OMG!!! Duck born without eyes! ***UPDATE!! 11/01 with pics***

[Chick named Lola]

One thing I will add about animals with disabilities, they do not feel sorry for themselves like we do. They just make the best of it from the start with what God provides them and go on with their lives.

 

[stumble_n_mumble]

Quote:
Anyone who can say this obviously doesn't understand animals very well. You make it sound as though animals are just stupid and souless and unable to thrive if they are not perfect. Animals are often better at surviving than any human could be. Animals are People. they may not be human, but they have souls and lives that are valuable. To say that Stevie, or any blind animal, does not deserve life is to state your ignorance of the complexity and amazing copability of animals.

I value animals just as much as I value humans. They are my equals, not my servants or my subordinants. Animals are People and have Souls and feelings.

Animals are excellant at coping and have a better sense of the world than we do.

Ducks have extremely sensitive bills that they use to find their food. A duck without eyes can thrive and find food very easily. They learn to feel their way around their world just as humans do when blind. They learn where the feeder and waterers are and they are able to speak the duck language and be a part of duck society.

Stevie is a very valuable lesson to all of you who believe that animals cannot live and thrive if they are blind, or deaf, or have any disability for that matter.

i agree 1000% 6/10 of my birds are disabled somehow and have THE BEST LIVES!

 

[herefordlovinglady]

Quote:
Anyone who can say this obviously doesn't understand animals very well. You make it sound as though animals are just stupid and souless and unable to thrive if they are not perfect. Animals are often better at surviving than any human could be. Animals are People. they may not be human, but they have souls and lives that are valuable. To say that Stevie, or any blind animal, does not deserve life is to state your ignorance of the complexity and amazing copability of animals.

I value animals just as much as I value humans. They are my equals, not my servants or my subordinants. Animals are People and have Souls and feelings.

Animals are excellant at coping and have a better sense of the world than we do.

Ducks have extremely sensitive bills that they use to find their food. A duck without eyes can thrive and find food very easily. They learn to feel their way around their world just as humans do when blind. They learn where the feeder and waterers are and they are able to speak the duck language and be a part of duck society.

Stevie is a very valuable lesson to all of you who believe that animals cannot live and thrive if they are blind, or deaf, or have any disability for that matter.

Here Here!

Stevie or any other animal do not understand that they do NOT have something -- sight, hearing etc. they only know what they do have and that is all they know. Putting an animal down due to sight or deafness is just not an option -- pain, and lack of quality of life is the only option to consider putting an animal down.

 

[ZooMummzy]

Well said! I have raised a RIR rooster from a chick without an eye, ear and a severely crossed beak. He doesn't know he isn't like the other chickens. He eats, he drinks, he runs around....he is normal in every sense except his looks. To him, every other chicken is probably strange looking

Once again I give the OP major kudos. As a person who takes in and raises disabled chickens that other people do not want to be bothered with, I know how much time and effort goes into them. I also know how much love they give back and how wonderful it is to know you have helped an animal live the best life possible despite its obstacles.

PS I was glad to see Stevie is doing so well! Adorable! Congrats to everyone

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Well said.

 

[Candiss]

Fantastic story, Stevie is beautiful. Animals are amazing.

Candace

 

[MyFairLadys]

What could cause this deformity? -- was a good question.
I just read a book by Weston Price (Nutrition and Physical Degeneration). In one chapter he looked at the diets of animals born with deformed or missing eyes. As I remember it... the pregnant mothers need many more vitamins, particularly vit. A (not carotene) during a particular week when the eye is being developed in the fetus. If it is lacking some of the offspring will suffer sever eye issues. He proved this by preserving the girl pig born without eyes and allowed her to be a mother. After a diet high in vit A unlike her mother she had a litter all with perfect eye development.

Hope this helps. Good luck with future little ones!

 

[katharinad]

That's why it is so important to supplement the mom during egg laying with minerals and vitamins. There are still other factors that can cause this. Anyway here is a pdf that list what can happen with deficiencies in eggs. It's on page 13.
http://gallus.tamu.edu/library/extpublications/b6092.pdf

 

[kdcrws]

I received a small shipment of ducklings Fri. This poor little guy was one of the bunch

he's blind and has a hard time getting around. He is in his own brooder and is eating a drinking, but mostly just lays there. Hoping for a positive out come like yours.

 

[coloradochick]