Ducklings arriving next week!

I FINALLY have a picture to share! These babies arrived Wednesday, and I entirely expected to have been posting joyful pictures, sowing them off (because I adore them, not because they’re some sort of status symbol or bragging rights), but I’ve had a health set back.
All of you have been incredibly supportive in my journey as a new duck “mom,” and so it’s with humility that I ask for further support. Health wise, I am not well. I am not dying either, it’s not tragic, I’ll heal. The day after my ducklings arrived I finally went to my MD over symptoms that had been slowly getting worse. I am an RN. I KNOW better.

This sounds like doom and gloom; excuse me for that. I am SEVERELY anemic. So much so that my care team and I felt it best last week to not take any more blood to diagnose the underlying cause, after drawing labs to run all the standard tests which confirmed that my blood isn't delivering enough oxygen to the rest of my body. Further testing will begin tomorrow. I am in good hands, I am already responding well to treatment, and will respond even better to the treatment tailored to the underlying cause.

I feel like a duck shmuck.These 3 (pictured) are getting a lot of care...but I could do better. I expected their bedding to be more absorbing than straw. I...I dunno, I feel like I’m letting them down. Then I feel silly because they’re ducks, after all. Then I feel guilty because THEY’RE DUCKS AFTER ALL, and ducks are fantastic. Then I drag myself to the coop/run to care for my chickens, and feel even lousier. My surprise cockerel, Devereaux, has entered his teen phase, and I don’t have the energy to pick him up and carry him around until I’m certain he knows I’m the alpha.

Sigh. Happy to share this picture, finally, and thank you for reading me venting my spleen.
 

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I FINALLY have pictures to share! These babies arrived Wednesday, and I entirely expected to have been posting joyful pictures, sowing them off (because I adore them, not because they’re some sort of status symbol or bragging rights), but I’ve had a health set back.
All of you have been incredibly supportive in my journey as a new duck “mom,” and so it’s with humility that I ask for further support. Health wise, I am not well. I am not dying either, it’s not tragic, I’ll heal. The day after my ducklings arrived I finally went to my MD over symptoms that had been slowly getting worse. I am an RN. I KNOW better.

This sounds like doom and gloom; excuse me for that. I am SEVERELY anemic. So much so that my care team and I felt it best last week to not take any more blood to diagnose the underlying cause, after drawing labs to run all the standard tests which confirmed that my blood isn't delivering enough oxygen to the rest of my body. Further testing will begin tomorrow. I am in good hands, I am already responding well to treatment, and will respond even better to the treatment tailored to the underlying cause.

I feel like a duck shmuck.These 3 (pictured) are getting a lot of care...but I could do better. I expected their bedding to be more absorbing than straw. I...I dunno, I feel like I’m letting them down. Then I feel silly because they’re ducks, after all. Then I feel guilty because THEY’RE DUCKS AFTER ALL, and ducks are fantastic. Then I drag myself to the coop/run to care for my chickens, and feel even lousier. My surprise cockerel, Devereaux, has entered his teen phase, and I don’t have the energy to pick him up and carry him around until I’m certain he knows I’m the alpha.

Sigh. Happy to share this picture, finally, and thank you for reading me venting my spleen.
 
They ar adorable.:love So sorry your having health issues. I hope you start feeling much better real soon. No one to help you out with the chickens until your better? Don't be afraid to ask for help.
Yes, the kind words and show of support from folks like you helps!
My teenage son lives with me half of the week, and he helps giving them attention, but not cleaning. Everything I read stressed how messy and wet ducklings are, but I think all of that failed to communicate the truth of it! Thank goodness the sounds they make while being messy, and the delight they have in it is so grand!
Also, my anemia has me so cold that I am often shivering in my bedroom which I’m keeping warm enough for them (my house is very old and drafty)...so I’ve got the heat at 80F+ in said room, and I’m keeping them in there with me. They have a ceramic heat lamp, so they’re warmer.
My partner is helping by sleeping on the couch. He does not tolerate heat, I do not tolerate cold (regardless of my blood’s ability to circulate warmth)...
My love is also fussy because he’d prefer I rest rather than adore ducks...
So it goes.
 

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