Sickly duck at local produce store...

[Miss Lydia]

On behalf of myself, Chad (my partner) and Whistles himself, I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to BYC user_subhanalah, who contributed the money needed to buy Whistles his own pool! What an angel you are!

Here is a video of Whistles' first time in the pool:

Also - I made a Facebook page about Whistles, to fawn over him as he grows and his health progress, but also to highlight the negligence he's suffered at the hands of Capalaba Produce.

You can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/WhistlesTheDuck

Please spread it around/invite your animal-loving friends!

Whistles looks great and what a difference a few days can make eh? love the pool.

 

[subhanalah]

How are her eyes and breathing? Is she still showing signs of illness?
I LOVE the video! What a happy looking duck!

 

[SampyArctica]

We're fairly sure that it's a he, going by the size of his caruncles and also the way he was hissing violently at the cat this morning.

But he seems better! We'll be taking him to the vets this week to get a qualified opinion on it, and also for a general check-up to see what his health is actually like etc, but he's definitely a different duck to the one we originally saw sitting in the cage.

He's so adorably needy, too! My partner claims that he's "definitely my duck" because he follows just me around the house, squeaking, as I move from room to room. I had to lie a towel on the floor next to the bed for him to sleep on yesterday afternoon when I tried to take a nap, because he couldn't see me and made quite the racket! Haha. I hope this clinginess will wear off a little once he meets our girls outside and starts to make friends with them though, as cute as it is...

Some of my friends on Facebook, after following this story and then finally discovering the name of the place, have commented and sent messages to the store regarding it - the store has deleted every single negative comment and now disabled commented entirely on their page. Professional, huh?

 

[Miss Lydia]

We're fairly sure that it's a he, going by the size of his caruncles and also the way he was hissing violently at the cat this morning.

But he seems better! We'll be taking him to the vets this week to get a qualified opinion on it, and also for a general check-up to see what his health is actually like etc, but he's definitely a different duck to the one we originally saw sitting in the cage.

He's so adorably needy, too! My partner claims that he's "definitely my duck" because he follows just me around the house, squeaking, as I move from room to room. I had to lie a towel on the floor next to the bed for him to sleep on yesterday afternoon when I tried to take a nap, because he couldn't see me and made quite the racket! Haha. I hope this clinginess will wear off a little once he meets our girls outside and starts to make friends with them though, as cute as it is...

Some of my friends on Facebook, after following this story and then finally discovering the name of the place, have commented and sent messages to the store regarding it - the store has deleted every single negative comment and now disabled commented entirely on their page. Professional, huh?

Look forward to hearing what the vet has to say, and I can dif see a marked difference in how he looks already. and they can sure fall in love with their mama and that's what you are right now, but soon will come puberty and he'll set his eyes on the girls.

 

[SampyArctica]

...even if the girls are chickens? Haha. I've heard that Muscovy drakes can get quite aggressive when their 'puberty' and hormones kick in - is there much truth to this?

Here are some new photos of Whistles:



Cuddling up (yes, he actually wriggled forward until he ended up in that position!):



He really likes to sleep at my feet, even though his food and water are on his towel about two metres away...:



Also, the produce store have blocked myself and one of my friends who supported me by commenting on their profile from their Facebook page.
Outrageous that they're still pretending a problem doesn't exist and silencing anyone who says otherwise. We haven't even abused anyone, I've been doing my best to keep it civil. Enough abuse has happened already with Whistles, but they care more about making money than the welfare of their animals.

For anybody interested: https://www.facebook.com/CapalabaProducePetsPlants

 

[subhanalah]

He LOVES you! You know why? Because every moment of his life was misery and pain before you brought him home. You can see it in his eyes that he believes he must have died and gone to heaven!
People who say animals don't have emotions are fooling themselves.

 

[Finny]

He LOVES you! You know why? Because every moment of his life was misery and pain before you brought him home. You can see it in his eyes that he believes he must have died and gone to heaven!
People who say animals don't have emotions are fooling themselves.

X2! He looks so much healthier and happier!

 

[Miss Lydia]

X2! He looks so much healthier and happier!

X3, you are now an official duck mama.

 

[Miss Lydia]

And yes drakes can try and have mated with chickens, so until you can get Whistles some girls[2] at least, I keep him away from the chickens. Drakes and hens are not made to mate.

 

[subhanalah]

Chickens do not use penetration for mating, it's much like a "vent kiss" whereas ducks have long spiral penises that will wind and screw into almost any shape (there are videos on YouTube of the experiments they tried on duck penises and it's actually really interesting to learn about why ducks have this particular "appendage). If a drake successfully mates a chicken hen, it would cause internal injuries and she would likely die or be severely maimed by such an event.