My partner and I have been raising our rescue duckling for a little over a month now. He is like our child. Every day has been full of not ever enough love and cuddles for our baby duck to go around. He was entirely attached to us and saw us as his parents. Tonight, just the moment before there was an accident, he was intensely cuddling with me and preening me, and I was giving him kisses. He was such an affectionate, happy baby.
We have had a pleather jacket hanging in the bathroom for a while, and I saw a tiny piece of the fake leather flake off, and he ate it off the floor. So my partner stands up to move the jacket, me, not thinking at all, watch my partner instead of the duck- and before anyone could respond, my partner had kicked our baby with their foot. He scrambles across the floor, he’s scared, we both panic- my partner and I start crying, we’re totally, entirely freaked out.
We try and hold him, but he was so scared... I tried for several minutes to hold him and calm him, but even after resting and nestling into me, he is still extremely alarmed when one of us stands up. I checked all of his toes, his legs, his wings, his neck and his hips- and I didn’t find anything out of place and he didn’t respond to any touches as if they were painful. I don’t think he’s hurt from the kick- I think it just scared the lights out of him, but I’d still like to know if this is an indicator of pain. And if not this, what are indicators?
My partner and I are nonetheless heartbroken and so, so scared. I’m going to go cry my eyes out after writing this, I feel so, so terrible. We’ve been holding him for the past half hour, he’s ate and drank- but the moment he decides to, he will run out of our laps and run from us, and we’ll have to chase him around the bathroom. He’ll be completely calm in our arms one moment, and then seemingly terrified the next. He will gape his mouth and pant, and he’ll tremble a little until he settles down into our arms, but just the moment before he would have been preening or cuddling.
I don’t know what to do.
what are the signs of pain in a duck? What can we do to comfort him? And if he is in pain what can we give him to ease it?
We have had a pleather jacket hanging in the bathroom for a while, and I saw a tiny piece of the fake leather flake off, and he ate it off the floor. So my partner stands up to move the jacket, me, not thinking at all, watch my partner instead of the duck- and before anyone could respond, my partner had kicked our baby with their foot. He scrambles across the floor, he’s scared, we both panic- my partner and I start crying, we’re totally, entirely freaked out.
We try and hold him, but he was so scared... I tried for several minutes to hold him and calm him, but even after resting and nestling into me, he is still extremely alarmed when one of us stands up. I checked all of his toes, his legs, his wings, his neck and his hips- and I didn’t find anything out of place and he didn’t respond to any touches as if they were painful. I don’t think he’s hurt from the kick- I think it just scared the lights out of him, but I’d still like to know if this is an indicator of pain. And if not this, what are indicators?
My partner and I are nonetheless heartbroken and so, so scared. I’m going to go cry my eyes out after writing this, I feel so, so terrible. We’ve been holding him for the past half hour, he’s ate and drank- but the moment he decides to, he will run out of our laps and run from us, and we’ll have to chase him around the bathroom. He’ll be completely calm in our arms one moment, and then seemingly terrified the next. He will gape his mouth and pant, and he’ll tremble a little until he settles down into our arms, but just the moment before he would have been preening or cuddling.
I don’t know what to do.
what are the signs of pain in a duck? What can we do to comfort him? And if he is in pain what can we give him to ease it?
