My Duck Was Worth 11 Cents - Now She's Worth Several Hundred Dollars

[Quackmire]

I just wanted to share this experience with everyone....

One evening, Q, my 1 year old Muscovy girl suddenly started having difficulty walking. Within the span of about an hour, she went from being wobbly (almost like her leg was asleep?) to being unable to walk at all.

Long story short, I took her to the vet the following morning. And xrays confirmed that she had eaten something very coin in appearance, and she was suffering from some heavy metal toxicity.

The vet scheduled surgery for the next day, and I was a complete and utter emotional disaster. I am very careful about making sure there are no 'inedible edibles" in the floor for her to get ahold of, so how she got this "stuff" was beyond me.

The surgery was a complete success....she had eaten 11 cents. A penny. A dime. So she was worth a whopping 11 cents. But now she's my million dollar duck. She sure has cost me a small fortune over some pocket change. But of course, her wellbeing is priceless.

She goes Thursday to have her stitches removed, and I can't wait for the vet to see the spit and vinegar this girl has compared to how he saw her the first time.....

I have pictures of the penny and dime. I couldn't believe how dissolved the penny was. The vet was astounded as well. Will share them shortly.....

 

[keeperofthehearth]

Oh my!!!!! I am glad Q is O.K. & thanks for sharing that. I wouldn't have thought swallowing a few cents would have hurt her. Thought it'd "go thru her" so that's something really good to know. I know ducks seem to eat everything they get their little duckie bills on.

 

[WriterofWords]

I'm sure glad the quack is ok. I had to wrestle with one of my baby ducks who grabbed a bracelet right off my arm. I felt that old cartoon with frog gripping the pelicans neck so it couldn't swallow it! I pulled my bracelet out if it's throat!

 

[bemba]

d your duckie is OK, can't wait to see the pic of that dissolved penny...... amazing!

 

[Quackmire]

Quote:
Birds are sensitive to various metals, and they basically poison them if ingested. She couldn't pass them, they're too big. So they sat in her gut and poisoned her until it started to shut her down and symptoms surfaced. I watch her like a hawk and have NO idea when she got these coins without me knowing....but the vet felt they'd been there a while.

I'm sure glad the quack is ok. I had to wrestle with one of my baby ducks who grabbed a bracelet right off my arm. I felt that old cartoon with frog gripping the pelicans neck so it couldn't swallow it! I pulled my bracelet out if it's throat!

I know that cartoon! And I've done it myself. Q is a HUGE pain in the butt when we're eating and she likes to take advantage of unsuspecting company if they have food in their hand/on their lap and she will GRAB and run. I've had to grab her neck to keep her from wolfing down pieces that were so big I KNOW she'd have choked. She always looks so defeated when she doesn't get to swallow her prize.

She definitely keeps me on my toes!

d your duckie is OK, can't wait to see the pic of that dissolved penny...... amazing!

Thanks, I was a pretty happy duckmom when she was finally 'out of the woods'.

Here are some pics of her experience.....

Q in the vets waiting on xrays

Q riding shotgun on the morning of her surgery

Q already standing the day after her surgery, when I went to pick her up. She is in the cage at the vets office

First, the dime, which is just mostly discolored:

And....the penny

Here is a link to her incision the day after I brought her home, if anyone wants to see. I didn't want to post it to give those with sensitive stomachs the option to not look.
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b92/crazybirdlady7/birds/q144.jpg​

 

[ScaredOfShadows]

wow at that dissolved penny! Does the vet put it to Q's stomach acid having done that? I know copper is more soluable to acids than silver or nickel is but still! WOW.


So don't want to be snoopy or rude, but I can't help being curious how much did Q's surgery and all wind up costing? The range area. Wow thats just amazing.

I am glad she's doing good so far, and I send my best wishes to Q having a speedy recovery and you the most awesome duck mom.

 

[duckyfromoz]

So glad to hear that you went through with the surgery for removing those coins- So many people wouldnt bother to go to that expense for a duck... Im sure that despite the discomfort of the operation she is feeling much better.

Hope she continues to improve for you and totally recovers from the ordeal.

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Oh, she's precious! I love her markings, she's really a beautiful girl. It's wonderful that you decided to go through with the surgery and save her life. I'm sure she would appreciate it if she knew what you did for her! The dissolved penny is incredible.

 

[Quackmire]

Quote:
The coins were in her 'stomach', basically being ground and dissolved like food would be. He thinks it was probably in there a while before she started showing any visible symptoms. Looking back now (that whole hindsight thing) I can recall several times that she had attempted in the weeks prior that she had attempted to fly up onto her footstool and didn't make it. She can be a bit of a careless acrobat so I just laughed and attributed it to her clumsiness. But now, I think it was the beginning of very subtle signs that something was wrong.

Not snoopy or rude at all. The vet visit with xrays was almost $200. The surgery, the vet quoted me $650. He ended up doing it for $400 though. He cut me an amazing deal, and I owe him big time for that. The follow up and stitch removal will probably run me a simple office call/exam fee....around $30-50.

So glad to hear that you went through with the surgery for removing those coins- So many people wouldnt bother to go to that expense for a duck... Im sure that despite the discomfort of the operation she is feeling much better.

Hope she continues to improve for you and totally recovers from the ordeal.

Yeah, I got a lot of the "for a duck!?" looks when people found out. But a lot of my closer friends and family realize that, to me, she's no different than most peoples' beloved dogs or cats. Those same people that would raise an eyebrow over this would have done it for their fluffly or fido. (and I love dogs/cats too, I have some of my own)

Oh, she's precious! I love her markings, she's really a beautiful girl. It's wonderful that you decided to go through with the surgery and save her life. I'm sure she would appreciate it if she knew what you did for her! The dissolved penny is incredible.

Thank you!

I know she's a muscovy but I have no idea what 'type' of markings she has. All I know is we call her part cockatoo when she gets excited and raises her funky little headcrest.

Today is 3 weeks since I originally took her to the vet. Tomorrow is 3 weeks since her surgery. Today other than a very slight, only occasional list in her right leg, you'd never know there was ever anything wrong with her. The day I brought her home after surgery she was wobbly but walking.....and she was eating again (she had quit eating the night before the surgery).

She had to go 2 weeks with NO WATER. (no swimming, I mean. She of course had drinking water) She was a very unhappy duck. Her white headfeathers were dingy, her body feathers looked unkept...she was a dirty girl.

I kept catching her trying to take a bath in the dogs' water bowl.

She was very happy when the 2 weeks were up and I filled up her pool, and she was able to get clean again.​

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
The coins were in the gizzard rather than in the gut were they not? Also It has been a long while since I had a female muscovy but I thought that erectile crest was only a male feature. are you sure yours is a female?