I have a drake named Tux, and I suspect he's some kind of mix but I'm not sure what. I was wondering if anyone has any ideas? I think he might be part Rouen, as he's the exact same size as my Rouen pair, but what else could he be mixed with? Magpie? Something else? I'm just curious.
Also, I want to tell a little story about how I ended up with Tux! I'm a wildlife rehabber, and an old friend of mine called to let me know she found a sick duck at a local lake. Our duck rehabber refuses to take domestic ducks and it was obvious when he came in that he was a domestic, so I volunteered to take him. He was so sick he could hardly raise his head, and the urates in his stool were out of control. His back end was constantly covered in feces, I had to change the paper towels in the storage bin he was in about ten times a day because they were soaking wet from urates, his eyes were watering, he kept shivering, he was incredibly weak... Poor guy was just a wreck. I was afraid I was going to have to put him down, which was a sad prospect because I grew attached to him quite quickly.
One of the other rehabbers in my group and I collaborated in trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with him. It took us a good week or so to decide what it was, but we eventually figured out that it was a case of Chlamydia psittaci. Unfortunately, this is contagious both to other birds and humans, so I had to place him on careful quarantine in my garage. I washed up and changed my clothes every time I handled him. I put him on a forty-five day course of Doxycycline twice a day, and slowly he began to improve. Finally, after a full month and a half, he had completely recovered and finished his medication course and got to be put in with my other ducks! The three ducks immediately became friends and now they hang out together all the time. I had been concerned that the other two ducks wouldn't take to him because they're a breeding pair and he's another male, but they're the best of friends.
On a funny note, this is the only duck I've known who has gotten acupuncture! One of my fellow rehabbers is an acupuncturist and decided to try that to help him recover.
Also, I want to tell a little story about how I ended up with Tux! I'm a wildlife rehabber, and an old friend of mine called to let me know she found a sick duck at a local lake. Our duck rehabber refuses to take domestic ducks and it was obvious when he came in that he was a domestic, so I volunteered to take him. He was so sick he could hardly raise his head, and the urates in his stool were out of control. His back end was constantly covered in feces, I had to change the paper towels in the storage bin he was in about ten times a day because they were soaking wet from urates, his eyes were watering, he kept shivering, he was incredibly weak... Poor guy was just a wreck. I was afraid I was going to have to put him down, which was a sad prospect because I grew attached to him quite quickly.
One of the other rehabbers in my group and I collaborated in trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with him. It took us a good week or so to decide what it was, but we eventually figured out that it was a case of Chlamydia psittaci. Unfortunately, this is contagious both to other birds and humans, so I had to place him on careful quarantine in my garage. I washed up and changed my clothes every time I handled him. I put him on a forty-five day course of Doxycycline twice a day, and slowly he began to improve. Finally, after a full month and a half, he had completely recovered and finished his medication course and got to be put in with my other ducks! The three ducks immediately became friends and now they hang out together all the time. I had been concerned that the other two ducks wouldn't take to him because they're a breeding pair and he's another male, but they're the best of friends.
On a funny note, this is the only duck I've known who has gotten acupuncture! One of my fellow rehabbers is an acupuncturist and decided to try that to help him recover.
