Help! Sick Duck! *Found out it's flystrike, and update on my boy*

[Pyxis]

Hi everyone! Thought I'd let you know Coconut made it through the night, and he's eating and drinking, so we'll see. I'm thinking of trading Charm and Almond, the male he hangs out with, to my aunt, but I raised Almond from a duckling and that would be really hard for me. Plus, he's the only other duck that Peanut, the girl, likes to hang out with. I don't want to trade Acorn, my mallard drake, because he's the boy that Coconut hangs out with, and Crackers, my Welsh Harlequin male, thinks he's a chicken anyway and just follows my rooster around, since they were raised together. Plus, he's my most friendly duck. I'm thinking my duck population is just gonna expand and I'm gonna get three more girls so I have pairs, at least. Charm is going to go, as soon as I catch him. I just worry about him, because my aunt has foxes ALL the time - kill one and she's got another - but she also has a big pond, a secure duck barn, alpacas that help guard the other animals, and lots of girls for him, so I'm trying not to feel too bad about this...

 

[Amiga]

Tough decisions. But I think you are headed in the right direction. I would go with more females in any case. Glad to hear the little guy has made it this far!

 

[Miss Lydia]

Me too thats great news!

 

[Pyxis]

He's still hanging in there. I went to a vet today to see if they'd give me some baytril, just in case of infection, and they said no, but said that if I had tetracycline, which I do, I could dose him with that since it's fairly broad-spectrum. So that's been implemented. I also picked up iodine on their recommendation to bath his wounds, so tomorrow he gets an insecticide bath, an iodine bath, a little hose bath to help stimulate the tissue to regrow, and then he'll get blow-dried again. I also got a female duck and one of her ducklings from my aunt today. She had a bunch of ducklings, but they duel-imprinted on her and one of my aunt's African geese. So the goose kept all the babies but one, and if the duckling I have turns out to be male, he's going right back. I'm working on getting a few more girls. Charm might go live with her, or he might find himself separated from everyone in his own duck house and run. He'd be able to see everyone else, but not actually get to them. We'll see what happens.

 

[Amiga]

If you are comfortable using home herbal remedies, look into some mild comfrey tea used externally to help healing. Not everyone likes to try that, but it occurred to me as something you might consider. Poor guy. Good for you, helping him out! And, orchestrating a good flock dynamic must be one of the most difficult things to do sometimes.

 

[Pyxis]

Just wanted to let everyone know that Coconut passed away this evening. At least I know that in the end, he was warm, comfortable, and maggot-free. And he had company - I had set up the female duck in a little crate in the shed with him, so that he could hear her quacking. They 'talked' a little. So in the end, he wasn't alone.

 

[RubberDuckee]

Oh! I am so sorry! Poor little guy! It sounds like you did everything you could... I am so sorry!

 

[Pyxis]

Thanks. I feel really bad about it, but I'm not sure there's much else I could have done. I feel like a bad mom for not catching it earlier, although I guess it does only take eight hours to develop sometimes. He was only a few months old, too. I feel like I might name the little yellow duckling that the female still has after him. Coconut the second, maybe? He was such a sweet boy.

 

[RubberDuckee]

I am sure you are so sad and so disappointed that he didn't make it.

Don't feel bad. Sometimes things happen so fast that there is nothing you can do. My mare collicked (sp?) 5 years ago. When I got out to the barn to feed it was later than normal and she was already on the ground. She had been fine earlier, but she went down fast. In the end, there was nothing I could do. I let the guilt over that beat me up for years.. and I still feel guilty. But you tried your best. I guess it was just Coconut's time to join the big flock in the sky.

I am so, so sorry!!!!

I think Coconut Jr. is an excellent name!

 

[Pyxis]

Thanks for your support The duckling is so cute, but my aunt does NOT handle her birds so both her and her mom are not fond of people. So I think I'm going to take a book out there tomorrow and just sit by her cage for a bit, and maybe give her some bread. I know it's terrible for them, but it's what my aunt uses as treats, so I'm going to try to get her to eat a tiny bit from me. Once she realizes I'm not going to kill her we'll switch to mealworms. Coconut it is for the duckling! Now she better be a she so I don't have to give her up!