That time of year coming up - let's be proactive in reducing the number of dumped ducklings

[Going Quackers]

Your right Amiga, that time of year is back. Wasn't there a poem somewhere in regards to this dumping? it was awfully sad, but hit the point home.

 

[Amiga]

Oh, yes, I vaguely recall that. I am so wrapped up with my flock I don't know if I could bring myself to read the whole thing. Empathy to the power of three, here. It has its advantages, but can take a toll. I think many of us are in that condition. Bravo for us!

Sometimes those things need to be republished to bump us out of complacence. Four of my flock are adopted rescues, that were dumped in the fall. These are fine animals. Easy to care for, as animals go. Pretty healthy, very cooperative, lovely to look at, not particularly loud, make great fertilizer, tasty eggs, provide limitless joy and entertainment.

 

[Going Quackers]

Oh, yes, I vaguely recall that. I am so wrapped up with my flock I don't know if I could bring myself to read the whole thing. Empathy to the power of three, here. It has its advantages, but can take a toll. I think many of us are in that condition. Bravo for us!

Sometimes those things need to be republished to bump us out of complacence. Four of my flock are adopted rescues, that were dumped in the fall. These are fine animals. Easy to care for, as animals go. Pretty healthy, very cooperative, lovely to look at, not particularly loud, make great fertilizer, tasty eggs, provide limitless joy and entertainment.

Exactly, i think people become numb to it. The problem certainly hasn't gone away.

 

[desertdarlene]

Duck and duckling dumping is definitely still going on. I just rescued a tiny baby a couple of weeks ago. He wasn't even two weeks old when he was dumped and his friend died before he got rescued. Most people had no clue they were dumped and some thought they were baby goslings because they were dumped near the geese.

As for keeping them inside, dressing them up, it doesn't bother me as long as the animal is healthy and not distressed.

 

[Going Quackers]

Duck and duckling dumping is definitely still going on. I just rescued a tiny baby a couple of weeks ago. He wasn't even two weeks old when he was dumped and his friend died before he got rescued. Most people had no clue they were dumped and some thought they were baby goslings because they were dumped near the geese.

How sad, this is true people don't know, they mistake them for wild ducklings or wild ducks in general not domestic.

 

[jdywntr]

I don't think I was quite as active on the forum at this time last year or maybe I just don't recall. I dread coming on seeing all of the "I was at TSC and they were so cute, so how do I take care of it?" posts. I have taken to not answering them (bad since maybe people will learn and care for instead of get tired of them).

All of the parks that I've been to here have a wide variety of domestic waterfowl. Geese, muscvoy, pekin etc, etc. I actually came across an old article (while searching for muscovy) from 3 years ago when the city, Huntsville, was rounding up the domestics that were dumped at a local park. Apparently there were about 100, mostly muscovy, there. Luckily for the ducks the public enjoyed them so the city adopted them out instead of destroying them like many places do (epecially with muscovy).

I've already seen ads on criagslist here for free impulsivly purchased babies.

 

[Amiga]

I feel that each one on the forum has topics and concerns we are drawn to, and those we find more difficult. I appreciate jdywntr's support here - it has been immensely helpful for me.

And as I have written before, I have done things on impulse, so I feel I can identify with someone in over their head (or who feels that way).

Thanks to everyone who contributes here!

 

[cymbaline]

Last year several of us looked with dread upon the upcoming dump-a-thon that we knew would be following Easter. So we encouraged each other to write letters to the editor and otherwise publish information explaining how cruel it is to dump animals.

I'd like to bring this up again, along with the same confession I made last year - I have made impulse purchases. I have made many mistakes in my life. So I am not pretending to be on higher moral ground than anyone. At the same time, it rips my heart to see so many abandoned former pets unable to fend for themselves, injured, sick, dying, fearful.

I don't want this thought lost: those of you who want to add to your flock or start one, might seriously consider rescues. Have a quarantine pen if you are adding, and get them checked for parasites and disease before incorporating them. But I doubt many will have anything that cannot be treated fairly easily.

So.

Here is the text of a letter to the editor I intend to send out this week. Feel free to use it, edit it to make it your own, improve it and send it out.


Spring is coming! Chicks, kits (baby rabbits), and ducklings may be a tempting purchase.

Please do not get any of these little animals if you plan to release them to fields, ponds or forests when you feel they are too big or too messy or too much trouble or no longer cute and cuddly.

To leave a pet in a pond, woods, or by the side of the road is cruel.

Domestic animals cannot protect or feed themselves. They may die quickly, eaten by predators, or they may starve or freeze to death. Some die in agony from infections or disease or torture. It is awful.

If you will not abandon these small animals, do thorough homework before you take them home. Use information available online, in print, and from qualified local individuals and organizations. They have specific needs.

If you are good with animals and have the appropriate safe space, adopt rescued animals. Many were raised as pets and then dumped. They need a decent home where they are well cared for and protected.

Please don’t bring home young animals only to abandon them to a cruel fate. That’s not what this season is about.

I posted your letter on my Facebook, and added to it a bit. The two baby ducks I rescued from the lake last April were only about 3 weeks old, no adult feathers yet, and the woman that was leaving them said she knew when she got them she couldn't keep them in her apartment for long, and I think she really thought they would be just fine out on their own (in freezing temps at night, I might add). I think it's mostly just ignorance, not heartlessness.

Maybe it's me just being overprotective, but I also can't imagine just putting them out on a private pond at home once they're grown either. After what happened to one of mine outside in a (not-safe-enough, obviously) pen a few years ago, I just couldn't leave them to fend for themselves like that. My babies are now totally protected, with lots of room to fly and run and dig in the mud to their heart's content.

 

[Bellatrixed]

This is a great post, and despite naysaying, it most definitely does still happen.

I can't scorn chick days, Easter ducks, or impulse buys though, or I may never have gotten into poultry! Way back in 1999 I was at the local tack store buying horse things when I passed a tub of ducklings. I was only 13 at the time so cue begging my dad to take home two duckies. Half an hour later I had a female runner and a male khaki campbell in a box and a bag of Start & Grow. It opened the door to a lifelong love of poultry.

The difference is that as soon as I got them home I hopped on the internet to research duck care. I didn't know a thing before I picked them up, but my dad and I were able to build them a cute little house with a heat lamp and they grew up healthy and happy. They lived for at least 6 years before I gave them away when downsizing my flock.

So, not everyone who gives into the impulse to buy something cute and fluffy is totally irresponsible. But I do wish there was more of a push to make sure people knew the sort of care the poor babies need, and that ducks aren't meant to be tossed on a pond. It seems like it would be simple enough to have printed out fliers with basic chick care instructions as handouts where you buy the babies. I've heard so many horror stories of people thinking they don't need heat or can eat a diet of bread.

 

[Going Quackers]

So, not everyone who gives into the impulse to buy something cute and fluffy is totally irresponsible. But I do wish there was more of a push to make sure people knew the sort of care the poor babies need, and that ducks aren't meant to be tossed on a pond. It seems like it would be simple enough to have printed out fliers with basic chick care instructions as handouts where you buy the babies. I've heard so many horror stories of people thinking they don't need heat or can eat a diet of bread.

No, that is true not everyone does, but sadly enough do. Your idea of a handout is good, i mean heck you can get one from Petsmart for guppies, surely someone should be capable of providing one for poultry!