PLEASE--In Search of Female Pekin Duckies...Long Island, NY area or vicinity!

[scrappygirl]

Hello everyone! I am in search of one or two Pekin female duckies for my poor little Pippi. A couple of days ago, she lost her mate Tippy to an animal and now I am so sad for her. She is lonely...she is being loved by us as much as we can, but I don't think it's enough for her. She has been trying to come inside the house, hides away in a few of our bushes and just doesn't seem her playful self. She allows us to pick her up and hold her like a baby, but she just isn't herself. I am asking anyone here if they know of someone or have one or two themselves, would you be willing to give up a couple of girlies? I am looking for duckies that have been hand raised since they were ducklings so that I know they will be okay with us and our kids and not too aggressive. Any ideas or thoughts or suggestions???


THANK YOU

 

[Amiga]

Well, since I am a bit of a fanatic about security, are you keeping her safe now that you know there are predators? I wish I could type this with kind concern written in, please know I fret awfully if I feel ducks are left vulnerable. Some bad experiences with close friends on this one.

Okay, so I will reckon that she is safe, and her new friends will be safe, also.

There is a forum for rehoming. There are also rescue groups who take in waterfowl in and around our area. And there is a Buy Sell Trade forum here, too. Those would be avenues, I think. Sometimes you can find ducks on Craigslist, too.

 

[sourland]

I'm with Amiga her hiding in the bushes and wanting to come into the house may be out of fear about the predator. What are you doing to keep her from getting killed?

 

[scrappygirl]

They actually have a nice big pen that is impenetrable. They are allowed to be free during the day when we are home. I think, however, a hawk may have come down and tried to get one of the duckies. He didn't die immediately. I think he was wounded and then those wounds became infected, but we never noticed it until it was too late. He was infested with maggots and when we took him to the vet, the vet speculated that he had suffered an animal attack. He looked so great, we couldn't even believe it!!! We fully expected to take him to the vet, get him patched up and bring him home and nurse him back to health, except he had these infected wounds that, according to the vet, were beyond help. It was heart breaking, for all of us. Believe me, we are very good about our security, too, but leaving them in a pen all day doesn't seem humane. Please don't judge me...I would never have left them vulnerable if I could help it at all, but I am not sure I can stop hawks from swooping in from the sky. They are a part of our family and we would never put them in danger.

 

[sourland]

Not judging at all - just trying to interpret your ducks behavior. If she were mine, I would only free range her when I could monitor her safety. Good luck in your search for more duck hens.

 

[veronicasmom]

Aww so sorry for your loss. We all have things that happen that we deeply regret and wish we could do differently. Believe me, I have something that happened with my pets that I will go to my grave blaming myself for (not duck related). So, as long as you are doing what you can, then that is the best you can do. Ducks are masters at hiding illness and injury until it goes very far and sometimes it is too late when we see it.
Petfinder has listings for ducks. That is how I got all mine. You may have to travel a bit, but Pekins are easy to find on PF
Good luck and let us know if you find some new friends.!!!!!!!

 

[Amiga]

scrappygirl, I had a similar vet visit with a friend's drake after an attack. Unbelievable. I have seen someone use a very heavy duty netting across the top of her pens. Just an idea.

Welcome to the forum, we are glad you are here and hope to hear happy stories in the future about your new ducks.

 

[Miss Lydia]

scrappygirl, I had a similar vet visit with a friend's drake after an attack. Unbelievable. I have seen someone use a very heavy duty netting across the top of her pens. Just an idea.

Welcome to the forum, we are glad you are here and hope to hear happy stories in the future about your new ducks.

X2!

 

[scrappygirl]

Thank you everyone. I put an email out to Petfinder (thank you Veronicasmom!) so we will see what happens. I also have a colleague at work looking for me. And thank you Amiga...we have an enclosure that has a chain link fence top so NOTHING can come in but the little chickadees, but when they are roaming and exploring outside of their enclosure, there is no real cover other than the trees and bushes and nooks and crannies we have for them to rest and relax in the shade. A question...do you all leave your babies in the pen all day long? I like that they roam freely in my yard or follow us when we are mowing the lawn, but is it something too risky?

 

[Amiga]

I have the luxury of being home regularly, though not all the time. So when I am not able to be very near the ducks, they are in the day pen a.k.a. Little Fort Knox. The list of predators here is long.

Just a couple of weeks ago, or less, I had just put everyone in the day pen and gone inside for a nap. Took off my shoes, laid down, heard Vier fussing big time. "What on earth?" I thought. But she did not settle down, got more frantic sounding. I bounded to the window to see the neighbor's two nine month old, eighty pound puppies trying to get at the ducks in the pen.

I slipped on my flipflops and met the neighbor at my front stoop, in hot pursuit of her dogs. I have a good relationship with the bunch of them, I dragged the puppy girls away from the day pen, we tied them to a post, her husband arrived and the dogs were escorted home. It was an unusual series of events that led them into my yard in the middle of the day.

The ducks were okay, a few ruffled feathers. No sprains or scrapes, praise the Lord.

Something may get them someday, because I don't keep them under lock and key 24/7. A hawk might try to get at them while we take our walk around the yard, for example. But I do have them penned when I am not nearby. Not everyone does this, and it is a decision we each must make - how much risk we can handle. My ducks are healthy and seem content.