Now yall made me concerned about Mr. Snotty:
- He hatched sometime early August and spent the first weeks of his life with Momma Tweedledee.
- One afternoon in mid September i found him abandoned in the duck-run, unable to walk, so i adopted him.
- He spent some weeks with Sunny Sunshine and Fluffy Fuffbutt on my patio until i was able to finish the Momma Duck Shack
Since then he has gained some weight and is able to walk much better, but:
- He is still not walking like a normal duck, he is getting up, tilting forward and then steps forward to keep his balance and after a few steps he drops down again.
- He is not fully feathered, still has down-fluff in some spots.
- His feathers are not waterproof and he is shivering after baths and in cold weather.
- He is way too light, literally a "feather-weight".
I wonder if that is the result of a genetic-defect, parasites (worms?) or malnourishment. Pinball kept him inside of the duck-house a lot. He was rarely outside with her.
I have uploaded two videos of him, first that is him in a luke-warm bath:
And here he is sitting in my lap, still soaking wet and shivering:
I wish i could spend more time with him, physical therapy, medicating and feeding him with some good stuff, but i am exhausted after returning from my shift.
What do you think?
I culled my first cockerel, now what?
Anyone trained their dog to stay away from chickens like this?
