mona's death. I took Frida home and put her on the floor to drink some water. I was crying so hard over the violet and sudden death of Mona. Just then, Frida arched her back, spread her wings, and began convulsing. All I could do was stare in shock. I held her in my arms and she died a violent death.
This was 4 days ago. I can't eat or sleep. I am a train wreck.
Where did I go wrong? What do I do next time so this doesn't happen?
Here are some thoughts I have had as I have gone over the events a trazillion times in my mind.
1. The ducks got a parasite or bacteria from one of the lakes or ponds I took them too. They were too far gone when the vet administered the dewormer and this shocked their body and they died.
2. The vet gave them too much dewormer, or the wrong kind.
3. They somehow ate something poisonous when I was not looking...perhaps something that was in a puddle that they drank out of or something when we were not in the safety of my backyard.
Other?
Thank you so much for your help. I really want to do this correctly the next time around. I never want to hurt a precious animal again.
Jen
Here is my sad story:
I had two ducks both almost 9 weeks old. They went swimming with me all over the state of Michigan (I travel a lot in my VW Bus during the summers so I took them with me). I cared for them deeply and always made sure they were happy, well fed, comfortable, able to swim and be happy ducks. About a week ago they began acting abnormal - pretty sluggish and hiding under the porch when I had returned from camp in the Upper Peninsula. I assumed they were hot because it was over 90 degrees. Because it was so warm I refilled their pool 4-5 times with cold water that day and took them down to swim in Lake Michigan twice. For the first time ever, they did not come to me when I got out of the water. They did not come to the prompt "Treats, treats, treats" as they usually come flying out of the lake. The severity of their condition dawned on me when they stopped eating that night and then were not even interested in treats at all unless hand fed and then only a few. I didn't know what to do. I brought them into the vet.
She gave them a dewormer. The vet is only a mile from my home. Upon arriving home Mona, (my Pekin) started convulsing. I floored it to the vet and she was still alive (not well at all!!) when I raced her in. She died within a minute. Frida, (my Cayuga), was in the same crate. The doctor told me to focus on making her well, and was so sorry about Mona's death. I took Frida home and put her on the floor to drink some water. I was crying so hard over the violet and sudden death of Mona. Just then, Frida arched her back, spread her wings, and began convulsing. All I could do was stare in shock. I held her in my arms and she died a violent death.
This was 4 days ago. I can't eat or sleep. I am a train wreck.
Where did I go wrong? What do I do next time so this doesn't happen?
Here are some thoughts I have had as I have gone over the events a trazillion times in my mind.
1. The ducks got a parasite or bacteria from one of the lakes or ponds I took them too. They were too far gone when the vet administered the dewormer and this shocked their body and they died.
2. The vet gave them too much dewormer, or the wrong kind.
3. They somehow ate something poisonous when I was not looking...perhaps something that was in a puddle that they drank out of or something when we were not in the safety of my backyard.
Other?
Thank you so much for your help. I really want to do this correctly the next time around. I never want to hurt a precious animal again.
Jen
