What in Ducky Heck is this!?

[WVduckchick]

Mud Junkies

 

[biophiliac]

Appointment for OG is Thursday at 9:40. Pleased it wasn’t scheduled too far out.
until the results are in i'm not giving up on my theory of two feather folicles gone rogue.

... more than sane people want to know about feathers ...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4380223/

 

[DuckyDoodles]

Ive not forgotten the feather follicle suggestion (though, admittedly, I’d forgotten who it was that suggested it... sorry )

And truthfully, I would rather that be the cause of all of this because I don’t prefer the sad maddening alternatives. I suppose I’m getting myself all hyped up and angry for no reason lol

I’m still also considering maybe she freakin impaled herself on a stick or something (being that she lived in the woods’ edge). I mean... she IS a ‘blonde’

{authors note: it’s a joke, it’s not an anti-blonde statement, calm down)

But I think if it was a feather follicle, I am thinking it would’ve been two of them, right? Since they’re connected by a tunnel?

 

[WVduckchick]

Another thought just crossed my mind, and I can't remember if its been considered. Could it have been a wound caused by a drake, and now is trying to heal over?

"rug burn", if you will?

 

[biophiliac]

Ive not forgotten the feather follicle suggestion (though, admittedly, I’d forgotten who it was that suggested it... sorry )

And truthfully, I would rather that be the cause of all of this because I don’t prefer the sad maddening alternatives. I suppose I’m getting myself all hyped up and angry for no reason lol

I’m still also considering maybe she freakin impaled herself on a stick or something (being that she lived in the woods’ edge). I mean... she IS a ‘blonde’

{authors note: it’s a joke, it’s not an anti-blonde statement, calm down)

But I think if it was a feather follicle, I am thinking it would’ve been two of them, right? Since they’re connected by a tunnel?

Are you sure they are connected? I missed that. Pellet gun or puncture wounds are good guesses too, ....

 

[DuckyDoodles]

Mud Junkies
View attachment 1284608 View attachment 1284609

Pekin pic is basically what these two look like all day long. I bring them in to their little ‘home’ on the screened porch at night and their beaks, foreheads and body from the waist down are just mud.

Like I’ve seen cleaner muddy toddlers. And I just laugh. Because by morning they’re all cleaned up and ready to rinse and repeat.

I love that they look at you with the happiest most oblivious faces when they’re all muddy. It’s as if they’re saying “what? What’s so funny? Pffft you’re weird. I’m going to go get mud out of my ears now.”

 

[DuckyDoodles]

Mud Junkies
View attachment 1284608 View attachment 1284609

Also wanted to point out.... look at all of that beautiful foraging green grass.. and look where the mud junkies are. A 3”x3” thing of mud. And they’re standing watch to make sure no one else gets their coveted mud.

 

[DuckyDoodles]

Another thought just crossed my mind, and I can't remember if its been considered. Could it have been a wound caused by a drake, and now is trying to heal over?

"rug burn", if you will?

Oh man! I had not thought of that either. I’ve not really seen any other ducks in our ponds (occasional geese at wee hours of morning and I told OG she was a hussy slipping boys in in the middle of the night). But I would definitely say it’s a possibility. Ducks fly and just because she doesn’t, it doesn’t mean she couldn’t have had a fly by one night stand. You’re thinking maybe it was a longer wound that the skin has sorta started to fuse back over? Akin to burn victims’ tissue?

That’s a possibility and I suppose it could also reintroduce the snapper turtle as a more viable option again. If the snapper took a big ol hunk o’ bite but then it’s fusing back together...

Yeah... I figured I’d keep up on the ointment until the appt (figured keeping Bacteria off an area that might have to be dug into or stitched wouldn’t hurt) but I’m most definitely hoping the vet can figure this one out and I can update on Thursday.

Feel like we need to do a pool (is that what they’re called when people are guessing gender or delivery dates of babies?)

 

[biophiliac]

Also wanted to point out.... look at all of that beautiful foraging green grass.. and look where the mud junkies are. A 3”x3” thing of mud. And they’re standing watch to make sure no one else gets their coveted mud.

They are adorable. Prior to any surgery I give a dose of Arnica Montana 30C, Boiron or any brand you find. It will speed healing. Then another dose after.

 

[DuckyDoodles]

Are you sure they are connected? I missed that. Pellet gun or puncture wounds are good guesses too, ....

Yeah they’re connected. There’s a tunnel/tube/something in the connecting space. Feels pretty hard (like the black spots) so maybe it was a piece of the potentially-responsible-stick or she just got that stinking much yuck in there that she’s packed the hole/tunnel.

Thinking about the added possible source of injury (the love rug burn) as well as rethinking the snapping turtle thing, it’s also possible that a tunnel/tube wasn’t the injury itself but maybe the way the original wound healed and it’s just that it’s stretched scar tissue.

Now I’m all “don’t cut her open until you’ve cleared out that channel.” Because if it’s just a calloused/scarred batch of skin that’s healed over a wound, I wouldn’t want them to cut her open or anything for that. Just stick a hose on that sucker and kablowwweeee the crud out (obviously that’s not the most technical of remedies... just saying).

Still just fingers crossed that the black plaque of grotesques are a non-issue.

Can’t wait til Thursday.

And not going to lie... I still want to pluck at it with tweezers just so I can learn the textures and yuck of it all. But I’m not at all comfortable with actually doing it because lord knows it would be an organ or something