My Love Affair With Ducks...

[Mimi13]

I grew up with every animal my mom would allow me to keep, tame and wild. I've had pet squirrels, frogs, turtles, fish, rabbits, pet store rats, cats, dogs, ducks, chickens, salamanders, ect. ect. I never worried about germs and yes I kissed my furry and feathered friends even my pet rats who did like to take baths. Now I just have Cats and chickens and yes I continue to snuggle and kiss them. I am 50 yrs old and have never gotten sick from my animals, at least not enough to ever have symptoms. As long as they live in a good environment that isn't germ ridden I don't worry about it. I say it makes your immune system stronger. I'm not saying that people don't get sick from their pets but so far I haven't.

Oh Lordy, you’re just like me. I am an only child and all the animals I managed to wrangle became mine! I’ve had a bunch of things and I reckon the only thing I haven’t kissed or tried to kiss (that I can remember) is a frog. I’ve never kept snakes, but I have had many lizards, mud puppies, turtles, etc., that I’ve caught over the years, not store bought.

You can be sure, if it was a living, breathing animal I’ve either kissed it or tried to kiss it. I guess it was back in the late 60’s that I remember the ‘salmonella’ scare and my pet turtles. I think my parents did make me get rid of them and I was heart broken.

As far as germs are concerned, personally, I’ve never given it a second thought and I’ve remained extremely healthy my entire life (well, until arthritis struck). I believe the more germs you are exposed to all along only help make you stronger. And for that I have all the animals willing to be kissed to thank!

 

[Mimi13]

and the idea of swapping spit with an animal sends me running.

Now let me clarify one thing! I have kissed many a thing, but I have never swapped spit with an animal. Swapping spit with another human is bad enough when you actually think about it.

 

[Mimi13]

Good deal...


but I am still not going to ever kiss an animal...

I have minor germophobe tendencies and the idea of swapping spit with an animal sends me running.

I like petting, holding Pets and animals but anything else is too much. A couple times, Pearl, my now elderly mutt, has gotten a lick in on my face...I immediately freak out, run to the bathroom, brush my teeth, gargle and take a shower..

The entire time I am doing these basic first aid responses my not so dear WW is laughing and teasing me about over reacting..

As a nurse you would think she would be helping me, but nope.. not one ounce of help.

You are too much, Ralphie! Basic first aid? Are you kidding me? What, did Pearl accidentally bite a chunk of your tongue or lip off?I’m sure your WW was rolling her eyes at you. I would have been.

 

[Mimi13]

oh my God I never thought of this before but you and Lucy do have a lot in common!
View attachment 2088186

Oh, I agree, I agree.

 

[Mimi13]

View attachment 2088219View attachment 2088220View attachment 2088221
Can't....
Stop....

laughing
Ok I quit. I can't breathe. View attachment 2088222

Okay, @duluthralphie, I know you were cracking up reading this. You had to! This was a tiny ‘Ralphie Roast’ for sure!

 

[Mimi13]

I heart about DE when i was living in Texas, people there were using it by the bag around their houses to keep the fire-ants at bey. - I preferred the gasoline and match method, more satisfying to see those b*tches burn!
But if it has hurt your nose, what has it done to your birds? They have much larger air filled cvities in their bodies than us…

Yes, I know. Even though I saw no ill effects, it could not have been good for them. I’m thankful I realized what was causing my nose bleeds and stopped using the DE. I guess I could have used a mask (as I think the directions request), but my birds don’t have masks.

Also, I didn’t know that it worked well against fire ants. They are my nemesis. I didn’t think the DE worked well on things with an exoskeleton.

 

[Mimi13]

The DE that goes in my pool says don't touch it and cover your nose and mouth. Think powdered glass. I never understood using it with animals but it's great for pool filtration. I always have a giant bag lying around. My ducks will eat fire ants and as much as I dislike poison, I will use it on them. The ants not the ducks Ralphie. I hit a huge hill of fire ants with the riding lawn mower on a windy day. Good thing I live in the country, as I stripped and ran naked through the yard to get to the shower. People could have been scarred for life.

Mercy! I’ve hit plenty of fire ant hills (on purpose and I love it), but I’ve never had it blow back on me. That would definitely make me rethink hitting them to begin with. I would hate to be the cause of people wishing they were instantly blind!

 

[duluthralphie]

You are too much, Ralphie! Basic first aid? Are you kidding me? What, did Pearl accidentally bite a chunk of your tongue or lip off?I’m sure your WW was rolling her eyes at you. I would have been.

I am a sweet tender guy and germs freak me out. I am harassed endlessly by friends and relatives over my quirk.

The quirk that gets them going the most is my removing clean dishes from the dishwasher....

and even I admit this is a tad weird, but I can’t take them out and put them in the cupboard unless I am wearing latex surgical gloves. I don’t want my germs on my dishes.

I have tried to not wear gloves and I just can’t do it.

 

[Mimi13]

It made me laugh just by reading it! I do however hate when dogs lick my face they are so wet and sloppy, cats on the other hand don't bother me. I am sure you're really going to think I'm nuts when I tell you when I was a child I would clean the duck coop out with bare feet because it was much easier to wash duck poo off my feet with a hose than try and clean the bottom of my boots. But now that I am an adult I do wear boots in the chicken coop I can't stand stepping in poo now!

I can understand that completely! For whatever reason, duck poop is the least invasive kind of poop I’ve dealt with. I guess it’s the water content that makes it less icky! Here’s my rating of poop ick factor: rabbit, goat, duck, chicken (except cecal and brhorse, cow, dog, cat, human. I think that’s all I’ve actually come in contact with. Yuck, what a conversation.

I have several designated ‘backyard’ shoes, boots, flip flops. I want to be able to not worry what’s on the bottom, where it either washes, wipes, or dries and falls off.

When my boys were younger, despite my warnings, they would strike up some kind of ball activity in the back yard where the dogs lived. At that time, I did not pooper scoop, it just was what it was. It never failed! They would be in good shoes and get that s**t packed into the bottom treads and then come running to momma to clean them! I suppose that is why I absolutely HATE dog poop! Now I pooper scoop and ‘doctor’ ants nearly every day. I don’t want my grandkids stepping in it. Ain’t going down that road again, cause I know their daddies aren’t gonna clean their shoes!Everyone here knows there are land mines in my yard. The chickens, and soon to be ducks, live out there. Deal with it is my answer, but if you decide to wear good shoes, it’s your problem. Luckily most everyone has a pair of muck boots here.

**Definitions:
Doctor ants means sprinkle with fire ant killer.
Land mines are chicken droppings, which can be on the rather large side. Even though there’s yet another yuck factor, my dogs do their best to help keep the ‘good’ ones cleaned up. And no Ralphie, I don’t let my dogs kiss me. I kiss them on top of the head cause I know what they eat.

 

[Mimi13]

There’s food grade DE and pool grade DE. I have the food grade. Dusty but doesn’t have the sharp stuff in it.

I have the FGDE too. I wasn’t aware there was no sharp stuff in it. I do know that FGDE is added to feed to help keep insects out, or at least dead and not wiggling so we can’t see them.