Very helpful.
@KaleIAm If you don't mind me asking, what issues has your Pekin had? I want to make an informed decision about breeds. This is all great info - from everyone!
Oh sure, the problem will be remembering them all. Lol. She's 7 now and it has been pretty constant. We adopted her at age 1.
The first issue was reproductive. She had a prolapse with some funky mass thing still attached to her oviduct. She needed surgery or she would have died. She was 1.5 I think. Then she had to have a special diet and sleeping schedule for about 5 months to keep it from coming back.
Then she had bumblefoot pretty consistently for about a year. Twice daily I had to wash and care for her feet, put boots on her, and give her antibiotics. Our vet went over the environment with me and taught me how to make it safer for duck feet. Apparently she mostly needed a softer substrate. So, no pine shavings for my delicate pekin.
About once yearly she needs surgery for her ingrown feather follicles.
Twice she has cut her eye. We don't know what on. The other ducks haven't done this, and it is the same eye!! It hasn't been a big deal, she just needs eye drops for a few weeks. I'm so desensitized. Each time it cost a few hundred between rechecks, eye stains, and meds. She needs the drops 6 times daily but I'm feeling like, eh! It's fine!
She also has poor feather quality. She's not waterproof. If she gets wet in the freezing winter temperatures her feathers will freeze. When she drinks she splashes water down her back. So in cold weather I have to bring her inside, per vet instructions. She doesn't like being inside.
Then there is the current reproductive problem. It started almost 2 years ago now. She stopped laying her eggs and started holding dozens in various stages of development inside her abdomen instead. Her belly almost dragged on the floor and she was very fatigued. She has a strict 10 hour daylight schedule and a strict diet, among other environmental changes. But that means we can't have a life because we have to be home to let them out of their completely blacked out barn room and make sure they go back in year around. It was an almost fatal condition, though.
She's a very loved bird. My favorite. I adore every one of her high maintenance muddy footprints. My other ducks have also had issues. Even though I've taken them all to an avian vet, and done everything they recommend, I've lost 3 of the 6 I started out with. All to medical reasons, no predator attacks.
I also got her as a pond rescue, along with 2 other ducks. A couple months later I got another rescue. I introduced these 4 rescue ducks into my existing flock of 2, and immediately my entire flock became ill with internal parasites, external parasites, and infectious bronchitis. The rescues had been living with wild mallards. Especially the last one had been living on a very large lake with many mallards. I'm sure some of my ducks' medical issues have been caused by this contamination. Also, who knows where she came from, what food she was raised on, and what genetics she has.
This might seem sad... But I try to focus on the positive. I have a pet that I love. I have the ability to give her a great life. She's really happy. She tolerates her treatments well. Her "sisters," love her.
) Gingersnap came to me already named.
