Rescue Duck

[Irishgirl]

Hi! I have a few questions about rescue ducks. I was driving to the feed store today and decided to stop at a place I'd gotten hatching eggs from before. So I stop, I get out of the car, and when I look up there's a duck in a cage about 20 feet away from me. I walk a bit closer and notice that her shoulders are almost completely bare of feathering, and most of her flight feathers are gone. She has two bowls of dirty water, no food, and she was holding her foot off the ground. There were no other ducks on the farm, and she looked so sad and lonely it made me sad.
Guess where she is now? If you said at my house, you're right! I have other animals though, and know nothing about quarantining a duck, or how much protein or other vitamins she'll need. Does anybody have any suggestions?

 

[Amiga]

A friend who does rescues has a separate quarantine area where new ducks spend at least a couple of weeks, I think, while they send a fecal sample to a vet (or lab) to check for parasites or other signs of illness.

Ducks do pretty well with poultry feed, or flock raiser. I would get vitamins with electrolytes and probiotics and start adding that to her water two or three times a week. I would, thinking about it, alternate that with a capsule of food grade activated charcoal emptied into her water. Charcoal absorbs toxins.

Plenty of fresh water, and opportunity to take a bath (water, no soap), but I would watch carefully. She may never have had water to bathe in.

Check her feet for bumblefoot. If you think she has that, we can guide you through treatment that does not involve cutting the feet.

Hope others come in here in case I missed anything.

Oh, as a single duck, you might get an unbreakable mirror so she can have "company." And - I'll go ahead and suggest it - consider rescuing one other duck later on.

Right now, your hands will be full helping her get her groove back.

Bless you, bless you, bless you.

 

[Irishgirl]

Thank you for all the advice Amiga! She did seem pretty lonely in quarantine, so I put some music out there for her.

She seems to enjoy it, I've caught her staring at it and bobbing her head every once in a while.

I didn't even think about a mirror, but I tried one just now and it kinda freaked her out. The guy I got her from said the other animals yanked her feathers out, so she may be a bit shy.

I did supervise a bath right after I got her home, and after that I checked her feet. I couldn't see any evidence of bumblefoot, but her webbing was extremely chapped and a bit bloody from the cage she was in. I don't know if triple antibiotic ointment is the best thing for ducks, but it's worked pretty well on my other animals, so that's what I used on her.

I'm trying to get the pictures to load, but no luck. I'll try again later.

She seems to be a fairly young duck, and (this kinda surprised me) she actually seems to enjoy me talking to her! I was talking to her and petting her, and after a while I left the room. As soon as I do I hear her distress call, so I rush back in. I don't see anything that could have startled her, so I leave. Same thing happens again. My rescue duck loves me!

 

[Amiga]

She probably understands that you are kind and caring.

I gotta leave the forum for a bit, will check later today Lord willing.

 

[Amiga]

How's things?

 

[Irishgirl]

Pretty good. She got used to the mirror, and now she spends most of her time looking at her reflection. She got another bath today, which she enjoyed, and I also introduced her to Emergen-C vitamin water, which she splashed everywhere.

Just out of curiosity, how long would you personally quarantine her? The guy I got her from has a pretty filthy setup, and normally I'd never buy animals from him, but what can I say? I LOVE ducks.

 

[Irishgirl]

Also, why can't we post links for rescue ducks? Rehabilitating and rehoming ducks and geese is something I'd really enjoy doing.

 

[Amiga]

Also, why can't we post links for rescue ducks? Rehabilitating and rehoming ducks and geese is something I'd really enjoy doing.

Please forgive my feeble memory. I think it has something to do with a policy about websites that ask for money.

 

[Irishgirl]

Ahh. Well, I don't know if we're allowed to say stuff like "There's a duck located in such and such a place that needs a home," but if we are and you hear of anything in the Galvastion, TX area, give me a holler and I'll see if I can take it.

 

[Amiga]

Oh, that is fine, if someone on the forum knows of a duck in distress who needs a home, there is a rehoming thread, too. I think the policy is regarding organizations, not individual independent rescuers.